Hello, I've recently pulled my Les Paul out of storage to find that the neck is seperating from the body. I would like to repair it, but I have a few questions. Does the finger board need to be replaced? How should I go about re-attaching the neck to the body, can I just glue where the seperation is occuring and then clamp it down or will I need to pull the entire neck off and redo it? Also, what type of glue should I use, how long should it set, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Looks like a nice guitar, how about some full pics! To address your question; I would normally be tempted to make a repair myself, there are certainly strong enough glues available, but you are dealing with a Les Paul here. In the case of a very special guitar such as this, I would be inclined to find a qualified luthier. I believe it would definantly be worth it in the end.
Let us know how you make out with it.
It's sad to see such a nice guitar dieing, I'd agree that it's totally worth it to spend some cash on getting it fixed, unless you're sure you are up for the job.
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The first thing to do is get the strings off. It looks to me as if the fretboard is still attached to the body from around the 20th fret. Any more lift and the fretboard may crack.
Then take it to a luthier. He'll be able to tell you whether there's any warping in the neck, which may make a repair uneconomic. You'd have to weigh up the value of the guitar to you against the cost of the repair.
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I've got a similar problem with my Les Paul although it isn't as bad as yours, I posted a few threads below about it buzzing. I was also wondering if I should attempt this repair myself as I don't quite have the money to get it professionally done. I found a website that shows the repair of a cracked neck and warped fret board on a Les Paul with some nice photos and explanation. If you attempt it yourself please post your progress and your experience.
Here's that website I was talking about http://www.dbeweb.com/guitar/
I've got a similar problem with my Les Paul although it isn't as bad as yours, I posted a few threads below about it buzzing. I was also wondering if I should attempt this repair myself as I don't quite have the money to get it professionally done. I found a website that shows the repair of a cracked neck and warped fret board on a Les Paul with some nice photos and explanation. If you attempt it yourself please post your progress and your experience.
Here's that website I was talking about http://www.dbeweb.com/guitar/
Very nice job on that repair. I would do that if it were one of my guitars.
Thanks for the replies. I've taken the neck completely off, the glue was toast. It's a 1978 model, so that wasn't a big surprise. The neck and finger board seem to be fine; there are no cracks or warpage. I will take it in to a luthier to make sure, and then determine if I'm up to the task of re-adhering it myself.
How was it taking the neck off? Did you do the same as the link I posted? Did you run into any difficulties or can you offer any advice on doing this?
How was it taking the neck off? Did you do the same as the link I posted? Did you run into any difficulties or can you offer any advice on doing this?
It wasn't nearly as involved as the steps taken by the person that you linked to. I didn't remove the fingerboard or the pick-up, so all I had to do was take off the strings and then wiggle the neck out of the hole in the body. I could only suggest that you try the same, but if you run into any resistance that probably means your glues is still adhering the pieces together. In that case, you might want to follow the instruction in your link on how to seperate the pieces when glued. Good luck.
Just an update;
I took the guitar to a luthier to get an estimate. He told me that it would be around $300. I asked what work would actually be done for that price and he told me that there wasn't any damage so he would basically just sand down the dovetail and glue it back in place with some epoxy. The neck angle wasn't a problem because the way it sets when glued automatically applies the correct angle. I wasn't about to pay $300 for that, so I decided to do it myself.
I didn't want to use epoxy because of the permanency, so I just used some titebond wood glue. After sanding off the old glue, I applied the new glue, set the neck in place, and then clamped it down. It came out perfect. A few days later I took it in to get it set-up. The technician said the neck was straight as an arrow, and set-up was a breeze. The guitar sounds better than ever now; the action is incredibly fast. I'm very happy to have my guitar brought back to life for a mere $50! :D
Good work!
(Your "luthier's" expertise is suspect, BTW -- Epoxy is the wrong glue for this repair for exactly the reason you cite.)
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