Neck break/split - waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

imalone

Should be less than 10, closer to 5. Maybe you're looking at a really big pack? 15ml ones will last most people a while.

zenzeypher

Yeah I realised that aha.. don't need that much Epoxy.. was flipping out at the Maplin site.

Adam_MD

£30!! I used to work for Maplin and am frequently amazed at just how expensive they're getting now. They were never cheap but the company's in serious financial difficulties and the prices are just becoming insane.

ICBM

zenzeypher said:

Gonna get some hand clamps too, worried about over tightening and squeezing it all out.

Don't worry about that, you want it as tight as possible - surface to surface contact gives the strongest joint. If you keep on warming the neck with the hairdryer to keep the epoxy very liquid it will soak into the wood and effectively produce a composite across the break, which is the strongest of all.

The only risk with overtightening is crushing the back of the neck or the frets into the fingerboard, so make sure you pad both sides very well.

Gagaryn

GuitarMonkey said:

You can clean up epoxy that hasn't set using acetone (or cellulose thinners).

If there is a small amount of squeeze out, this can be trimmed with a sharp blade before it goes really hard.

But don't do this if the finish is nitro.

WezV

You can clean up expoxy with white spirit, this won't melt the nitro

GuitarMonkey

WezV said:

You can clean up expoxy with white spirit, this won't melt the nitro

Oh yes, good point, but that finish isn't nitrocellulose is it?

zenzeypher

It melts if you clean it with nail polish remover.

I always test in the cavity..It's a Gibson repro - not a Fibson but a project a mate made.

this is what ive done.. and i'm shitting myself.

used a piece of 2x4, opened the headstock till I heard a pop from the split - before then the split was barely 2mm open.

stopped.

warmed the neck

warmed the araldite

using 0.90mm sheet of plastic acetate stuff scooped it into the break and pushed it in.

warmed the neck whilst shovelling it.. pressed it in as deep as I could without scraping the wood inside.

I've noticed the truss rod cavity so i'm gonna loosen/tighten the truss every 2 hours to keep it free.

clamped - using tight grained balsa and clamps.

rest.. aha

zenzeypher

ive cleaned the excess with warm soapy water and that seems to of done it.

I know something stupid's going to happen like i've epoxied the Balsa wood to the fretboard or something equally stoopid.

how is this looking ?

ThePrettyDamned

Looks fine to me.

It's the kind of way I'd go about it - it's just important to make sure you've not stuck the truss rod.

So long as it's stable and the truss rod is functional, it's a winner

zenzeypher

Yeah every hour im gonna check the truss just give it a twist so it wont bind.

hopefully this will stable as.. or else well I dunno aha.

A few people told me to completely avoid epoxy but like I said above i've seen repairs first hand that are stable as a rock using Araldite.

I didn't quite get the epoxy clear but the viscosity was very runny indeed.. then tomorrow she's off for a nut job and leveling.

zenzeypher

Again thanks to everybody who has helped.. Still very nerve racking.

I'll post updates as she goes along for those interested.. hopefully it might help out other individuals looking for the same solution.

ICBM

I would have used a LOT more padding on the back than that - hope you haven't indented the neck…

Fingers crossed!

zenzeypher

I'm not fussed about indenting on my own stuff. I have my guitars well maintained but play them like they owe me money. Only my gigging stuff mind.

Last epiphone I owned I played till it actually fell to pieces, repaired it and done it again.

Aslong as it's nice n' stable and I can buff out the ridge im a very happy chappy.

I appreciate all the advice ICBM

zenzeypher

WOOO no marks on the neck.

after 24hours of clamping they came off today - absolutely no flex at all.. Going to string it up later as it's getting a lovely setup.

I did as expected accidently glue some balsa to the neck hahaha which i'll be scraping off.

then sand paper through the high grades then taking it to a garage to get buffed. You can barely feel the ridge on 90% of it.

zenzeypher

TA-DA

Done, took it over Ian's for a setup etc.. sounding good so far very stable.

just waiting for it to all settle down for a fret levelling. The truss seems to tighten then loosens again after awhile so i'll be tweaking it over the coming weeks.

ICBM

Great job, well done!

zenzeypher

Thanks man, really happy with the result.

Now this pesky truss rod.

not_the_dj

zenzeypher said:

Done, took it over Ian's for a setup etc..

Is Ian signed up here?

(I'm assuming you mean iancorps in Banbury)

Great job btw.

randomhandclaps

You've done a great job there mate.