Rehorning a telecaster

[John]

I got this guitar in from a customer who didn't know how the original horn fell off but he wants a new one put on. I've had the new one cut and joined for awhile but I'm having problems clamping it. I've tried a band clamp and several variations of bar clamps and jigs. I'm seriously considering a temporary screw from the neck pickup slot and the control cavity. Any thoughts? 

[Jeff Highland]

I did some wood repair to a 70's Fender strat a few years ago.

It too had been dehorned but in this case it was the top horn which had been cut back to a stub by Kevin Borich (local Australian Guitar hero)

The repair was not to the horn, but filling in the body and neck wood to defloyd it,

The horn was left as a stub  so that the finished product looked as it appeared on the album cover,

[Mark Fogleman]

I recommended Titebond in this situation as insurance to prevent flexing of the joint and fill any small voids near the surface, not for its adhesive qualities in endgrain to endgrain glue-ups.   Epoxy would work fine too but is not something I like to use unless there is no other option because it is an irritant and I have to wear a vapor filter mask to prevent an asthmatic reaction. I would not expect it to be a reliable stand-alone adhesive in an endgrain to endgrain join either. 

As far as the pockethole plugs showing...the front plugs will be covered by a pickguard.  With the plug cutter I referenced, the plug isn't invisible but is hard to see if you pay close attention to matching and peening the plug as I suggested. Just use a sharp bit when you cut the pocket hole for clean edges. Here is a photo from the manufacturer that matches my results with the same cutter:

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[John]

That's a great plug Mark and I think pocket screws would work well, but, my father uses them for everything and is constantly trying to get me to use them for everything. If he found out I used pocket screw's in a repair I'd never hear the end of it.  

[John]

I like to go to the mechanic that actually fixes my car as opposed to the mechanic that replaces parts until it works. While there are parts that need to be replaced periodically, some are replaced because the person doesn't have the skills or imagination to repair them. Here's a Taylor machine head with a broken pin, in twenty minutes, I drilled a small hole where the pin used to be, inserted a slightly larger pin from an old Sperzel and sent the customer to his gig. 

We could have replaced the set or waited for a new one to come in from Taylor but those options wouldn't have had him playing his guitar that night. 

I agree that the 70s weren't banner years for Fender, but often people grow up and buy the guitar they always dreamed of. 

This is not an impossible repair, it will take me a half an hour set up and cut a loose tenon joint with a router. In the end I'll make money on the repair and the customer will have his mostly authentic 70s Tele for less than the cost of a good replacement/not authentic body. 

I was looking for variations on clamping and strengthening the joint, thank you to those who offered those options. 

[Keith Somerville]

Have you thought of using elastic or bungee?

[John]

I've used surgical tubing often for difficult clamping arrangements, its my preferred method for clamping fingerboards. In this case I felt I wouldn't be able to see the joint well enough to know it was aligned properly. 

[John]

I came back to this repair today and came up with this clamping arrangement. It needs a bit of fine tuning but it will do the job.

[Steve Williams]

I am sure the owner will treasure this guitar. I almost want to get a tele and bust it up so you can fix it. So cool !