Official Luthiers Forum!

Sorry, I'm new here so if this has been covered, my apologies, please point me to the thread.

1. What's up with so many broken headstocks on Epiphone Les Paul's, and similar neck models (pretty much all)   They always break right at the nut but I can throw strats at the wall and jump on them and they don't break?  Is it the Mahogony?

2.  Best glue people have found to repair it? 

3.  Most important to me right now because I got my precious goldtop LP back to working condition:   What kind of filler or bondo do I use to fill in some 1/2" gaps where there is no wood because the splinters weren't all saved?   I was going to sand it, bondo it, then restain it even if it looks bad, as long as the neck feels smooth and plays well.

Thanks,
Carl
newbie

1: Crummy headstock joint. Fenders are usually one-piece necks, so no crummy joint to fail at.

2: Hide glue, if you can wedge it open and get some in there. Or epoxy, which'll stick to whatever's in there already if it's not a really clean break.

3: Superglue and wood dust

_________________
Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Hi

I repaired a headstock break on a cheapy 335 copy a couple of months ago.

Theres a good explanation of how to here:
FRETS

Additionaly I was given some excelent advice by Barry Daniels about how to clamp in THIS THREAD

As for touching up the paint. In my case the brak was pretty clean and I had all the bits so I just touched up the repair with nail varnish ( I remember reading theis idea somewhere , don't remember where ) let it cure a week and then sanded with fine grits. Its not an invisible repair but for a cheap guitar its ok.

Any way hope that helps - Mines held good for 2 months so far

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Richard

Oh and to directly answer your questions:

1. Grain orientation

2. Titebond

3. Epoxy

Remember that these are recomendations baased on the advice I recieved here rather than personal experience.

Cheers

Richard

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Richard

These breaks are called "Gibsonitis". They are caused by the short grain in the 1-piece mahogany necks and the large cavity for the truss rod. This leaves little wood to counteract the stress. A scarf joint eliminates the short grain, but this is extra work for the factory.

If you have gaps after gluing a break, I think you may have a potential problem. The gap minimizes the wood to wood contact you need for a proper repair. If the contact area is too small, I scoop out the area with a drum sander and glue in a properly fitted patch. This technique was borrowed from Charles Hoffman.

I just purchased a left handed Epiphone LP , a present for a friend. There is no break nor can I see any crack.
Should I do something before it may crack or wait to see if the break occurs?
Thank you,

Bob-
I think most of the Epi headstock breaks are the result of drops/shocks during shipping. You should be fine.

With any guitar, support the headstock well when shipping, and it's probably a good idea to release most of the string tension as well.

Cheers
John

Thanks John. Saved me much pondering on how to re-inforce before a break.