LTD FX-260SM Headstock and Neck Repair

This LTD FX-260SM came in with a cracked 5-piece Mahogany neck. The gaping crack extended all the way from the back of the neck to the headstock face. I was told was that the former owner had put it on the floor during a break from wood-shedding, and had himself stepped on the neck accidentally. Then, believing the guitar to be damaged beyond repair; he sold it to the current owner for the princely sum of 700 bucks.

The first part of this repair was cleaning the gaping "wound" of loose splinters, aligning any slivers of wood; and removing the truss rod adjustment nut. Super glue was then applied to the cracked areas, and clamps applied to hold the damaged areas in place.

The next day, the clamps were removed and wood shaved off the back of the entire headstock and neck, past the cracked area. Doing this would ensure maximum repair strength with the least wood removal. A pre-shaped Nyatoh backstrap overlay was then glued to the shaved area with Titebond III Ultimate Wood Glue, clamped; and the glue allowed to dry/cure for four days.

Once the clamps had been removed, tuner holes were drilled through the overlay; and tuners test-fitted. After the tuners were removed, the edges of the overlay were trimmed to fit the outline of the headstock, shaved to the correct contours; and sanded to 220 grit.

The Nyatoh backstrap was then successively stained and sanded to the desired shade, and then grain-filled with StewMac ColorTone Clear Grain Filler. The grain-filling involved repeated application and sanding, resulting in a surface level and smooth enough for Tru-Oil application. The front of the headstock was also sealed and smoothened in a similar manner, save for the staining.

Tru-Oil was then applied in the usual manner, with light sanding after every three coats. The Tru-Oil was applied to the whole length of the back of the neck in order to adequately blend in the repaired area. Tru-Oil was also applied to the front of the headstock to seal the cracks in the pre-existing lacquer and make them less noticeable.

After the final coat of Tru-Oil, the FX-260SM was set aside for a month to allow ample time for the finish to cure. Once the finish had cured and hardened, the whole guitar was waxed and buffed by hand (as I don't own a buffing wheel). The tuners and nut were re-installed, the guitar strung, set up and tested; after which I gratefully called it a day.

KAK Ukulele Bridge Reglue

According to its owner, this KAK Concert Ukulele was hanging on the wall when the bridge "suddenly popped off," taking some of the top veneer with it. So, the task before me was to re-glue both the bridge and veneer, and make the repair look presentable. I discovered that the bridge had popped off because there had only been a few squiggles of glue attaching the bridge to the veneer. The glue joint would have been much more secure if the bridge had been glued to the bare wood of the top, methinks.

After separating the slivers of veneer still attached to the bottom of the bridge, I carefully re-glued them to the top with Titebond III and lightly clamped them overnight. Once the glue was dry, I scraped off the excess glue and filled any gaps with super glue. The affected areas were then sanded, stained and sealed with a couple layers of Tru-Oil. If you look closely at the pics, you can make out the repaired areas.

As for the bridge, it's location was accurately marked on the top. Then, the boundaries were lightly scored with a sharp hobby knife and veneer carefully scraped off from the area within. The result was a neat rectangle that exposed the bare wood of the top. This would provide a good gluing surface for the bridge.

The bottom surface of the bridge itself was also prepped by sanding, with the intention of removing any old glue still sticking to it; and also provide a flat surface for maximum contact with the top. Once again, Titebond III was used to re-glue the bridge to the top.

The clamps were taken off after a week, and dried glue squeeze-out cleaned off. After light sanding and leveling, the whole top was sealed with Tru-Oil. The ukulele was then restrung, tuned to pitch, and delivered to its owner, who did declare that it "sounded better than before." Oh, happy day :)