How to "Buy An Expensive Guitar Very Cheaply" Part 2
A few weeks past and time permitted the opportunity to set forth with the repair. Upon
loosening the strings the nut fell off and it became evident the tension of the strings was
what was holding the neck together for the most part pulling towards the fret board and
closing the crack. I now considered the damage a break, for little effort in twisting,
pulling, and pushing of the headstock would easily move the upper neck in any direction
desired.
I chose to leave the strings on since the crack could be opened with little effort..just
under the point of breaking the remaining wood for wood glue inserting. I
twisted the headstock in the direction away from the side of the neck (underside) that had
the larger crack. With the crack opened up to just under the breaking point of the
remaining wood, I jammed a large common screw driver (flat head) deep into the crack to
hold it open. The crack was probably opened ¾” at the top. This was quite dramatic to
say the least, so much so that I didn’t think to take a picture (that I now wished I had). I
just wanted to fill the opened crack with glue and remove the screw driver before the
remaining wood weakened or broke. A total break off would mean it would take a lot
more effort to reattach the neck in a straight fashion. I filled the crack with Elmer’s
Carpenter Wood Glue that was already in the house, removed the screw driver and the
crack closed back together, but the neck had to be flexed and squeezed for several
minutes to close the crack the tightest it could be with glue inside. I placed a zip tie at the
top of the fret board and installed 3 squeeze clamps (already had in the house) to provide
constant significant pressure (but not too much – to damage anything). I used a cloth to
lightly wipe off any access glue. (Pics. 4 & 5)
Pic 4
Pic 5
Three days was allowed to pass before the removal of the clamps. I tested the repair by
twisting and bending the headstock in any direction imaginable and I was not gentile
putting lots of pressure at the extremes. To be honest, I expected the crack to open back
up. It didn’t. I am amazed how much flex there is in a neck hence the need for a truss
rod and how a little turning of the truss rod can make a noticeable change the straightness
of a neck.
Satisfied the repair of the neck was permanent, I sanded the neck all around the repair
area and roughed the remainder of the paint finish from the head stock all the way to the
body attachment using various sand paper and blocks lying around the house. Idea being
the whole neck would be repainted but I would have as much room as possible at the
lower end of the neck to feather the paint so the color variances would not be noticeable
between the new color and original (chance of an exact match would be slim). After
sanding pictures. (pics. 6 & 7)
Pic 6
Pic 7
Read the last part of this series
**Exclaimer** Always have a great guitar repairman ready to fix the guitar if you can't! Mark Tenorio of Tenorio Werx in Denver, Colorado says "Buyer beware!!!! The reparability of the instrument depends on the type of damage. Each person's ability to assess and repair will be different. There are a lot of variables. Basically the buyer should really
know the return policy for the instrument in case he does not want to proceed
or decides he is in over his head. One important note, avoid the after
purchase pain knowing that we offer free estimates for repair if the
experiment does not go according to plan. This is one of the reasons we
offer classes and give free estimates. Visit Tenorio Werx for details.
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