Gibson Gospel Headstock Repair

 

The headstock on this guitar had broken of due to an impact. The impact was strong enough to break off the headstock and crack the neck block inside the guitar. To make matters even more challenging, there was a previously unsuccessful attempt at gluing the headstock back on. That made the procedure a little more difficult.

Broken headstocks are not uncommon on some guitar with the truss rod adjustment nut in the headstock. It weakens the joint. You can see in the pictures how much material was removed around the truss rod nut.

Here is a picture of the truss rod nut. Notice all the wood removed around the nut!!! Also notice the broken string nut. This will be replaced during final set-up.

 

 

 

 

The bottom of the break is shown. The residual glue from the previous repair attempt can barely be seen. You can also see that there is not much gluing surface.

 

 

 

 

After a few hours of scraping, cleaning and fitting, the headstock is glued on. I used epoxy glue tinted to match the finish. Epoxy was needed because of the damage caused by the previous repair attempt. The fit was not as clean as it would have been if the break was fresh and not covered with glue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On such a small area, the hardest problem is getting all the clamps on the guitar. Clamps hold the headstock on and pressure to put on the end of the headstock to provide the best alignment possible.

 

 

 

Given the damage, this is a very good repair. A little clean-up and the guitar is ready to be strung.

The New England Luthiers is an association of professionals and amateurs brought together by a common love of making stringed instruments