Cracked Guitar neck
On Sunday I cracked the neck just below the headstock of one of my Epiphone Casinos. 
Of all my six guitars plus one bass, the two guitars I would cry if they were broken are my Casinos.
Here's the lesson: of all my guitars, this particular one was the one I hadn't put on strap locks. Waaaaaah. I bent over to move a cable and the darn thing slipped out of the strap and from about a foot and a half the headstock hit the ground-carpet, too- and put a 7 inch crack in the neck. Waaaaah. A guitar tech guy I know said he could probably fix it- for about $250- this is one of the $600-700 ones, and I think I paid about 500. Luckily this one wasn't my 15 year old one- I have strap locks on that one.
Not looking for sympthay- it's my own dumb fault- but just a reminder- get 'em if you don't have them. Granted, Casinos have a weird tension issue with the headstock that makes them a bit vulnerable- I've dropped Teles and Strats from over five feet with no problem-but still, it was a bonehead move.
Robert Anthony
Of all my six guitars plus one bass, the two guitars I would cry if they were broken are my Casinos.Here's the lesson: of all my guitars, this particular one was the one I hadn't put on strap locks. Waaaaaah. I bent over to move a cable and the darn thing slipped out of the strap and from about a foot and a half the headstock hit the ground-carpet, too- and put a 7 inch crack in the neck. Waaaaah. A guitar tech guy I know said he could probably fix it- for about $250- this is one of the $600-700 ones, and I think I paid about 500. Luckily this one wasn't my 15 year old one- I have strap locks on that one.
Not looking for sympthay- it's my own dumb fault- but just a reminder- get 'em if you don't have them. Granted, Casinos have a weird tension issue with the headstock that makes them a bit vulnerable- I've dropped Teles and Strats from over five feet with no problem-but still, it was a bonehead move.
Robert Anthony
Comments
I've got a 69 Gold Top, that I broke the head stock off 3 times...
Jimmy Buffet-- \" It's my own Damn Fault \" !
I know a guy who went to do a small neck bend on his Gibby SG...
The neck snapped in two! :shock: Talk about a Buffet moment!
I have had that happen... Though you know it now... I always grab my guitar when I bend down now!
I feel so bad for you.
That is literally like my worst nightmare! I can't count the number of times I have dreamed I've busted the neck on my LP Custom then woke up in a cold sweat and my heart racing 100 mph.
I hope all goes well with the repair.
Too bad hearing about the cracked neck, but sounds completely repairable, and worth the money.
Take some before and after photos...
Oh hell yeah! A guy I know did a neck bend on his Tom Anderson Tele and she snapped at the 13th fret - did it in front of a huge crowd :roll:. From memory it was a neck-thru too!
He hasn't bought another big $$ axe since.
Hey Antony, if your Casino is light as a feather and holowbodied as you say, I'm surprised it didn't crack/break in the body. I've seen this happen a bit in acoustics. I'd be giving this a good check also - it could be hairline damage too and difficult to see. Sorry to be a downer!!
If it's just cracked, you can easily fix it yourself. I have an EPI LP that some of my son's friends dropped on the floor (why, is another story). I was mad at first, but then realized it was an opportunity to try and fix it myself. What's the worst that could happen? I'd have to get it fixed by a luthier? Figuring I had nothing to lose, I did the following:
1: I removed the strings and laid the guitar face down on my workbench (put something like a thick towel under it to eliminate the chance of scratching it.
2. I pushed down (lightly) on the top of the headstock to open up the crack and placed the tip of a small screwdriver in the crack to keep it open.
3. Placed a fair amount of Gorilla Glue into the crack. Step 2 allowed the glue to get deep into the crack.
4. Took out the screwdriver, and wiped off any excess glue.
5. I placed a small piece of soft wood on the fretboard (to protect it from the clamp) and placed a clamp right on the crack. I then wiped off the excess glue again, and left it overnight and the next day.
6. I brought the guitar outside and started to sand down the area of the crack. I also sanded some of the paint around the area until I didn't feel any ridges or divots in the area.
7. Now comes the fun part. My guitar had a red neck, so I bought red spray paint, and I already had a black can on hand. I brought the guitar outside, along with some paper. The paper was sprayed to get the color correct before spraying the neck. I tried to hold the black can further away from the neck and spray the red at the same time. Through some trial and error, I finally matched the color of the neck. I was ready to spray the actual neck. I sprayed the neck very lightly and was amazed how well it came out. There was one little area where the paint ran slightly, but a little 0000 steel wool got that out.
Why not give it a shot? If you're not happy with the results, re-sand it and bring it to a luthier.
It's cracked on the neck- from around the fourth fret to about the second. Until I saw your post I never even considered repairing it myself, but now I'll have to think about it. I've built two guitars but repairs of this nature scare me- like Manitou said, I'm afraid I'll do additional damage- I can picture myself cranking down a clamp too hard, making it worse, and posssibly ruining the fretboard. But I'll have to think about it, it actually doesn't sound that hard. (Famous last words, huh?)
Thanks again
You will have to spread open the crack, and then work the glue in, filling it completely. I've used a small syringe for injecting glue into cracks, then forced the excess with my thumb, to squeeze the glue into all areas. That is important to get a good strong bond. I recommend regular wood glue.
Here is a link to a repair to give you more ideas of how it's done.
http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/crack_neck.htm
Stew Mac is a great source of finishing supplies and also instructions for any repair you have. http://www.stewmac.com/
Take Ibanez as an example. You can buy a replacement body for about $50-$100, on any model, even the JEM. The necks go for $75-200 generally.
If you have learned to do your own guitar set-up, which I feel every guitarist should learn to do, then you can replace a body or neck.
There is this mind-set to want to keep a guitar in immaculate condition. That is a good sense of pride, and I don't judge against that. But this fear of something happening to your guitar, and the panic of fixing the damage has to be more understood. This fear is natural, and not many luthiers will encourage you out of it. Allot of guy's are afraid to mess with the truss rod adjustment for some reason. :? Where I live, I have to reset my truss rod on every guitar 2-3 times a year, because of humidity changes with the winter season. (followed by a complete set-up) A simple job of setting up a guitar can fetch $75 to $150 if it has a Floyd Rose. But hey, time is money, and no one wants to give their time away free, when it comes to a business. Why should a luthier talk himself out of making a living?
It's going to take some nerve to make some repairs yourself. Everyone has to know their limitations, or if they have the confidence in themselves to roll up their sleeves and just do it. Not to say there aren't repairs or upgrades that should be left to an experienced skillful luthier. Not every luthier has equal skill either, when it comes to some repairs, especially custom work, like inlay for instance. Neck repairs, resets, some electrical repairs, refret, radius neck fret leveling, acoustic guitar brace and body damage, some finish touch ups, replacing a truss rod or fret board, etc. are best left to someone with the tools and experience doing this work. Again, not every shop even has a luthier I'd trust with some of this work. (and they may not tell you it's just beyond their experience) So, know your luthier's limitations also, before you trust him with your \"baby.\"