Sheraton neck cracking - should I panic?

[cognistudio]

Guitar is in mint shape and there would be no questions about abuse etc. It hasn't been played more then 100 hours if that many. However, although I am the original owner I never sent in warranty card. How strict are they with this?

[duane v]

Guitar is in mint shape and there would be no questions about abuse etc. It hasn't been played more then 100 hours if that many. However' date=' although I am the original owner I never sent in warranty card. How strict are they with this?[/quote']

 

Contact Gibson Customer Service.

 

:)

[cognistudio]

Called them and was told to take a hike. No original receipt, no service. Cause, you know, maybe I built it myself and put epiphone sticker on it.

[charlie brown]

IMHO, If I were you, I'd Fix it, NOW. As the old saying goes: "You can pay me a little, now...

OR, you can pay me a LOT, later!"

Any decent Luthier will be able to fix that, even out the finish as well, and you'll be back in business, in no time.

 

CB

[dcooper830]

I have an Epi DOT Studio with a finish crack at the neck joint. It looks bad...... but I think it's no big deal cause in the 2 1/2 years I've had the guitar it's never gotten any worse and I play it a TON.

 

I'll try to post some pics later. It's similar to OP's.

 

 

 

 

.

[gearhead]

What an inovative way to fix a neck problem..turnbuckles..would have never thought

of that. Gives a new meaning to the term "heavy metal" LOL!

 

 

Um........I was kinda wondering what the fingerboard looks like?

 

I'm a mechanic/machinist and I've done some, shall we say, "field modifications" before, but not to that extent!

[smips65]

 

Step One:

Take it in and have it verified, crack in wood, or crack in finish.

 

If the wood is cracked, the repair may not be as difficult as appears. Musikron helped me with my acoustic repair.

 

Step Two:

If it turns out to be a wood crack, pilot holes and needles only work so well. You'll need to stress the crack open further, very gently, and work watered down glue into the crack. Without movement, the glue only works into the crack just so far, and you'll end up with an incomplete glue joint.

 

Now your crack being at the body end of the neck takes me out of my experience, others here may know how to create that open and close you'll need to get a proper glue joint.

 

When I made my repair, I used thin strips of mylar that could be worked into the crack.

 

 

 

 

 

Just some thoughts...

[cognistudio]

I took the guitar to a highly respected tech. He thinks that likely it wasn't quite glued properly and there was second attempt to put some glue at the tip of that joint while still at the factory. There is darker stain over that section and he thinks it was due to having tried to hide that spot. He thinks likely only the last 1/2" of that joint is affected and that there is a reasonable chance it won't get worse in the near future. He'll patch up the crack cosmetically and I'll cross my fingers. Doing any other elaborate fixing would be economically silly given the cost of the instrument and not knowing whether it really has a problem or not. Even spending money to have him patch it cosmetically may be dumb, but I'll take my chances that neck won't come apart for the next few years.

[carverman]

Called them and was told to take a hike. No original receipt' date=' no service. Cause, you know, maybe I built it myself and put epiphone sticker on it.[/quote']

 

Well I rest my case! LOL! The "limited" lifetime warranty is just that..limited to the

amount of time it's hanging on a wall in the store. Once you buy it, the dealer

is responsible for fixing or exchanging it for you, depending on how bad the damage

is..the dealer can then attempt to get some credit from the distributor and so on.

Generally speaking the "lifetime warranty" is next to useless..you are farther off

fixing it yourself or taking it to a local instrument repairperson.

[carverman]

I took the guitar to a highly respected tech. He thinks that likely it wasn't quite glued properly and there was second attempt to put some glue at the tip of that joint while still at the factory. There is darker stain over that section and he thinks it was due to having tried to hide that spot. He thinks likely only the last 1/2" of that joint is affected and that there is a reasonable chance it won't get worse in the near future. He'll patch up the crack cosmetically and I'll cross my fingers. Doing any other elaborate fixing would be economically silly given the cost of the instrument and not knowing whether it really has a problem or not. Even spending money to have him patch it cosmetically may be dumb' date=' but I'll take my chances that neck won't come apart for the next few years.[/quote']

 

If it's at the heel scarf joint, it should be ok..unless the guitar drops from falling off

the strap. Most of the tension is between the nut and the tailpiece. The neck will be

glued inside to a block of some sort and the heel extension is just that. I think that

the tech will do a fine job on it and you will save yourself shipping and possible

damage from shipping it to Epiphone, even if they were willing to fix it.

More than likely they would just send it out to repair shop anyway.

[carverman]

 

Step One:

Take it in and have it verified' date=' crack in wood, or crack in finish.

If the wood is cracked, the repair [b']may [/b]not be as difficult as appears. Musikron helped me with my acoustic repair.

Step Two:

If it turns out to be a wood crack, pilot holes and needles only work so well. You'll need to stress the crack open further, very gently, and work watered down glue into the crack. Without movement, the glue only works into the crack just so far, and you'll end up with an incomplete glue joint.

 

Now your crack being at the body end of the neck takes me out of my experience, others here may know how to create that open and close you'll need to get a proper glue joint.

When I made my repair, I used thin strips of mylar that could be worked into the crack.

 

 

Your method is ok..the other thing that can be done is to clamp the neck and body

VERY CAREFULLY under tension (to spread the crack slightly without causing any

further damage), and inject a type of glue that is thinner. Some

glues will still be ok "water down" but others won't. One glue that I have used

that will tolerate being thinned down is WeldBond. Just don't water the hell out

of it, because as you thin out the resin binders, the glue will lose it's strength as

well when cured. Some people use a form of hypodermic needle, but you can

use a piece of cardboard(bristolboard) or mylar with glue spread on both sides and attempt to slide

that into the crack as far as it can. The glue joint will always be stronger IF both

sides of the crack are coated with glue then clamped under pressure again.

[smips65]

I used Titebond in a 1/3 water to 2/3 glue mix. The liquid was easy enough to work into the areas, but work with pace, it will start to dry out. Moist paper towels cleaned it up pretty quick.

[peeper]

Oh yeah caverman, I have a nice selection of hypos for just that! But for the noob, ( or the busy pro) tite-bond or similar is very easy to work with, cheap, readily available, and capable of later dis-assembly. For most repairs its my first choice.

 

Now, if its a vintage guitar or other high dollar axe, I try to use period correct materials and methods for all repairs. That means breaking out the glue pot and melting some stinky hide. Hate that stuff man, but, gotta do what you gotta do I guess.

 

I also have a large selection of superglues, epoxy's, and saw and sanding dust.

[carverman]

That's not the "scarf joint". That's the heel. The scarf joint on Epiphones is located where the wood for the neck and headstock are joined together. It is created by cutting the piece of neck wood at a sharp angle' date=' reversing the two pieces and joining them back together. Here's how Godin does it:

 

http://www.seagullguitars.com/reverseheadstock.jpg

 

A scarf joint is just a particular kind of joint. The heel does not use this kind of joint.

 

[/quote']

 

Yes, you are technically correct. A scarf joint, as it applies to woodworking is a joint

that is cut at an angle, as in the neck and headstock. On most guitars the additional

wood used to extend the shaping of the heel is basically a "butt joint"..where the

additional piece is basically glued flat onto the existing piece of neck/heel.

Whatever...it still a separate piece of wood and sometimes that piece of wood has

a different grain or come from a different tree area than the piece that the neck

and beginnings of the heel is shaped from.

 

Depending on the wood fibers, and glue used, the joint can expand over time and

show a stress crack.

[carverman]

Oh yeah caverman' date=' I have a nice selection of hypos for just that! But for the noob, ( or the busy pro) tite-bond or similar is very easy to work with, cheap, readily available, and capable of later dis-assembly. For most repairs its my first choice.

 

Now, if its a vintage guitar or other high dollar axe, I try to use period correct materials and methods for all repairs. That means breaking out the glue pot and melting some stinky hide. Hate that stuff man, but, gotta do what you gotta do I guess.

 

I also have a large selection of superglues, epoxy's, and saw and sanding dust.

 

Yes agreed. Any experienced instrument repair man (uh..person) will have an arsenal

of specialty glues and tools for fixing cracks on guitars, which are more common than

not. I wasn't trying to promote a specific repair method, since each guitar crack or

repair is different..just a point of discussion and something to throw on the table.

I enjoy woodworking joints and carving of course, so these kind of topics interest

me more than most.

[cognistudio]

I just remembered this thread. I still have this guitar, and 10 years later, with 11-49 strings  the entire time, this crack hasn't changed. I guess if I decide to sell it, I will have to refer the potential buyer to this thread. It looks dramatic in this photo because of lighting, but in reality it is quite hard to see and you can barely feel it.

Edited July 12, 2020 by cognistudio