Guild F30 neck/headstock crack

[eliya]

This is my guitar and I'm pretty heartbroken about it as it's my favorite and I spend hours playing it every day. I was working to fit a new nut, placed the guitar in its stand and it fell face down. The result is a crack on the treble side starting from the third fret all the way to the headstock. The bass side of the headstock is cracked, but I don't believe the neck is (just finish cracks).

These cracks are tight and the big one traverses the truss rod channel. To be honest, I don't even know how I'll be able to get glue all the way in the crack efficiently. I never thought I'd long for a crack that can easily be opened.

I'm attaching some pictures in this post and the first comment. I'd love to hear some ideas as to how to approach this repair.

[eliya]

That's interesting. I'd love to read that too, if you have the link.

I like that Titebond Extend will stay strong even after spending a night in 150F heat. I don't plan on ever leaving my guitar in a hot car, but I might not be its only owner in the future.

[Mark Fogleman]

Ned
Hugh Evans is the guy I think you're talking about. There are 2 versions of Titebond Extend: Titebond Original Extend and Titebond II Extend. In this thread  he discusses this and recommends Titebond Original Extend as a go to glue for luthiers because it dries harder than plain TB Original d/t the wood flour added to increase open/working time: http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=595379#p595379

[Paul Verticchio]

Hi eliya.

I'm copying this from an older thread. Here is the exact device you need to get the glue in the joint:

I'd make the applicator side about 4" long so the glue can really get in there. Be liberal with your glue and have wet rags around for a quick cleanup.  This device has a hearty "push behind it" and the pressure truly assists gravity.

For this application, I'd begin using 1/2" shrink tubing. It's worked for me several times on similar cracks and I'm confident it'll work like a champ for you too.

Good luck with the repair. Love those F-30's :)

[Paul Breen]

eliya, go with what is comfortable for you but for future reference, don't over heat hide glue past about 145 degrees. The proteins begin to break down when over heated and cost bond strength. Use thinner glue and heat the work for more open time. Applying hide glue in more than one application lets the first application soak into the wood a bit before adding more. This will keep the wood from sucking the moisture out of the glue too fast, prevent a dry joint and buys you time.

Here are a couple of pictures that show Infra Red lamps in clamp or desk lamp fixtures, they are very simple versatile to use. I get the area to be glued quite warm, you want the wood to be 100 plus degrees and I leave them on during the entire glue-up process. Fingerboards can present challenges to clamp and keep things aligned. Figured I would post this too, after looking through my pics to find a few clamp light shots and ran across this Aluminum bass job.

It is a length of truck inner tube, cut in a continuous strip, stretch and wrap. With the hide glue, I don't have to be concerned about glue squeeze out clean up in and around the rubber band. It is easily taken care of after it's dry with a cloth dampened in hot water. I throw the rubber band in water and let it sit until the dry glue dissolves away.

[eliya]

Thanks, Paul! And thanks for the pictures! I always enjoy seeing people's shops and how they do things.

I should have been clearer about the glue - I don't use a glue pot. I heat up some water, and put a frozen cube of hide glue in a sauce cup in the water. I first get the glue to 145F, then a little before I'm ready to glue I move it to water that's at 160F. So the glue is never heated to 160F for a prolonged amount of time. From what I understand, this seems ok. I also keep the surfaces to be glued heated, but with this crack it'll be hard to keep this thick neck (and inside the crack) at 100F. Perhaps I'm wrong, though!

[Paul Breen]

Your welcome eliya. I generally have a camera handy around the bench and usually get some process pics, unless I'm too pressed for time on a project.

Keeping the neck on your guitar warmed up with the Infrared lights is no problem but does take a little time because wood is not a good conductor of heat. However, dark finishes, like the finish on your guitar or the dark finger board heat up rather quickly. Light colored surfaces take more time and reflective surfaces won't heat. I tried heating Aluminum stock with an Infrared lamp and it hardly warmed at all. I had the same problem tying to use the hot lamp to keep a clear plastic hypodermic rig for injecting hot hide glue warm. I solved the problem by placing the hypo rig on a Black laminate panel. The Black panel heated right up and keep my glue in the hypo nice and hot.

Using hot hide glue is not rocket science, nor does it require special equipment. But as mentioned, there is a learning curve to mastering it's use. Also more that one way to get a job like yours competently done. Your getting good suggestions on the forum here but ultimately you have to decide on a method that you can feel comfortable with, hope it turns out well for you.

[eliya]

Just wanted to give an update:

I finally glued it all up and it came out well. The headstock and nut slot look great and are perfectly level! At the neck the crack has a bit of a ridge to it. It seems like either the wood swelled or compressed a little bit. The neck has no twist, though, so I don't think this will affect playability. I tried to get some thin viscosity CA glue in the cracks after the gluing and drying time was over, but it didn't go very far in.

Thanks again everyone for your help.