I decided to re-assemble the instrument and let the kid "have at it." I felt so bad for him. Sinking his hard earned money into a coveted instrument and not getting to play it. So we will watch and wait. If the crack opens up we can attack it with some glue and clamps.

Until that time is there a good link to some site were I can learn about "busicuit cuts" I am not familiar with that technique.

Again, thanks all for your suggestions.



Hou-tex, I used to do that until I took up guitar again about 3.5 years ago. I quit RC because I was afraid I would cut some of my fingers off, or at least mess them up, and would not be able to play guitar. Also, whenever I was messing with RC I kept thinking should'nt I be practicing guitar.

But I still love RC and have a bunch of the stuff stored away.

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I remember when we were free!

Judging from what I see my suggestion would be to drill 2 holes, 1/16 in diameter.
Drill One hole from the top of the headstock.... Thru the tuner hole on as much of a horizontal angle that you can get.....You want the drill bit to actually follow the direction of the crack sort of like attempting to enlarge a fissure...Drill as far as you can into the crack without penetrating to the other side....Flip the headstock over and same process.
Now you have a conduit for inserting glue with a syringe. Instead of a plastic tube extension, look for those big syringes that are used in Veterinary medicine, they should be applicable.
Also you will need to carefully spread open the crack at the same time as you insert the glue, using Irwin quick grips should be good, with their rubber clad jaws you can grip the headstock, apply leverage as needed.
After glue is inserted and don't be skimpy, you want to make sure the glue enters the crack as far as possible.....Clamp the headstock with the Irwin's to close up the crack and allow to set and cure over a few days....( glue being water soluble, clean off excess on the surface before setting aside to cure, after clamping shut.....
Refinishing will just take light sanding with 600 to 800 to 1000, Mask off sections where you don't want overspray and spray a couple of light coats over the repaired section, then lightly wet-sand then buff and reassemble....Voila...

Caveat....Take Your Time...This will take a few days to complete, don't rush...
Any doubts or questions, ask us first before proceeding....

EDIT.. I suppose that what happened is that the tuner hole is too restrictive or too small and needs to be reamed out...The result of the neck drying out, thus shrinking, but as the tuner post is metal and does not shrink like wood, the stress resulted in the weakest point ( tuner screw hole ) link thus the head cracked....I would also take all the other tuners off and check for clearance...the tuner should fit in snuggly, meaning you push it with your finger, it is snug but not tight, if you have to use a small plastic mallet to drive it home, then the hole is too small and needs to be enlarged slightly...This goes for all the tuner holes or as a matter of fact any guitar...

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[quote="oneal lane"]A friend of mine's son purchased a Yamaha 5 string Bass from a pawn shop and realized later it had a crack in the headstock. Returning the instrument is not an option.

The crack starts at the base of the upper half of the "spade shaped head" and radiates forward into the "E" string socket and then forward into the "A" socket getting thinner as it goes.

Attached is a photo. I mean to take better photos and color the fault line with a pencil mark so it shows up better. For now this is what I have. Suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance



To follow up on the biscuit cut....I advise against it unless you are a cabinet maker....
It is very tricky...But if It was I ( my Bass ) I would cut into the headstock with a fine japanese saw, they are perfect for this kind of meticulous detail work...
Cutting by following the crack all the way to the tuner hole, so in essence I would now have a thin sliced out ( blade width fissure ). Next would be to insert a thin biscuit, but they are not thin enough, thus I would get a small piece of Maple Veneer, insert glue in the fissure ( liberally ) apply glue on both sides of the veneer sheet piece, insert into the fissure, then clamp all tightly and let set....
Of course the veneer needs to be trimmed to size ( width ) prior to inserting, leave 1/4 inch on each side of the headstock so you can grab and pull the veneer into place with needle nose plyers. Then proceed to trim flush with razor knife (after clamping )...clean off excess glue and repeat finish procedures on my previous post..
BTW One would have to measure veneer thick ness and possibly have to sand to thickness since the veneer's thickness must match the fissure's width, should fit snugly in not tight...
The glue will act as a lubricant when pulling the veneer into place....

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "