re-attaching broken neck

If it's a clean break, it's an easy fix. It'll be glued with cyanoacrylate (superglue) and clamped in position. If you're handy, it's not that hard to do yourself. Shouldn't be terribly expensive to have it done by an experienced tech.

I wouldn't use superglue for that. I'd use titebond I or any Aliphatic resin emulsion type glue.

Then again I've never used superglue for a fix like that so I can't speak to it's effectiveness.

Can we see a picture?

really, superglue? It's mostly a clean break. Some missing shards, but not a ton. Would the glue hold up? I would probably use no more than regular tension strings on it.

If it's a clean break, it's an easy fix. It'll be glued with cyanoacrylate (superglue) and clamped in position. If you're handy, it's not that hard to do yourself. Shouldn't be terribly expensive to have it done by an experienced tech.

Ive seen some pretty amazing repairs on broken head stocks :D Somewhere in the forums is a pictorial of this type of repair, i can't seem to find it :?

Yes, it'll work. So will the glues Nick mentioned. They'd be superior for a glue job you might want to take apart at some future date.

You've got a problem with missing shards. No glue's going to replace them. The gaps will have to be filled, and depending on how good it's got to look cosmetically, the filler will have to be colored to closely match the surrounding wood, and the finish touched up.

If you'll scroll down this page about halfway, you'll find a whole series of articles on fixing broken headstocks:
http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/pagelist.html#Luthier

I'm looking around for a pictorial how-to I've seen on repairing broken rifle stocks. I've got a 1922 Czechoslovakian Mauser that UPS snapped right through the wrist. I did it the superglue way (which I had to do in several steps, as it wasn't a clean break), filled the slight gap left on the top surface with plastic wood, stained it to match the walnut and retouched the oil finish. It'd take close examination to tell it's been broken, and a lot of shooting hasn't harmed it. A good glue joint (using whatever kind of glue you use) is stronger than the wood.

Something that's both good and bad about common superglue is that it sets very quickly. You must make sure everything's well aligned when you push it together. After a few seconds, you won't be able to separate the pieces. You won't have to rig up a clamping setup to hold it, either, you just hold pressure by hand for a minute or two, then you can leave it to cure for a day or so. If you put too much on the surfaces, it'll squeeze out on the sides. It's often better to let that dry and carefully scrape it off than to remove it by wiping it off while wet or using solvents later. (Acetone and nail polish remover will dissolve it.) Leaving a small border of dry wood around the edges reduces the squeeze-out, but also may leave a small area that's not glued.

Lots of folks are using Gorilla Glue on broken rifle stocks now. It works well. It expands as it sets, and will squeeze out. It's slower curing and requires clamping.

From http://frets.com/ here's Frank Ford's opinions on glues:
http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Data/Materials/gluechart.html

This may seem silly to add since I don't recommend it but if you go the superglue route use gel not the regular. Gel works better on wood.

Personally I have done a couple with Titebond and/or regular yellow wood glue and some squeeze clamps with the rubber pads on them.

thanks. one thin I actually noticed once I went back to look at the guitar is hte headstock is actually proben in such a way were the break is diagonal and were the break occurs, the tuning pegs are exposed. a very nasty break indeed. Once I put the headstock back together, the tuning pegs get covered but will the pressure of tuning be a problem? The break is much nastier than I remembered though!

I think I might actually still end up taking it to get repaired. Any idea how much a repair like this might cost?

I'm going to side with Nick on this -- Titebond (original, not II), not superglue. Never superglue on a guitar, except for gluing non-structural, low-stress parts such as purfling or binding. Superglue does not flex -- it cracks catastrophically, it is murder on finishes, is known for its difficult workability ... and on and on. A rifle stock does not undergo the same long term stress as a guitar headstock. Looking at it another way: Many guitar headstocks have been successfully repaired with yellow (Aliphatic Resin) glue. It's easy to work with, easily cleaned away, incredibly strong, safe to use ... The only headstock repair this type of glue would not apply to is an absolutely clean, perpendicular cut -- tricky for any glue without some sort of modified splice or splint.

Do look at Frank Ford's glue chart. He's fixed a few broken guitars, too. :D

Do look at Frank Ford's glue chart. He's fixed a few broken guitars, too. :D

Interesting. Some comments:

Yellow/white glue category is an oversimplification. There are several formulations. Creep and water resistance are different among the various types. Some are specifically designed to mimic the properties of hide glue without the setting time issues.

There are also several cyano formulations, many to do with penetration versus gap filling. There are also accelerators for cyanos that aid aerobic setting and gap filling. Cyanos eat finish, as noted. This turns into a mess very quickly. The accelerator also eats finish.

Headstock breaks vary a lot, from clean to splintered, and the same techniques are not used for each case -- I suspect the choice of glue is strongly determined by setting time. The biggest difficulty in using yellow glue is swelling due to moisture absorbtion. Obviously, this would not be a cyano issue.