CONFESSIONS OF A LUTHIER ...
Alex Bishop blends old wood with new in an attempt to fix a severely damaged guitar headstock
If guitars could talk, I’m certain the instrument laying across my bench would recount innumerable tales of late night rock ’n’ roll excess and halfremembered gigs. One can imagine the countless ballads accompanied in smoke-filled folk clubs, or hear thrashed powerchords on a sweaty open mic night. The corrugated surface of the cedar top was worn away beyond the finish long ago, scarred by the relentless attack of plectrums and fingernails digging into the soft timber. This instrument is an icon and celebration of the power and energy of live music.
Unfortunately, though, it has strummed its swan song. A long split along the treble side of the soundboard creaks open as the strings are detuned. A gnarled nut falls off the guitar in a couple of pieces, and the splintered headstock yawns open like the jaws of some dying animal.
Broken headstocks are one of the most common repairs that pass through my workshop, and indeed to most guitarists it can appear fatal. However, there are just about as many ways to fix one as there are ways of breaking them. The instrument in question had had a chequered history – signs of multiple previous botched headstock repairs were obvious, and this proved to be an obstacle in what I hoped would be a straightforward job.
Action Plan
Once I had removed the machineheads, I wanted to simply close the crack with a pair of heavy duty F-clamps and clamping blocks either side of the headstock. However, the build up of old epoxy glue and swelled wood meant nothing was going to close it, so there was only one thing for it – put the headstock out of its misery and fully break it off myself.
With the headstock removed, I could properly inspect the damage. There was no way I was going to be able to graft the old headstock back on without drastically shortening it, and in any case the shattered 0.6mm thin veneer on the front was totally compromised and would offer no structural assistance in preventing such damage from happening again, especially once the full force of six steel strings was pulling on it. So I opted to remake the headstock from scratch and splice it onto the spear-like remains of the guitar neck.
Picking an appropriate piece of wood was going to be the next step. Luckily, the timber flotsam strewn throughout my guitar-making workshop yielded a piece of mahogany that would match the rest of the neck perfectly. After a few swift cuts on the bandsaw, it was whittled down slightly oversize, to be then glued on as a ‘scarf’ join. This is the mos
