Neck Pocket Crack On Rg550l

[gwertman]

Hi all,

I have an RG550L body with a crack at the neck pocket - I can post a pic if needed but it's like the one called common neck joint surface crack.

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/neckjoint.htm

I was about to have this body painted but I wasn't sure if the crack needs to be repaired for the neck to be stable. The crack goes all the way through. The wood is very thin there.

Thanks,

Gary

[cherokee6]

I think as the site says, you're going to need to take the neck off and check on how bad the crack is and why it happened. Perhaps it may only need a thin application of a fast drying epoxy in the crack. As it appears its more than the paint you need to figure out what stress its under that caused the crack or it may happen again after the repair. Good luck with it.

[gwertman]

Thanks for the reply - how would I put epoxy into the crack? It's such a thin crack, I wouldn't want to widen it would I?

[low end fuzz]

i think wahts more important is how 'long' the crack is; and even then its not as bad as it seems; go with C6 and epoxy the crack (for strenth) and level it off (for looks) and paint, just dont force the neck in there and/or wobble it from side to side to get it out

[gwertman]

Does the epoxy get applied from the inside of the pocket or from the outside? Is there already a tutorial on this since it's apparently so common?

[rhoads56]

99.999999999% of the time, the wood isnt cracked, its the lacquer.

forget the epoxy, no matter how thin it is, its too thick.

If you are respraying with anything other than a transperant colour or clear, hit the area with thin CA glue. It will seep in and strengthen the entire area, and stop this happening again.

This is so common, that Fender do not cover it under warranty, even if the guitar has not been sold yet.

[pmarlin]

I have that same JEM with the same crack, its just the finish that is cracked.