Gibson Chet Atkins Model Cracked Headstock


1. The Back of the Headstock exhibits a long crack that goes right up to the tuning machine hole. Necks cut from one piece of wood (such as this one) are constructed so the grain runs parallel to the fretboard. This grain orientation is best suited for standing up to the string tension throughout the length of the fretboard portion of the neck.	2. The Side of the Headstock provides a good view of the less than ideal grain orientation. Unfort- unately one piece necks are weak at the headstock because the grain runs at, roughly, a 25 degree angle accross the side of the headstock. Many hand builders and manufacturers employ the use of a second piece of wood for the headstock. Typically the headstocks on such instruments are attached to the neck using either a finger joint or a scarf joint. Such guitars are head-strong indeed.


3. The Damaged Nut will need to be replaced. This one was made from micarta. I'll make the replacement from bone because bone is longer lasting.	4. Removing the Tuners with a deep socket allows room for the tuner to fit inside the socket without interfering with disassembally. I suppose that I could use a crescent wrench but the socket is just plain easier.


5. Loosening the Truss Rod Nut relieves the neck of unnecessary tension during the repair.	6. Filing the Nut Flat will make it easier to remove with a saw.


7. Cutting the Nut in Half will allow me to remove the nut without damaging the finish on the faceplate. Thin sheets of metal protect the headstock and the fretboard in case the saw slips.	8. Cutting the Nut in Half Cont. I'll cut through the last 1/32" of the bottom of the nut with a nut slotting file. The file cuts much slower than the dovetail saw so I don't have to worry about unecessarily cutting into the mahogany neck beneath the nut. Note the damaged finish on the side of the headstock from the crack in the headstock.


9. Breaking the Nut Loose with a block of wood and a mallet. I'm loosening the faceplate half of the nut first to prevent damage to the faceplate's finish.	10. Removing the Nut is really quite safe this way.


11. Hide Glue is the glue of choice for this job. Since the headstock is under such an enormous amount of tension I want to both obtain a strong glue joint and make it possible to be re-repaired should the guitar take another shot to the headstock.	12. Soaking the Hide Glue for at least a few hours (if not overnight) is crucial to a strong glue joint. I'll start fabricating my gluing cauls then caul it a night so the glue has a chance to thoroughly absorb all of the water.


13. Laying out the Back Caul is simple enough. I traced the shape of the headstock onto some poplar we've got hanging around the shop. I've chosen poplar for the cauls because I'll be doing some shaping with handtools to be sure that I have a good fit between the cauls and the headstock. Poplar is not a dense wood so it works easily with handtools.	14. Rough Cutting the Back Caul is simple and straightforward with the shop's scroll-saw.


15. Shaping the Clamping Surface with the shop's block plane. A few well placed cuts and I'll test fit the caul.	16. Test Fitting the Caul. It's looking good. I actually spent a few minutes planing the poplar, test fitting, then planing some more. All of this atten- tion to detail will really pay off during the process of gluing.


17. Lining the Caul with Rubberized Cork will both protect the lacquer finish from the clamping pressure and fill in any microscopic gaps between the caul and the headstock. Rubber cement is my adhesive of choice for this job. When I glue the crack I'll put a piece of scrap paper between each caul and the guitar to be sure that I don't glue the cauls to the headstock.	18. Heating up the Hide Glue only takes a few minutes in our "shop made" adjustable temperature glue pot. It's an electric tea kettle with a hole cut in the lid so it can serve as a double boiler, this con- traption was the brain child of violin family luthier Steve Selin. I'll heat the water in the double boiler up to just shy of 160 degrees f. This will ensure that my glue is just about as hot as it can get without overheating. The hotter the hide glue, the longer the open time. I've found that the glue loses its effectiveness if it's heated up much over 160 degrees.


19. Hot Hide Glue only has an open time (time in which it can be applied and the parts fully clamped) of a few seconds. Heating up the parts to be glued will increase the open time, however, this lacquer finished head- stock would react unfavorably to the shop's heat-gun. Instead I've cranked the shop's thermostat way up to get the air temperature a few degrees warmer. Then I'll injected some hot water into the glue joint to heat up the mahogany.	20. Gluing the Crack. With my hide glue mixed at full strength and heated up to temperature it's time to glue the crack. First I'll inject some hot water into the joint to heat up the mahogany, then I'll apply the hide glue with a pippette (with the tip widened to allow the glue to pass through).


21. Clamping the Glued Crack. I dry clamped the crack before applying the glue so I could be sure that the final clamping of the headstock will occur within 15 seconds of applying the glue.	22. Glue Squeeze Out is a good indicator that there's ample glue in the joint to get the job done. Also, squeeze out is a sign that I've applied ade- quate clamping pressure. I'll let the squeeze out gel up before wiping away what I can get at while the instrument is clamped. This will make clean up a bit easier.


23. Unclamping Happens 24 Hours After the Glue is Applied. A couple of minutes with some damp paper towels is all it took to clean up the squeeze out that I was unable to access while the headstock was clamped.	24. Ready to Touchup. All in all the glued up crack looks okay. A quick touchup will help hide the repaired damage none-the-less. You can see right down to the mahogany where the finish has chipped away.


25. Dying the Crack with some black analyne dye disolved in lacquer melt will both soften the surrounding lacquer in preparation for accepting new finish and dye the exposed mahogany at the same time.	26. Filling the Crack with Lacquer is most easily done with a hardwood dowel into which I've carved a sharp tip. Dowels shaped like this are also good for loosening up glue squeeze out such as around the bridge of a flat top steel string during a bridge reglue. I'll continue to apply lacquer to the crack twice a day (once every four hours) until I'm satisfied that the crack is flled.


27. Leveling the Lacquer should be done a week or more after the last application of lacquer is applied. On the back of the headstock I'm delicately trimming away the excess lacquer with a 1" chisel. After the lacqer in the crack is close to flush with the surrounding finish I'll switch to a scraper.	28. Scraping the Excess Lacquer is necessary prior to sanding and polishing the finish. In the rounded corner of the headstock I'm using a bent razor with a burr as a scraper.


29. Sanding the Finish in and surrounding the crack with 600 grit wet dry paper removes the scraper marks and prepares the surface for polishing.	30. Polishing the Finish begins with the micro mesh pads available through Stewart MacDonald. These pads polish nicely when lubricated with a bit of distilled water.


31. Polishing the Finish Cont. After I've gone through 7 grits of micro mesh (2,400-12,000) I like to use Stew Mac's #4 swirl remover.	32. Final Polishing the Finish is achieved with Stew Mac's preservation polish. It really brings out this Gibson's lacquer finish luster.


33. After. The chipped lacquer on the bass-side of the headstock (visible in photo #8) is hidden pretty well.	34. The Repaired Crack is Visible but much less noticeable now that the finish has been touched up.


35. A Glued Heastock touched up with lacquer and a new bone nut have this guitar ready for duty.