Keldog Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Hi guys, A tech at Warmoth said this was the place so.............. What I've got is an older Epiphone LP that was given to me due to the broken neck. It's a set neck and I've heard that to change it, you heat it up and then crack it over your knee.....is this right? Also, I've found a bunch of replacement necks for Strats and Tele's, but I'm having a real hard time trying to find an Les Paul type neck. I've taken a look thru your site and can't find anything. Did I just miss it? Do you Guitar Guru's have any thought? Much thanks.............. Peace...Kel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Heating the neck and cracking it over you knee will result in a broken leg long before I releases the neck. If you *really really* need to remove the neck, it can be done, but it is much better to investigate ways of repairing the existing neck. How and where is it broken? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keldog Posted May 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Thanks for your time man... The neck itself was broke right below the head AND half of the headstock was broken off and missing. So...since I'm green at this stuff, I used Goriila Glue on the neck break and cut and shaped a piece of oak to make the other half of the head. I drilled a hole for a pilot pin (in the chunk of wood) to help the Gorilla Glue. I think I screwed it up. I can feel a crack at the neck break that wasn't there before. Yeah, it was a free guitar but this thing sounds sweet. I just don't think it'll hold. The repair was only about 2 months ago. Any thoughts? Thanks for your time. Kel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 "Broken knee" that's great Setch! He's right keldog. You could do like some of my customers have and use a saws-all, hack the crap out of it then look for someone to fix the damage then put a neck in! LOL Well, I'm no neck removal specialist, but there's bound to be someone with a better idea pokin' around this forum. Patience and steam work, from what I hear. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Well, Setch is too modest to point you toward this neck but it might work. Although now that I look at it, he says the heel isn't carved for an LP shape...so it might not work after all. But Keldog, since you were willing to make an attempt at fixing the guitar, why not go all the way? That is, start building your own neck... Finding a set neck for sale is pretty difficult, or expensive, but they do come up on ebay once in a while. Depends on how much you're willing to spend. But if you make your own, you'll be able to match the tenon to the existing cavity. And I've come across several sites about steaming off a setneck...it doesn't appear to be that difficult, just requires patience, like Doug says. You could post a few pictures too, maybe the damage isn't as bad as you say? Anyway, I'm only responding to this (I'm not any kind of expert) because your post gave me a bad dream last night...I dreamt the neck snapped on my beloved Melody Maker... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Any chance of pictures? They'd very much help in deciding whether it's easier to repair the neck (spline a whole new scarfed section in), or just steam out the neck. You'll very probably want to remove the fingerboard anyway, if the cracks are as bad as they sound, which should give you better access to the joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Hi guys, A tech at Warmoth said this was the place so.............. What I've got is an older Epiphone LP that was given to me due to the broken neck. It's a set neck and I've heard that to change it, you heat it up and then crack it over your knee.....is this right? Also, I've found a bunch of replacement necks for Strats and Tele's, but I'm having a real hard time trying to find an Les Paul type neck. I've taken a look thru your site and can't find anything. Did I just miss it? Do you Guitar Guru's have any thought? Much thanks.............. Peace...Kel Like Mattia said, any chance on pictures? Also where are you located? No info filled out as to your location? There might be someone close that can help with some hands on to guide you in this repair. If you're in the Dallas TX area I would be glad to look at it and help. MK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keldog Posted May 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 (edited) Thanks gentlemen... I've got these pics of the fix but I'll have to click off a couple close-ups of the neck now. I'm a little embarrased to put these up after checking out some of your guys pics in here... http://www.recordingproject.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=20755 I tried a "photobucket" thing for the pics but it said something about "dynamic pages" (not sure what that means) so I posted the link to this recording site I go to. If you scroll down, the pics I have so far are there. Thanks, I'm a little compooter illiterate...heh heh I never thought about making my own neck cuz I really don't have diddly for tools. Or knowledge. The sanding was done by hand or by a round sanding pad that I rigged up to my drill. Mickguard, How's the beloved??? Oh, and I'm in NE Nevada. Small town, no music stores. I'll get some close-ups to see what you guys think. I'm at work so I'll tune in thru the day if I've left out some info you might need. Many thanks gents. Kel Edited May 12, 2006 by Keldog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Mickguard, How's the beloved??? Just fine. Whew! As far as the repair goes...well, since you think it's starting to crack, you might as well start again on it. I'm not sure an Epiphone is worth as much as a luthier would charge you for fixing it. But you might find someone here who'll take on the project as a challenge --plenty of great builders here (I'm not including myself in that group ) Are you willing to pay--at least for the shipping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keldog Posted May 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Sure, I'll pay. It was free but I like the feel and sound of it so yeah, up to a point, I think it'd be worth it. But a question, I don't know if this is the norm, but what about finding an old guitar with a similar neck and doing an angled cut, at the same place on both and glueing the new head onto it. I guess that'd bring me back here to pick your brains a few more times but... Like I said, I'm no woodworker. I do OK at rough stuff but makin it purdy with finish work is a bit over my head. At least for now. I'm finding this guitar fixin is kinda fun. uh-oh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 glueing the new head onto it You mean like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keldog Posted May 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 uhmmm...yeah. Pretty much just like that. It looks like it was a straight cut. You don't have to do an angle cut then I take it?...oh so much to learn... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 uhmmm...yeah. Pretty much just like that. It looks like it was a straight cut. You don't have to do an angle cut then I take it?...oh so much to learn... Keldog, do you have any pics from the side? Showing the crack in relation to the fretboard? From what I saw it appears to be between the nut and first fret? But it's hard to tell. I would be more than happy to give a try if you would like to ship it to me. Let me know what I can do to help if I can. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 glueing the new head onto it You mean like this? Frankenstein's monster guitar? Guitar of the Living Dead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 http://www.dbeweb.com/guitar/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keldog Posted May 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keldog Posted May 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 OK...went thru the 4 pages of that Les Paul repair that Southpa posted, and man...if you guys do work like that, I'll send you ALL my guitars for workovers! Also learned quite a few things that I screwed up on my repair. I did fix my kids guitar with the same Gorilla Glue, but that was an easier fix and it was just the top of the head snapped. That one actually looks pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanb Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Nice link, Southpa. It's hard to tell from those pictures, but it looks like the whole headstock could be replaced with a new scarf joint (and maybe a little extra wood repair). It looks pretty doable. I'd try making a new headstock before replacing the whole neck. This is one of those perfect guitars for experimenting. Give it a shot. If it doesn't work out, you can always replace the neck later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keldog Posted May 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Well, I tried to take some good closeup pics of the head but NOW my camera took a dump... Lovely. But you're right Ryan, I'll go browsing thru here and see what you guys have been doing (find out what a scarf joint is ) and see what I can do. If you guys don't mind, I'd like to keep you in the loop so I don't pull another bonehead like the last repair... Peace gents... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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