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G'day,

just thought i would intro myself, say g'day, and i look forward to contributing, and mostly learning here!

 

I am a born tinkerer, my wife calls me TIM the toolman sometimes, just becase i cant leave things how they are suppose to be.

 

i have recently been drawn to guitar repairs, well because i play guitar, i like guitars, and i was given an acoustic guitar that a friend didn't use anymore, it has a bulging sound board behind the bridge, i have played it about as much as i am going to like that, and started dissmantling it, with the thought, i could learn from it, and maybe end up with a guitar that might play a little better than it does at the moment.

Anyhow, this guitar is a cheapo construction, it has a dowled on neck,of which i found out the hard way, but in the process i have learned how to remove frets, make a makeshift steamer, and found out that there are more neck joints than a bolt on or a dove tail.

 

I was in the process of looking for ways to fix this cheapo guitar, looking at new necks, looking at how i could re-attach this neck, when i came accross another guitar, a washburn electric acoustic, with a snapped off neck, anyway long story short, i bought it, very cheaply, it the hope i could repair the neck, and have myself a guitar i could use when i play out.

 

i will attach a photo, i dont actually have the guitar as yet, but was hoping for some constructive help as to the direction i should take in fixing this type of break.

 

cheers

Geoff

 

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Ned
thanks indeed for the compliment, praise indeed from one of the steely aces here! Actually, I use Vaseline for other things too: For instance I use it to lubricate the threads on trussrods and bridge screws, and also for lubing open tuners. It doesn't seems to spread itself around like other greases or sprays, and is non-agressive concerning finishes.
Concerning the friendly plastic: If you get round to buying it, you'll have enough for the rest of your life, due to the fact that you can use it again and again. I'd estimate that from the total amount in the jar, I've only actually used about half of it. Apart from what I used to make some file handles, I just keep on re-using the cauls I make for jobs: For the next job I just melt it again, and adapt it for the new job, melting smaller pieces together or pulling pieces off, depending on how much I need. I've even used it to clamp bridges, you can make a custom caul for every type of bridge, if you apply a bit of pressure when it's soft, it fills the bridge pin holes, ensuring that the caul doesn't move when you clamp up. To protect the wood when I'm making cauls, I use cling film between the wood and the cauls. I also use cling film when I clamp up, more flexible than wax paper, and glue resistant. It's also really cheap, a 50m roll costs 69c from the supermarket, a roll will last you months :-)

Grahame
Grahame,
I recently saw a local store advertising "friendly plastic" for something like $15.00 (U.S.) for 4 POUNDS. I haven't had a chance to find out if it's a typo or even the same product. It would be nice to have something that I could reuse. The one thing I really like about plaster is that I can easily reshape it and cut the back and sides of a mold to lay flat and fit into a given area. I actually have a grinder specifically designed to do this. ( It is a piece of dental laboratory equipment used to clean up and shape stone cast from the molds the dentist makes.)

I use wax paper and "saran" wrap too. Wax paper is good for flat surfaces but I use plastic wrap for just about everything else.

Ned
Geoff,
When using hot hide glue, I like to clamp up as quickly as possible and leave it alone ( except for clean up.)
That's part of the problem with gluing up a neck/head break. You will will probably need to make a jig that is unique to this repair to get it all aligned quickly, at least I always do. I can think of a couple of thing I might try if I were doing it but it's easy to dream up ideas when the guitar isn't actually in front of me. My best advice would be take your time setting it all up, do as many dry runs as it takes to get comfortable then do it.

Ned
ned,
great advise, and i appreciate you taking the time to say.

i will have a couple more dry runs, but i am pretty sure alignment will be ok as long as i get a top clamp on.

i will try and post some pics when i do it.

thanks again

geoff
i have made a bit of a caul out of this stuff http://www.selleys.com.au/Selleys-Plasti-Bond-Heavy-Duty/default.aspx

goes off real quick, smells a bit like fibreglass.
i put a little wood block on the back as it was going off, i will take a pic or 2 tomorrow.

cheers
geoff
ok progress so far is going ok i think.
i will post some pics.
i made a caul out of the plasti bond.
glued the neck on, but decided to use epoxy instead of hide glue,
i then sanded out the back of the neck, and then fitted a new piece of wood to the back, again i used epoxy, and clamped.
i then roughed it out and begun the slow and steady task of shaping it.
i will post some pics of the different stages.
i am at a stage of now cutting back to 240 grit and then will go to 400, and see how it feels.
have to try and get some stain tomorrow.
not sure what sort of finish i need to put on it to get it close to the original???
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Good for you, Geoff! You're tackling a big job for the first time-out, and it looks pretty darned good. Perseverance has served you well.

Finish matching is a tricky business. Take a piece of scrap (same wood as the new splint) and try different cuts of stain to see how they "take". For a clear finish, spray clear lacquer over whatever color you end up with, since trying to emulate high-tech epoxy catalysts (if that's, indeed, what you have) is beyond most of our abilities without a lot of high-tech equipment.

If it were my guitar (and not a customer's), I wouldn't want to get TOO close of a match.... choosing, instead, to show-off that cool repair... as those are scars to be proud of! Good job.
Mike, i appreciate you say that,
i am proud, so far, of my repair, still some finishing to do yet, but the main repair has come out exactly how i wanted it too.
thankyou for your advice on the way, it has helped.

cheers
geoff
This looks to be a super "first time" job for a very perplexing repair.

You should be proud.

Also, kudos to the contributing members as THIS is what the forum is all about.

Best of luck to all involved.

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