How To Repair A Broken Headstock

How To: How to repair guitar headstock / cervix break with epoxy
14th September 2022

How to repair guitar headstock / neck break with epoxy

Joe White and his son James run 'J White Guitar Workshops', a custom guitar build and repair business just outside the English town of Aldershot, Hampshire and can boast many celebrities amongst their clientele. Guitars belonging to Status Quo, Stereophonics, The Rolling Stones, The Kaiser Chiefs and many more take all come in for 'a bit of magic,' every bit Joe puts it. The business was established in 1988 and is entirely family run. Joe and James are the craftsman and know all about how to repair guitar headstock / cervix breaks with epoxy, whilst Sue and Charlotte White look later on the assistants side of the business.

The professional person squad at 'J White Guitar Workshops' builds and repairs a wide range of guitars and often uses the WEST System epoxy in their 24-hour interval-to-day piece of work.

When the strings of a guitar are fully tensioned, or tuned, at that place is a nifty deal of strain put on the neck of the instrument. Typically, tensions range from 20kg's (44lbs) upwards to 100kg'southward (220lbs).

The headstock (where the string tuners are located) is under the same pressures every bit the neck. Due to the location, this makes the headstock/meridian neck area quite vulnerable to general harm and even to a consummate breakage. When the headstock or cervix of the guitar starts to crack or pause completely, the only pick is a professional repair.

The span (where the strings are attached to the body of a guitar) is another vulnerable surface area on an acoustic guitar. Often, the high string tensions start to rip the span from the top of the guitar. The bridge is normally held to the body of the instrument past glue alone, and then information technology is of paramount importance to take 100% faith in the mucilage that you use.

When a customer brought in a rather valuable Gibson Les Paul to J White Guitar Workshops that had a cleaved headstock/snapped neck, he could have been forgiven for expecting the worse, but Joe and James were able to make an invisible repair and return the guitar as good as new.

"We apply Due west Organization epoxy to build guitars and as well to repair them," Joe told Epoxycraft. "If your guitar has a broken headstock or even starts to crack, our advice is to release the tension from all of your strings, salve all the piddling pieces and try to keep them in position if you tin. (A bit of masking record will work to hold the chips in the divide). We can sometimes estimate a repair from an email description and photo of the harm, but it's ever all-time if you can bring the guitar in to united states of america."

Here is an example of how a headstock/cervix break is repaired:

The headstock is badly divide on the dorsum of the headstock/cervix expanse.

A combination of Westward Organisation 105 Epoxy Resin, 205 Fast Hardener and 303 Microfibres are carefully mixed.

The scissure in the headstock is gently opened up to expose the full extent of the harm and Due west SYSTEM Epoxy mix is generously applied to the crack.

The headstock is then clamped nether force per unit area, taking care that the glue doesn't attach to the block. Excess is wiped away.

In one case cured, the repair is sanded, filled, and sanded once again until the repair starts with the rest of the guitar.

Stains, paints and lacquers are then applied, and highly polished when dry out so the repair literally vanishes. Depending on the extent of the harm, whatever repairs are usually completely undetectable, and stronger than the original wood.

"This repair would typically take about one-2 weeks, and would toll around £400," Joe explained. "However, each repair is different, so prices can vary depending on the work needed and the materials required. The possessor of the Gibson was delighted with the work and knows that the guitar will never break in the aforementioned place again. WEST Arrangement epoxy is a powerful adhesive and volition agree the guitar together indefinitely."

James added, "Nosotros prefer WEST Organisation epoxy over other glues due to its force and speed to cure. Other advantages are that it generally remains unaffected by variations in temperature and humidity and it isn't water-based. This is of import, every bit h2o-based glues cause the joints in the wood to swell, creating instability in the substrate. WEST Organisation epoxy is quite easy to work with and is a must have tool in the workshop."

For more than details of the full range of repair and refurbishment services, or to have your dream guitar hand built, call them on: +44 (0)1252 520911 or visit their website: world wide web.jwhite-guitarworkshops.co.uk

Services include refretting, shielding, dent removal, professional set-ups and fifty-fifty the custom building of a guitar to your own design.

If you have a technical enquiry or want to learn more well-nigh Due west SYSTEM, find the back up pages on the W Arrangement International website.

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