Damaged Head

[Louski]

Hi,

I have a westone bass which I bought in 1985. Unfortunately it was knocked over by my mums dog and has split the wood across the tuning peg of the E string. I was wondering if this could be repaired? Any advice would be much appreciated thanks

Edited June 11, 2019 by Louski
Spelling error

[jezzaboy]

I don`t see why not. I have seen Les Pauls with the head nearly broken off repaired as good as new. A good tech should be able to sort it.

[therealting]

That’s a very straightforward repair for a decent tech. You could even do it yourself with glue and a clamp. 

[BreadBin]

If you don't have a clamp - a couple of strips of wood and a ratchet strap would suffice.

[TheGreek]

a mere scratch...

[yorks5stringer]

That doesn't look like new damage.. if it's held for some time should be fine.

[three]

If you look at the link below (to the Repairs section on Basschat),  you should be able to find a recommended luthier that is fairly  close to you.  Most decent luthiers would be able to sort out a break of the nature that you've experienced fairly quickly and easily (and without ridiculous expense).  

 

[3below]

As above, an easy repair and should be very low cost

[andruca]

I've done that exact same repair to a friend's beat up guitar. It involved Titebond III and some clamps and wedges and hard (but adapting) foam to make the clamps press tight and really perpendicular to the crack. My skills end WAY LONG before luthier level, most skilled woodworking I do is press and shape some longskate decks from time to time, but the crack was fixed OK and the guy didn't even need (nor want) any refinishing as the guitar was in terrible cosmetic shape and was his intention to keep it like that (or worse).

Edited June 12, 2019 by andruca

[Stub Mandrel]

I've used titebond hide glue for instruments. It's a traditional hide glue (so compromises my veggie principles, rats).

It won't creep like PVA/aliphatic adhesives. I used it to reattach the neck to a violin and to glue the neck and body of a mini-guitar together.

If the wood is split but hasn't separated, I suggest wedging it slightly open (after taking off the tuning head) and filling the gap with Super Phatic (a runny aliphatic adhesive) then clamping it for 12-24 hours. Wipe off any mess with a damp cloth as soon as you have clamped it. I once repaired a plate with super phatic, it survived a year of the dishwasher before being totally smashed.

[Norris]

Has the tuner location screw sheared? From the jaunty angle of the tuner I suspect it's split the headstock in line with that screw.

Take the strings off, and the dislodged tuner. See if you can remove the broken piece. If you can it will be easier to repair funnily enough - you'll be able to get glue in. If the screw has sheared, remove the remaining piece. Then some titebond (normal type 1 is best) on the headstock pieces, or use an old credit card to squeeze glue right into the split on both  sides if it won't come apart. Clamp it back in place good and tight. Don't rush getting it to line up nicely as you have a few minutes before the glue starts to go off. Use some shaped packing so that you can apply maximum pressure with your clamps, and use as many as you can fit in. Wipe the excess glue away with a damp cloth and leave for 24 hours. Next day remove the clamps. If there's any glue line left it can be carefully scraped back with a razor blade.

The screw hole may need some packing if it's been gouged out in the tumble. A cocktail stick would be ideal, knocked in while the glue is still wet if that's where the split is. That will then need trimming and drilling out again when the glue is dry 

Reassemble. There will be "mojo" crack remaining, but hopefully not too big or obvious