Repairs
Dropped your beloved guitar? Watched in horror as it plummeted to the floor, rendering the headstock asunder? Enthusiastically punched a hole in your soundboard? Never fear, for what at first may seem destined for the Great Gig In The Sky, can more often than not be put back together. As all structural repairs are unique, please view the following as just a guide. Indiviual assessments will be made on first viewing and options will be offered.
Headstock Repairs
Cracked, but still attached - From £50
Clean but separated, first time break - From £100
Quite a common sight amongst guitars with angled headstocks (most acoustics, Gibson Les Pauls and the like) are breaks that shear through the headstock in a straight line, continuing from the neck onwards. If the break is clean, with minimal chipping or loss of material, the headstock can quite easily be reglued. A 'Functional Repair' is performed, whereby the headstock is reattached via a special jig, ensuring a perfect fit and clamped for 48 hours. Visible cracks are then filled and smoothed over. The idea is that you can get your guitar back and playing without the time and expense of excessive aesthetic finishing.
Bad or Repeated Breaks - Spline Routing from £180, Backstaps from £250
Sometimes, guitars aren't so lucky to suffer a clean break. Some have had their headstocks broken several times. In such cases, it may be possible to reattached the headstock, but with some additional reinforcement to stop it happening again.
For Spline Routing, the headstock is cleaned and reglued as normal, then long channels are routed from the back of the headstock down the neck, either side of the truss rod channel. Hardwood splines are then cut to precisely match the routs and inserted with hot hide glue. The idea here is that the glue is essentially stronger than the original wood of the neck - rather than relying on one fractured gluing surface to combat the string tension, you now have several glue surfaces holding each broken part together making for a much stronger join.
Severe or repeated headstock breaks require what's called a 'backstrap overlay.' In these cases, the broken parts are jigged and reglued, but then the back of the headstock is cut away, tapering down onto the neck. A piece of matching hardwood is then shaped and curved with a heated bending iron to match the angle of the headstock. This is then 'overlaid' with hot hide glue, making one continuous repair. Because the wood grains in the overlay remain long, this results in a much stronger join than the instrument originally would have had. The faceplate will then be renewed with a hardwood veneer, before potential decals are reapplied and finishing can take place.
While this is a potentially expensive and time consuming repair, it can solve the issue of weak headstocks once and for all.
Patch/Crack Repair - £Ask
Assessment will be required for any patch work or crack repairs as each is unique to the instrument.
Acoustic Bridge Repair/Replacement - From £80
This may be necessary for instances of bridges lifting or popping off. Usually this is result of the bridge being incorrectly seated or glued straight onto a finish rather than bare wood. Where possible, the original bridge will be retained, cleaned, sanded and reattached. The old glue is softened with temperature controlled silicone heating blankets, meaning less risk of damage to the guitar top and finish, before the prepared bridge is refixed with hot hide glue.
Fingerboard Repair/Brace Repair/Chips/Dents/Scratches - £Ask
These are just a few of the more commen structural repairs we cover at Wintaura Guitar Works. However, structural issues come in many different guises, so please do get in touch for further information.