Nasty one piece neck headstock break on LoPrinzi, help!

[mordechai rosenblatt]

Hey all, first time posting here! Usually I can find some similar threads to a question I have but this one... eek. I've done some simpler headstock repairs before, but I'd like to get some opinions on this. It's a LoPrinzi LM-12, made in NJ. Doing it for a friend of mine, I believe he told me this is now the third time the headstock will be repaired. It does fit back flush with pressure but I worry about stability in the long run. Another dowel? Backstrap? I forgot to take any pictures of the front but it stops at the veneer. Any input would be great, thanks.

 

-Mordechai

[Frank Ford]

I favor the backstrap overlay:

 

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Structural/Broken...

[David Houchens]

Not knowing what glue is now saturated in the brake, I'm with Frank. Go with a backstrap. With the peghead veneer still intact, it shoud be a good fix.  DH

[mordechai rosenblatt]

That's what my instinct was telling me, thanks for the confirmation. 

 

Now my question is this: Due to the crack not being centered on the neck, should the overlay follow the shape of the wood that has separated? 

 

-Mordechai

[Paul Verticchio]

The 007 picture looks like a cat's face!  Cool.

[John]

You could try this, I belt sanded across the crack creating a scoop and then glued in veneer in layers. I think there are 8 layers altogether. When I had it built up proud of the neck profile I carved it to shape and then put another layer over the whole headstock into the built up part. I glued the veneers in one at a time so it took a few days. I've done it this way with a solid piece and carved it into a volute when that would work.