I Need help with regluing a snapped-off headstock

[Frank Capo]

Hello.

I reglued a snapped off headstock with titebond recently. It was previously glued but appeared disjointed and i pulled it apart. It came apart nicely and fit back together like a hand-in-glove. But I do not think I cleaned it properly.

It was a break somewhat parallel with the nut - so I believe it could be considered an endgrain joint... It is a far-eastern-made  guitar and appears to be some type of lower-grade mahogany .

 

I strung it up to full tension yesterday and it popped right off in about 12 hours.

I would appreciate advice on 1) how to properly and completely remove any old glue from the wood and

2)how to properly reglue.

 

I saw a recent thread that mentioned end grain joining and polyurethane glue. Thanks.

[FRANK]

bad break I hope it works out

[Frank Capo]

Charlie - Thanks for the photo essay. But I don't have the equipment or guts to try that... I will first try the epoxy.

[Frank Capo]

Thanks for all the advice. After reading some hype online, I decided to dedicate this project to science and I cleaned

the joint as best as possible and applied Gorilla Glue and clamped as per the label instructions. I don't have high hopes and

will likely need to come up with a neck for this project sooner or later.

[Greg Mirken]

Interesting choice, Fred. The one glue that nobody suggested was Gorilla Glue; for my money you might as well have used spit. It will be interesting to hear how long it holds.

[Frank Capo]

Well, the joint was already compromised by two previous repair attempts, so the odds of a successful repair were already diminished. So as I said this is an experiment - so we'll see. Maybe i'll try the scoop/grafting sidegrain trick once the science project stops oozing...

[William F.Eden]

So much for all the good advice

[charley erck]

Congratulations!  With the help of some of the most dedicated and experienced guitar repairmen in the world, you used Gorilla glue!

[charley erck]

In all fairness, I did glue a bass fiddle neck broken at the body fairly straight a cross the maple grain with a polyurethane glue, I think it was Lepage brand , and it was quite a lot less prone to bubbling. I remember it was advertised: "epoxy-like strength in a one part glue!" which enticed me to try it.This bass has been strung up and played with no problems at the joint for about twelve years.I think that with polyurethane, a totally tight joint, like fitting a clean break together can be, makes for no bubbling in the joint. I felt like I got lucky with that one, but it sure has worked!

[Grahame Myers]

About a year ago, out of curiosity, I bought a bottle of Titebond Polyurathane Glue to try out. I did some test joints with different types of wood, and wasn't impressed: Yet another complete waste of money due to my curiosity getting the better of me :-) In a month I'll turn 57, but now and again I still get caught out with snake-oil products, although at my age,I really ought to know better....

As far as glueing goes, I try to use HHG whenever possible, I regard Epoxy as a last resort for ugly problem jobs.. After seeing the pics, I would've used HHG, and then routed out a filet channel across the joint, and finally glued a filet in, also with HHG.

Wth this particular job, after using GG there's no going back: If the gorilla glue joint fails (which I'm pretty sure it will, after seeing how I was able to tear my test pieces apart again), the cleanup will be an awful job..Good luck with that one.....

 

Grahame

[Frank Capo]

Again, I want to thank everyone for their comments. I read thru a lot of testimony re Gorilla Glue, and honestly can't discern the fact from fiction.

 

We were left with 2 options, either epoxy or poly-type glues. So since my original question floated the premise of using a poly glue, given its purported properties with end-grain repairs, we gave the Poly-gorilla a try. The joint actually looks pretty good and sets me up to attempt a overlay/filet type of repair, though I am a hobbyist and not set up for fabrication.

 

Yes there is no turning back from the Gorilla glue...it is nasty stuff and I swore I never would use it after trying it out for a household repair. But apparently it can be tamed and useful if applied and clamped properly.

[Grahame Myers]

Let us know how it holds up: Maybe my mistake was in trying Titebond Poly, and not the "real thing" I'll admit that I've read some amazing things about GG, but here in germany it is (or was at the time), hard to obtain, so I ordered the Titebond version. I hope it holds up for ya!

 

Grahame

[Frank Capo]

I read that Gorilla Glue, made in Belgium, is not allowed to be sold there and likely other countries because of toxicity issues. So it must be good.

 

I have a line on obtaining a replacement neck so i'm going to string this up withoutr any additional work and see what happens. Maybe we can do a lottery of sorts. Post your guess at the number of hours you think will lapse before the head flies off again...