# Crack in the neck... Can it be fixed?



## 18Rocks (Jan 3, 2014)

I seriously don't know what to do...

I just discovered that my neck now has cracks on each side and I'm can't pin point what happened but here is what I've come up with.

I know, it's not from force as I haven't dropped it or anything like that.

I know that my humidifier has broken down and I've not had a chance to replace it yet, and it's been quite dry lately and could it seriously be from lack of humidity?

Second, I've just replaced my pick-ups, but I haven't changed any other settings as I was quite careful with removing and replacing the other components.

Is there anything else that could cause that?

Can it be fixed?


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## Hamstrung (Sep 21, 2007)

Post some pics if you can. It may just be checking in the finish due to the humidity changes.
Cracks and breaks can be fixed by a competent luthier.


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## 18Rocks (Jan 3, 2014)

I'll post pics when I get home tonight.

Would those crack affect the tone much? 
Could it get worse if I don't fix it right away?

We have a portable humidifier that we use in our room and I've moved my guitar there for now until I fix the humidifier. I wish I would have done that earlier to avoid this to begin with...


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## John Kingma (Jan 30, 2008)

It's hard to advise on these types of issues without seeing the neck. And sometimes pictures are not much help. You need to see it in person.

I can tell you though that I have fixed a cracked Tele neck about 6 years ago and it is still holding strong.

Also, a very high percentage of Gibson necks and headstocks have been repaired over the years... so don't worry... if it's cracked it probably can be fixed. However, you just might need to let a pro do it.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

you might have to be a bit more specific without photos. where are the cracks? how to they run? how big? what kind of guitar?

since you mentioned pickups, I'm assuming electric, in which I can say humidity does not affect electrics as much as acoustics.

and highly doubtful its the install of pickups otherwise all my guitars would have cracked necks.


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## 18Rocks (Jan 3, 2014)

John Kingma said:


> It's hard to advise on these types of issues without seeing the neck. And sometimes pictures are not much help. You need to see it in person.
> 
> I can tell you though that I have fixed a cracked Tele neck about 6 years ago and it is still holding strong.
> 
> Also, a very high percentage of Gibson necks and headstocks have been repaired over the years... so don't worry... if it's cracked it probably can be fixed. However, you just might need to let a pro do it.


That's good know. I don't plan on fixing it myself, I think it's beyond my technical ability at this point.




blam said:


> you might have to be a bit more specific without photos. where are the cracks? how to they run? how big? what kind of guitar?
> 
> since you mentioned pickups, I'm assuming electric, in which I can say humidity does not affect electrics as much as acoustics.
> 
> and highly doubtful its the install of pickups otherwise all my guitars would have cracked necks.


I kind of figured about the pick-ups. I was really careful when I made the modification.

There is a crack on each side of the neck. The picture attached is just to show you an example of what it looks like, not my actual guitar. I have an Epi LP Custom.








[/URL]Crack-example by lee demers, on Flickr[/IMG]


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

interesting.

my guess is its a finish crack and you probably dont have to worry about it

when the neck on les pauls crack its usually closer to the headstock under where the truss rod cover is


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Everything made of wood can be fixed. Any competent luthier can do it, whether it's finish or wood. I've seen it done, had it done for me, even done some myself.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

Strictly talking about LP necks - despite the mention of "finish crack" I've never seen one that leads away from the nut that doesn't come from the wood, it's always the wood that's cracked and the finish on an Epi probably wouldn't crack for any other reason other than the wood below has moved.

The nut should sit on the mahogany part of the neck not any deeper, when the nut slot is deeper than the fingerboard thickness and actually goes down into the mahogany, it cracks very easily at the corner of the slot and Epi is famous for this. So, if it comes from the nut I say it needs repair, confirmation that it needs repair will be watching the crack get longer.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

Jimmy_D said:


> Strictly talking about LP necks - despite the mention of "finish crack" I've never seen one that leads away from the nut that doesn't come from the wood, it's always the wood that's cracked and the finish on an Epi probably wouldn't crack for any other reason other than the wood below has moved.


that's a fair assessment. i only assumed finish as he didn't draw the line from the nut itself. having said that, I have seen finish cracks from the corner of the nut on epis and lots of finish cracks at stress risers on squiers and poly fenders


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

If there were still such a thing as wood "engineering" the text book would note that any cut out (like a nut slot) should never have a sharp inside corner as it's where the stress is focused and where failure starts, somewhere around here I have a reprint of a 1700's English text book that makes note of it so it's nothing new.

IMO on an LP neck the biggest mistake you can make is to cut the nut slot deeper than the fingerboard thickness and leave it with sharp crisp corners... About the cracks, it really takes some kind of wood movement to crack a finish (usually shock of some kind or humidity) and there may or may not be any wood damage as a result, it just depends on the circumstances.


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## 18Rocks (Jan 3, 2014)

Here are the pictures... finally. I've had a crazy week and haven't had the chance to take and post them. 

I feel that the consensus is it can be fixed. Would anyone be willing the ballpark of cost that would be involved in fixing it?

1. 







[/URL]untitled0004.jpg by lee demers, on Flickr[/IMG]

2.







[/URL]untitled0003.jpg by lee demers, on Flickr[/IMG]

The bump in the first picture has been there for a lot longer than the cracks. I really don't they have anything to do with each other.


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## manupulated (Dec 21, 2013)

Looks like a stress crack that start from the nut , i cant help you with the price


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## 18Rocks (Jan 3, 2014)

I find that odd as I've had the guitar for almost a year and haven't touched the nut. 
Could it be from the stand (typical stand up stand) I had it in?


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

The finger board is separating and taking the binding and some of the mahogany with it, that's pretty standard for these guitars, usually a result of an impact where it may not necessarily show itself right away.

Also, note that the bottom of the nut is lower than the bottom of the finger board.

edit; oh ya, it's a fairly straight forward fix but how well it's hidden really depends on what you pay.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

yikes, thats more than a finish crack.

as for the stand, no, a stand will not cause that. more than likely seen an impact.


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## NGroeneveld (Jan 23, 2011)

It's an easy fix that you could do yourself if you are at all handy with tools. A small (THATS SMALL!!) amount of pressure to open the crack a bit, some CA glue, and a C clamp are pretty much all you need. I would make a caul for the back out of Quikwood hardening putty, so that the clamp wouldn't slip off. Otherwise, pad the back to protect it, and so that the clamp won't slip off the round shape. Put some wax paper between the neck and the putty as it hardens, if you use it to make a caul. If the crack could be opened enough, use gap filling CA, if not, use thin. Glue and putty available from Lee Valley. A little touch with some white lacquer if you wanted to. 

Just make sure you dry test everything first 

You could also run hot hide glue in there. Lee Valley sell syringes for this purpose.


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## 18Rocks (Jan 3, 2014)

blam said:


> yikes, thats more than a finish crack.
> 
> as for the stand, no, a stand will not cause that. more than likely seen an impact.


Didn't think so either... 
I think I know what it's from now, although I didn't think that impact would have done that. I accidentally smacked it on my desk in my "guitar room". It hit hard but I didn't think it was "THAT" hard.




NGroeneveld said:


> It's an easy fix that you could do yourself if you are at all handy with tools. A small (THATS SMALL!!) amount of pressure to open the crack a bit, some CA glue, and a C clamp are pretty much all you need. I would make a caul for the back out of Quikwood hardening putty, so that the clamp wouldn't slip off. Otherwise, pad the back to protect it, and so that the clamp won't slip off the round shape. Put some wax paper between the neck and the putty as it hardens, if you use it to make a caul. If the crack could be opened enough, use gap filling CA, if not, use thin. Glue and putty available from Lee Valley. A little touch with some white lacquer if you wanted to.
> 
> Just make sure you dry test everything first
> 
> You could also run hot hide glue in there. Lee Valley sell syringes for this purpose.


When you say easy, how easy do you mean? I good with tools, plumber/gasfitter by trade, but I've never done something like that before. Could you recommend a good example like a video or something in that nature. I'd feel more comfortable seeing it done first.


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## ThatGingerMojo (Jul 30, 2014)

Had my Les Paul fall out of its stand straight onto the floor, strings down. The whiplash factor snapped the headstock almost clean off. I took all the tension out of the strings and took it to Cosmo's here in the GTA. The tech there fixed it to near perfection. There are hardly zero signs that it was ever cracked, and the head stock is stronger now than ever. As was said earlier, a competent tech can do miracles. Take it to a trusted music store. Pay a little now, or a lot later.


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## NGroeneveld (Jan 23, 2011)

18Rocks said:


> Didn't think so either...
> I think I know what it's from now, although I didn't think that impact would have done that. I accidentally smacked it on my desk in my "guitar room". It hit hard but I didn't think it was "THAT" hard.
> When you say easy, how easy do you mean? I good with tools, plumber/gasfitter by trade, but I've never done something like that before. Could you recommend a good example like a video or something in that nature. I'd feel more comfortable seeing it done first.


Because of the way the grain runs in these necks, it doesn't take much to crack them.

How easy is it to fix? Basically, if you can get glue in there and put a clamp on it, it will be fixed. Thats all any luthier is going to do. Just like running hot solder into a pipe joint. You may still see a crack in the finish, but you can touch that up with a rattle can or just leave it. On a scale of one 1 to 10 in neck fractures, this is like a 1 or 2. 

Take off the strings and nut and have a look at it. Then if you want, secure the guitar vertically and see how much of a gap there is. Moving on,dry fit your clamp SO THAT IT DOESN'T SLIP!!!. Once you do a couple of dry runs, I think you'll find the confidence to put some glue in there and go for it. If you can run glue in there, and get a clamp on it, you can fix it.

Heres a video of the exact same guitar as yours, same crack only much worse. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uIXYEyqfN8

That crack in yours is very small, thats why I'm saying use CA glue,, but I would use gap filling CA if I could open it up a enough to get it in there. There are loads of videos though - just search broken Les Paul neck.

Good luck


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## 18Rocks (Jan 3, 2014)

NGroeneveld said:


> Because of the way the grain runs in these necks, it doesn't take much to crack them.
> 
> How easy is it to fix? Basically, if you can get glue in there and put a clamp on it, it will be fixed. Thats all any luthier is going to do. Just like running hot solder into a pipe joint. You may still see a crack in the finish, but you can touch that up with a rattle can or just leave it. On a scale of one 1 to 10 in neck fractures, this is like a 1 or 2.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the link and the info! This is definitely something I could do. 
You mention above that you would open it up a little so you could use gap filling ca. How wide would you try to open it? 
As it stands, I don't think I could get anything in there the cracks are so tight.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

open it as wide as necessary to stick a syringe in there to get the glue in. just dont go crazy on it if its not budging and crack it more.


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## 18Rocks (Jan 3, 2014)

Okay, I'll have to find a nice thin but strong splitter so I can apply even pressure to get the glue in there with the syringe. 
I'll pick up the parts from Lee Valley and give it a go in the next week or so. I just have to find the time to do it (more so a time where I can be without playing it for 24 hours)


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## 18Rocks (Jan 3, 2014)

I'm leaning towards this glue as it's meant for very thin cracks and will avoid me trying to widen the gap. Thought's?
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=20022&cat=1,110,42966

or would something like this be better

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=20024&cat=1,110,42966


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## NGroeneveld (Jan 23, 2011)

18Rocks said:


> I'm leaning towards this glue as it's meant for very thin cracks and will avoid me trying to widen the gap. Thought's?
> http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=20022&cat=1,110,42966
> 
> or would something like this be better
> ...


These are the two exact glues I was thinking of. You have a very tight crack and that is why you may have to use the Hot Stuff. Super T would be best though if you can get it in there. Watch for any glue that runs out!!


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## 18Rocks (Jan 3, 2014)

NGroeneveld said:


> These are the two exact glues I was thinking of. You have a very tight crack and that is why you may have to use the Hot Stuff. Super T would be best though if you can get it in there. Watch for any glue that runs out!!


Sounds good. I'll post here once I get a chance to do the work.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated!


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