How would one fix this headstock?

[Page/lespaulfreak]

I saw this project guitar for sale on ebay and I thought to myself "Been a while since I've done a homemade headstock repair". I'm noticing that this headstock break isn't like anyone that I've ever done before. Can I just apply wood glue and clamp it or will this break require another method for fixing. I'm not too worried about the aesthetic or anything, I'm not aiming for a fancy repair.

Oscar Schmidt OE 30 Semi Hollow Electric Guitar U Fix Luthier Project D0027 | eBay

 

[ARandall]

You would need splines for this one IMO, as the break is straight across endgrain. These also tend to be bad for repairing anyhow as it is hard to get the jagged edge to mate again.

Not a project for a beginner really, or someone wanting anything else but experience on a tricky repair as practice.

 

[Baylin]

I'm not a luthier so I'm only guessing/learning. Would it be worth trimming the neck and headstock back a bit, making scarf joints and putting a small piece of wood in between?

 

[rabidhamster]

It'd be a great learning candidate for that type of repair, but that guitar might be worth 99 bucks afterwards.

 

[lowatter]

Bid on this one instead...
2013 Gibson Memphis ES 390 Body Neck Project Luthier Repair ES 330 339 335 | eBay

 

[Gary]

Another vote for buying it as a cheap learning/experimenter repair guitar. These kind of things are where a repairman builds his skill set. If I were to tackle that, I'd probably drill holes for two maple dowels. The repair would be stronger than the original wood and touching up black is the easiest color to match.

I once got a Korean Hamer sunburst with a loose set neck for cheap. It ended up a very nice guitar. It was a fun project, too.

On that Gibson that lowatter posted, rejoining the headstock is a common repair. But WTH happened to the back of the headstock in the area of the serial number?? That would be more difficult to fix.

 

[Pete M]

Wtf is it made from? Looks like MDF?!?

 

[Page/lespaulfreak]

Wtf is it made from? Looks like MDF?!?

I have heard some people say that it's made from particle board.

 

[Marty M.]

I've made a repair like this before in a couple different ways. First is to scarf a new peghead onto the existing wood with a Luthier joint. Basically a flat is created from the back of the nut going towards the heel. A new peghead is created with a matching angle to glue to the flat. That one is tricky because the new wood has 2 acute angles cut from the block as well as fitting around the truss rod and being square. It's a rewarding repair to do though and you can occasionally find Gibsons in that condition that people shy away from.

The second type is to temporarily join the existing peghead back together with glue and rout splines into the wood in both directions from the break replacing the crack with new wood. Obviously you don't want to run into the truss rod in either case.



Then there's the add wood to the center and add ears to that for support :

 

[Pete M]

I have heard some people say that it's made from particle board.

Ah, the connoisseur's tonewood

 

[kevinpaul]

I have done 4 or 5 of these repairs and I passed on a few. I would pass on this one. The guitar is not worth it.

 

[fumblefinger]

^^^^^^^
What he said.

 

[emoney]

In that Gibson that's linked, something is awry it looks like. The headstock does not look
like it belongs to that particular neck/body. COuld be an illusion, but if you line up the
headstock under the neck, there's far too much material still attached to the neck end to
match the headstock itself.

Not sure why it matters, but I thought I'd share anyway.

 

[jkes01]

^ sure looke like someone chiseled the serial # off that Gibby's headstock

As for that OS guitar, if you really wanted one, you can pick up that same guitar with all the hardware from Amazon for $228 +free shipping.