(Priceless) Worthless Guitar Repairs

I know nothing about repairing guitars, and I know none of this makes sense, but here goes:

My brother passed away 43 years ago and I have his cheap, 1968-era Japanese import electric guitar that has either a de-lamination or crack in the neck as shown in these pictures. Tapping on the fret board I get a bit of a rattle sound on the right (bottom) side, and a slightly hollow sound on the left (top) side on the very top. Two frets down toward the body it feels and sounds very solid.

I don't think the guitar has value other than the sentimental value I have for it. His acoustic 12 string is playable and what I have occasionally played over the intervening years, but I'd like to maybe play this one again.

The crack appears below the fret board and looks to me like it is in the wood itself, and not simply a de-lamination. Is there an easy way to repair this to prevent further cracking? Epoxy? Superglue?

Do not use epoxy or superglue! To repair, open the crack as far as you can without making it worse by applying pressure to the headstock. Work some hide glue or ordinary carpenters glue into the crack from both sides until full. Lightly clamp and clean up squeeze out and let set overnight. Touch up finish or leave as is. Done!

Thanks, Jim! I think I'll use hide glue; I have some on order and it should be here within a few days. I have some syringes I can use with it to get it into the cracked area.

Use a shop vac to help pull the glue into the joint.

That's a great idea Todd!

Heat the hide glue up fairly hot,but NOT approaching 140º F. if you do,the protein will cook and the glue will no longer be an adhesive. Suck up the heated glue into a syringe. As long as it is hot,it will be VERY THIN AND MESSY!!! Like water,it will run all over the place. I suggest you wear nitrile gloves(latex gloves let all kinds of stuff through as they are loaded with microscopic holes. Oil goes right through them). Inject the glue into the crack,which should be pried open as far as you dare.

Wipe up the gluey mess with damp rags and quickly wrap the neck with surgical latex tubing. Latex tubing is a wonderful clamp for round things like guitar necks. You can buy it at stores where they sell home nursing supplies. Or just order it on line. Keep it stored in a sealed plastic baggie. Oxygen will degrade it and make it crack all over. Eventually it will just fall apart.

The suggested wipe down is just to make a FAIRLY clean place to wrap the tubing. Don't take very long doing it. more glue will ooze out of the crack anyway as you clamp it. Dry hide glue can still be gotten wiped up,although much more slowly,so don't worry about some mess. When I glued the 1/28" thick veneer on a large harpsichord I was making in 12970,the glue came right through the veneer. It affected nothing,and was not seen under the subsequent varnishing with oil base violin varnish.

The crack is still pretty tight ... I have a hard time expanding it much by flexing the neck. My metal tipped syringe can get into it when I do flex it so I think the heated hide glue should work nicely.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Frank Hagan

The crack is still pretty tight ... I have a hard time expanding it much by flexing the neck. My metal tipped syringe can get into it when I do flex it so I think the heated hide glue should work nicely.

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You can also gently heat the wood itself, which may open it slightly & will definitely help the glue get in there. - But not too hot, or you can ruin the surrounding finish.

+2 on George's advice.

Hot hide glue is neat (if demanding and messy) stuff.

It worked out great; the hot hide glue was easy to apply with a syringe and very light clamping pressure closed it entirely. Thanks, everyone!

Now I've been given my grandfathers old mandolin to restore ... it's a larger project I think. I'll create a separate thread for it.