I was always overbuilding my guitars/repairs. Dad would always say "Sal, you're not building a battleship". But it did come in handy when the guitar fell or was dropped. You rebuilding this neck is WELL worth your time. Congrats !
Sal, thanks for watching! I may have learned to overthink things from my Dad. He got the job done, but gave everything a lot of thought. He also said "you'll never know if you build it too strong". I like that one, it's stayed with me. I'm hoping for a better instrument when complete, making a few design changes to the neck along they way. Should be interesting. Many thanks! Be safe and take care!
Yeah I have the same attitude. That is why I like these old tube radios from the 50s. My dad had one and when you press the buttons it feels like you are moving a massive object. These things just never break similarly to old IBM keyboards. The only product to have a similar switch feel was an electric beardtrimmer from Brooklyn soap company I bought. It feel just amazin to flip the switch and it's made out of stainless steel not flimsy plastic. I hate all this plastic stuff. Unfortunately few things are built that way. But it really is worth the money to invest in more high quality products.
Making a veneer from the headstock was impressive. I definitely wouldn't have bothered going that extra mile... especially for an inexpensive Epiphone, but I'm very curious to see it completed.
Old Man Zen, thanks for watching! I hear ya and like you said "inexpensive Epiphone". Hope this will be a "custom shop" Epi when it's done. I kinda feel it will have more brand appeal with the Epi logo, than if I put TNP on the headstock. I really need to develop a "brand" for my scratch builds, been thinking about it, just can't land on the right thing. Hope all is well, be safe and take care!
Hehe, I wasn't sure if that slipped out. I can't wait to see where this one goes, on the edge of my seat. Hope you are doing well, be safe and take care!
A great start John. I suspect that neck was made of Maranti, a member of the mahogany family but extremely lightweight and sadly extremely weak. I think your decision to replace the whole neck is the only surefire way to stop this from breaking again and again. I can barely wait for the next episode. PS. You had me worried for a moment with YOUR neck brace!
Hey Martin, good to hear from you and thanks for watching! "Maranti", I'll go look that up, sounds about right. I was visiting with a furniture builder recently, small talk about lumber..., I mentioned this project and the neck wood. He said it is likely Lauan, or Philippine mahogany, which is probably a sibling of the Maranti you mention. Maybe the same stuff by a different name. It is a good looking wood, but there was just too much working against it at that little spot in the neck. Weak lumber, small cross section surface, a big trussrod trench cut through... A perfect place for a failure, and it did. A maple neck should give this guitar a fighting chance. Hope all is well, be safe and take care!
Great start to another very interesting project. Over the years, you have become more ambitious as well as more competent, I remember earlier videos where you often ran into trouble and had to start again. Never taking the easy path, your projects are always facinating, very informative and most of all extremely enjoyable. Looking forward to the next installment.
Denzil, thanks for watching and the compliment too! I do run into trouble don't I. Most people run away from a fire, I start the fire, then run into it, LOL. Something wrong with that picture - Bahahaha! The easy path, heard of it, just never followed it. More entertainment off-road. Glad you're enjoying the projects, and thank you for hangin' with me over the years. I'm glad these videos make it worth while to come back. I really do appreciate that. Be safe and take care my friend!
ranman, thanks for watching! I'm rolling with it, not sure where it will take me yet. Pretty sure it will be better than when this guitar left the factory. The suspense!
As always, fantastic video and amazing work! 👍👍 Really love the idea of using a “veneer” of the original headstock, thus repairing/improving the guitar while allowing it to keep it’s “identity”. Can’t wait for part two!
P Chudzik, thanks for watching! Glad you are enjoying the projects and videos, greatly appreciated! You got it, I'm hoping to help this guitar keeps its identity, although it will be a unique Epi when done. Ep2 is probably a couple weeks out, stay tuned!
Here's the story... I was wrestling with my girlfriend, and she put a whoopin' on me. I like her, a lot! LOL, not really sure why I put the neck brace on, guess I was just in a goofy mood and wished there was a neck brace for these guitar issues. IDK. : )
Hey John, took me a split second to figure out why you had the brace on. At first I was like oh no what happened then, I remembered your title. Glad to see you have another series going, and dont have a broke neck yourself :)
Jason, good to hear from you and thanks for watching! Sorry for the "shock and concern", LOL. I was feeling goofy, saw the neck brace and thought - why not? This should be a fun project, a lot to figure out and improve on. Good times! Hope all is well for you and the misses. Be safe and take care!
gearViewmirror ( I like that! ), thanks for watching! I expect it will be a better guitar once complete, than when it left the Epi factory. Just a guess. Be safe and take care!
Thanks for watching and I hope the video(s) will be of some help down the road. Seems each fingerboard I've removed has it's own personality. Some have surrendered willingly, others refused and are forced into sawdust. This one was stubborn, but wants to survive and have a new life. All good. Hope you are doing well, be safe and take care!
Michael, thanks for watching and greetings for Florida US. This project was really an excuse for me to make another tool to help me with what will be happening in Episode 2... ah, the suspense. Hope you are doing well. Be safe and take care!
914, thanks for watching and good to hear from you again! Glad you enjoyed the kickoff of the project. Hope all is well for you, be safe and take care!
Hey John, each time you make a new video, you amaze me once more. On Saturday, I hope to get back my kit-p-bass. But unfortunately, I have to wait a bit, before I collected some more money on my bank account, before I can buy that Gotoh bridge, as my car needs some repair.
Achim, good to hear from you and thanks for watching! I understand having to put one project aside due to something else needing attention. Car repairs, gotta do that too. Good luck with the repairs, hopefully all will be minor and you'll be back to guitar fun soon. Take care!
How did you separate that veneer from the block of wood? Lots of videos show what you did, but no one shows how they separate something that thin without cracking it.
Scott, great question and sorry I glossed over that. I used a couple layers of the blue painters tape, which is a medium tack masking tape. I also applied the blue tape to my t-shirt a couple times before sticking it to the headstock. The tape picks up some lint from the t-shirt, which reduces the stickiness just a little bit more = less tacky. With a couple layers of the blue tape stuck together, and "de-tacked", I was able to gently pull the layers of tape apart. It was a gamble, as the veneer is mostly clear coat, decals and a couple thousandths of wood fiber. It could have cracked, and if I'm not careful with it, I may still crack. I hope that helps shed some light on the process. Let me know if you have other Q's, I'll try to offer better explanations. Take care!
Musterionsurly, thanks for watching! This guitars neck lumber is sooo ???, and the break is so /. I just couldn't attempt a spline repair. I'm kinda thinking that the fingerboard is stronger than this neck lumber, hmm. Stay tuned!
LOL, hey Mike! Thanks for watching and sorry for the nickname confusion. They call me "Bond, Tite Bond". Oh boy, I'm goofy today. I'll tell Laura "Hi", and hope all is going well for you and the Ms. too. Be safe my friend!
Always an enjoyable time, John. I will say that you missed a good joke in saying “it’d be the last project” when you were saying you didn’t want to cut the neck off on your lap and cut your leg. This video was too short and I want more!
Hey Tim, thanks for watching! Ouch, that could have been "the last project". Sadly, I do things like that at times. Thinking "nothing bad will happen", then whoops, medic! I'm trying to mature and make better decisions, extend my life... you know. In a way I'm glad to hear you say "this video was too short". That makes me fell that I'm not making boring stuff, so that's good. Sorry to leave ya hanging though. I'm working on the next episode... stay tuned!
This is brilliant. I had the neck replaced on my Les Paul after years of issues with the neck. Really good to see the progress. Thanks for taking the time to share.
Jaco, thanks for watching! Sorry you had to go down the replacement road, but sometime these things just need to be done. Hope the new neck corrected the issues, giving you a "new" guitar basically. Hope you enjoy this project as it rolls out. I just took a glance at your channel, and WOW!!! you've got a lot of intricate things going on, very cool! I'll be lurking. Be safe and take care!
@@theNextProject I had an opportunity to try my hand at making a guitar and I’m hooked. Thanks for explaining so well. The Les Paul is a 68 reissue and it’s good as gold now - wood is the next frontier.
Hello John, I held my breath to see if the headstock face could be recovered. I had thought that you would glue the veneer together with the attached block to avoid an accident at the last moment. Great that it worked out! As always, the guitar will be better than it ever was - even if "hopefully" something goes wrong. Wink, wink. Stay safe my friend! Jens
Jens, good to hear from you and thanks for watching! That headstock veneer had a pucker factor going on. Then I kept trying to make it thinner... then realized I needed to get the veneer off the block... got real lucky. I'll see what I can wreck, then repair. It is early in the project, so there's plenty of time. Will do, and you be safe too my friend!
@@theNextProject Please don't thank me for watching, the joy is all mine. The fact that something goes wrong is not an end in itself! It is the essential ingredient for the perfect result. We are used to nothing more and nothing less from you.
I'm have a very similar epiphone LP. Headstock was thrown away so my only option was to remove it. Ended up just using some water and an iron to melt the glue away and it pulled right off. I ruined the finish but will refinish it anyway. Such a weird neck joint. I bought a new neck with a normal tenon joint. So that'll be a fun thing to figure it out. Great video I love watching your work and coming up with ideas to work on my own stuff!
Jake, thanks for watching! Sounds like you have a good and challenging project there. Keep me posted as you work through it, always good to hear what others are up to and how they resolve challenges. Glad you're enjoying the videos/projects too. Good luck with your project, be safe and take care!
MorrisMorrisson, thanks for watching! I think you are on the right track "binding the headstock". Pretty sure that will happen, unless something shiny catches my attention. Be safe, take care and stay tuned!
That was cool! Steaming off the fingerboard, routing out the neck pocket AND re-using the Epi headplate as a veneer. Looking forward to seeing your solution for the new neck joint too. I’m inferring from what you’re saying that the new neck will be left natural to show off the walnut strips, or perhaps stained / tinted rather than painted/ lacquered… But don’t tell… It’ll be a surprise for The Next Video. Cheers! PS: slight tangent if you’re interested: Huw Price of the Tone Twins TV YT channel did a great job recently showing/describing the Epi-c battle he had refinishing an Epi Firebird - seems like Epiphone have engineered their standard poly finish to withstand a nuclear blast, along with all the cockroaches
Museums, thanks for watching! Yep, a lot happening, steam, sawdust, recycling... crazy stuff! At this point i plan to,...oh, you asked me not to tell. I'll have to look up the Epi Firbird refinish video, what you're saying sounds about right. This LP has a fair amount of nuclear blast repellent on it as well. I originally started to scrape back the finish along the side of the fingerboard binding. After what seemed like an hour, I just scored where I expected the seam to be and brought out the heat. The finish is pretty durable. The urethane was probably doing what it could to keep the headstock from falling off, LOL 👍 Take care my friend!
You really are a sucker for punishment😂. Hi John, I think you are on the right track here bro, we are seeing a lot of "mahogany" in the trade which might look like mahogany but thats where it ends. Most is light, quite soft and really lacks structural strength. In contrast, one of my senior colleagues has mahogany salvaged from various jobs over a long life in the trade and it is a different material altogether. We have mahogany and other timbers salvaged from old furniture, doors etc all sitting waiting to be used. You would only have to touch it to know its miles better that the timber used in many guitars today Anyway, looking forward to seeing how this repair progresses. Take care.
Hey Brian, good to hear from you my friend! Thanks for watching! I do love a little self inflicted punishment. Seriously now, that is so cool you and your colleague have salvaged and can compare vintage lumber to current samples. I have nothing against Epiphone, actually love the option to get an affordable "Gibson", but there is something really wrong with the neck lumber, but perhaps I've just crossed paths with a couple special (weak) samples. However, I have seen a sleep of broken Epi's in vids and for sale. I thought about the spline repair for this guitar, but my current thinking is to save that process for a project with better wood to start with. This guitar, and the one I repaired last year, both broke while in a box. The boxes weren't damaged, but both guitar had nearly identical breaks. I don't have the right education to make a call, but I have suspicion and it points to crap lumber ( plus some manufacturing issues ). Sigh. So, send me some vintage mahogany and I'll build a better guitar ; ) Until then this Epi gets a maple syrup and walnut neck, yum! Hope you and family are doing well, best wishes to you. Be safe and take care!
It will be great if you make the open book headstock like Gibson and use the Epiphone veneer on top. Just like the Greeny or Adam Jones' Custom Epiphone. Great video as always!
Çizgi Filmci, thanks for watching! That is exactly the plan. I hope to trim to the contour of the Epi open book shape, use the head veneer to locate tuners, probably add binding all around... Hoping it all goes smoothly. Many thanks and stay tuned!
Anyone that didn't hit the like button as soon as they saw you in the neck brace needs to have themselves checked out. Fantastic! Another great video and I can't wait to see the next episode.
LOL, I like that! Hey John thanks for watching. Working on a project to help me get the next step of this project underway. I seem to cause myself a lot of extra work. Never take the easy path, hehe! Hope all is well for you, be safe and take care!
You’re work is usually top notch. My question is to the owner why bother with an Epiphone? You can buy a new one for the less than the cost of the repair.
Chet, thanks for watching! Great question and here's the answer.... The owner is "me". It is true, a new purchase would be less than the cost of the repair, but where's the challenge in that? LOL. Here's the story... I had sold this guitar some time ago, and the neck snapped during shipping. The box was undamaged, but the neck just "popped". So the minimal string tension and some vibration were enough to do it in. That's a clue to part of the issue with these guitars. It was a nice guitar (other than the poor neck lumber), so it seemed like a good opportunity to try something a bit different. I hope to be able to sell this guitar once it is completely repaired. Right now I'm out $400+ (sale value and round trip shipping costs). UGH! I hope it will at least sell for the $400 when complete, but - it is an epiphone, so it may only be worth ? Sigh. I don't make good choices very often. Hope all is well, be safe, take care and stay tuned for more misplaced efforts ; )
Epiphone (like Gibson) has no interest in changing anything to make neck breaks less likely. If they wanted to, they would have done it years ago. Actually, Gibson did do something about it in the 70s when the started using volutes and also maple (sometimes laminated) for some necks. But you know everyone's least favorite era for Gibsons, right? The reality is, if you break a neck you may buy another Epiphone. If the neck doesn't break, they only get to sell one guitar to you. The easiest way for them to address it, if they wanted to, is to make a scarf joint at the headstock. You solved the issues in your neck of course. Nice project.
Gee Mac, thanks for watching! Agree'd, they don't/won't/resist making a needed change. I hope upper level executives don't see broken headstocks as an opportunity to sell another product, but rather it being a chance to lose a customer to a different brand. I would expect a maple or laminated maple neck to resist "most" potential breaks, but I've repaired broken maple necks on fender style guitars too, so things just happen. When the guitarist is drunk and falls off the stage...things break. Hope you are doing well, be safe and take care!
I had an epiphone emperor pro 2 and after I looked at the neck, I sold it. I'm that guy that'll bump it. It was upsetting to see such carelessness that I'll only stay with my older maple neck epiphone basher from 2000. Wow, it's 24 now. John, you goof, thanks for the laugh 😅. I keep wondering how I'm gonna get that starcaster from you... you tug my heart strings with that, make a demo! I wanna hear it.
Ah, the Red starcaster has gone down the road, it's living in the mid-west now. I wish I were a better player to offer worthy sound samples. For now, we'll all have to imagine better sounds than what I can offer.
Lyricbread, good to hear from you and thanks for watching. I know right?! A broken LP, it's like finding a unicorn or pot of gold, what are the chances? I'm not sure how to enjoy my good fortune - bahahaha! We will soon see how I spend my time, stay tuned. Be safe and take care!
I needed this video today. I’ve just bought an Epiphone Les Paul with a very similar neck break, but mine has a broken truss rod too (somebody tried to repair the headstock and ended up with gluing the truss rod) and has lost a lot of wood. I have been wondering all day if I should try to repair the neck or just build a new one (I have never built a neck with angled headstock). I guess I’ll wait for your next video to see how hard it is
Fab, thanks for watching and hope this project helps in some way. I think there are a lot of poorly "repaired" headstock guitars out there. I've seen a number of videos where someone just smooshes glue or epoxy in the crack and calls it a repair. Kinda hurts to see that, but it happens. I'll be making a new angled headstock neck as you mentioned, but honestly you could make a flat (fender) headstock type neck. It's your guitar, build what you want. I'm hoping episode 2 will be out in a couple weeks, sorry to leave ya hanging. Be safe and take care!
FYI, the wood used in my 2000 basher is so unique. Some kind of speckles in the grain. I've only seen that once before. The neck feels like that of one from a Gibson and not an epiphone. It still looks new too. Ofset dovetail makes it unique. You should copy that style headstock just to throw in some neat twist. 👌
I wonder what that wood is that you mentioned? I think Epiphone lists these guitar as "manhogany" (lower case "m"), and I was visiting with a furniture maker a few days back, talking about lumber supply issues (exciting stuff). He said the neck is very likely "Lauan", which is a Philippine mahogany... so a cousin of a cousin of mahogany. He said it's really cheap and light. I asked if it is the same stuff used in Lauan underlayment flooring, "yep" he said. Ahhh!. I hope to keep the Epi headstock shape, but maybe dress it up a bit. Make it a custom shop edition, LOL Who knows where this will go.
@@theNextProject , ah yeah, just suggestions to get the creative juices flowing. Although, one of my friend's on here did one of my suggestions and I just about died cause I was so happy. No credit was given but oh well, I don't need attention. It was to do a review of his last year of guitar 🎸 skills advancement followup (taking classes) it was encouraging for sure. Landon Bailey from Canada 🇨🇦 my age. 45 ish
I keep thinking to record my practice and playback to track improvement. Sadly I don't practice enough to even get my phone or a camera out to record. I need to set aside time for practice, as I really to enjoy attempting to play, if I ever get better - I should enjoy it even more!
LOL, that sounds about right! Ah, I'm still laughing about that, must be true. I like a challenge, most are self-inflicted, as is the face veneer idea. At least I learned a new trick, kinda. Now I just need to keep from breaking it before I can get it on the new neck. Be safe, take care and stay tuned!
Zubalea, yes that is a 6 year old prototype thickness sander. I have ideas for a V2, but this one is working so well, I don't know if I'll get around to it. I have some plans, maybe I could put together a walk-through video, not really a build, but a presentation and some plans. Hmm. I'll give that some thought. Hope all is well, take care!
I’m guessing you used the lowest temperature setting possible to get the fingerboard off. Just curious what setting you used. Great project!! Love the headstock veneer.
Thanks for watching! I started low temp, but kept ramping it up as the clock spun. The iron was cooking the water out of the rag pretty quickly, and the fingerboard was pretty warm to the touch. I didn't get hot enough to melt the binding or the inlays. The glue used did a great job of holding on, as it should. The headstock veneer will "hopefully" allow me to keep this an Epiphone, albeit a "custom Epi". Be safe and take care!
Stephen, thanks for watchin! That's a great question, I have no idea how they prep their lumber. The neck was crazy lightweight. This is the second Epi LP from about the same time period, with nearly identical breaks. Both broke "in the box" too, weak lumber - a big problem. Be safe and take care!
hey amigo - when you flush mount pickups --- 4-40 inserts? hrmmm what length screws do you need for that kind of mounting without the p'up ring? i'd imagine the typical 1 1/4" is not necessary. also ... we need pt. 2 🎸
Mikey, thanks for watching! Sorry, not completely following your question. Flush mounting pickups - single coils, strat or tele, humbuckers, p90... ? I did a body-mounted strat mod project where I mounted the 3 single coils into the body using 6-32 inserts, and I think those pickups needed 3/4" mounting screws. Here's that vid, hope it helps. ua-cam.com/video/dGZebMkmNXo/v-deo.htmlsi=xTzWcAfmDRmVD24v&t=310 Be safe and take care!
Hey john, wings for the body and ears for the headstock? What about Dumbo, who had wings for ears, or was it ears for wings? Anyway, another great video, keep it up man! 😊
Hey Mick, thanks for watching! I always call those add-on parts by the wrong name, brain thinks one thing, mouth says something else. I'll give Dumbo a call and ask what he prefers, LOL. Hope you are doing well. Take care!
Ah, this is my broken guitar, and I'll never pay myself for all the work. But, it is fun and educational for me. I really do like this kind of project, I feel "safe" when I can work on my own stuff, try ideas, take risks. Experience I can then feel confident with when a paying project shows up at the door. It's fun to see a video of things getting cut to pieces too, there is always that. Hope you are doing well, take care man!
Hey Chris, thanks for watching! Ha, I'm guessing there has been many mistakes, but we gotta give SM credit too. They do offer a lot of great stuff and stellar customer support, so that adds to the cost of everything. That said, if I can buy something locally, at a reduced cost... I will! Hope you are doing well, be safe and take care!
bri w, thanks for watching! I do plan to add a volute, as long as I don't accidentally forget what I'm doing at the time... it could happen. But yes, a volute is the current plan. I'm also considering a shallower headstock angle. I was seeing about 15˚ on this guitar, but since the headstock was broken off, it's hard to be exact. From what I've read, Epi is currently using a 14˚... but I may go down to 10˚... or who knows. We will all know, after I make the cuts. Hope all is well for you, take care!
Mike, thanks for watching! I'm not sure what this wood is, but it may me plantation grow. There are a number of things working against this neck, weak wood, small cross section, big truss rod channel, just a really vulnerable spot. A Maple neck should offer a bit more strength, a volute possibly, and also considering a different truss routing. Ah, good times.
Malcolm, thanks for watching! I imagine there are other possible tools that can be used/tried to separate the board from the neck. The glue used on this neck was very strong and did a great job of holding the pieces together. I'm not sure how well a cut-line wire would work, but it may be worth a try. Be safe and take care!
I know exactly what you mention. It's a hot wire cutter. I've used that for cutting rigid foam (RC airplane wings etc), but not for separating a wooded glue joint. It would be an interesting experiment. I imagine a knife may need to follow the hot wire to keep the freshly separated surfaces from re-sticking, maybe- or not? Interesting!
b#, actually heat/steam is pretty common. Some folks use a "heat blanket" or similar device. The iron/heat is to warm the binding glue enough that it will let go. Some necks have high strength glue that just says "no". For those boards I just chisel, route or plane them away. It's a lot of work any way it goes. Be safe!
@@theNextProject I've seen heat used a lot for the fingerboard and steam used for acoustic necks. I was just curious to learn the advantages of using steam for fingerboards. I have a 1940s guitar I have to remove the fingerboard from.
Good question. The steam is mostly a by-product in this case. We need the heat to soften the glue, a rag to help keep from scorching the wood and inlays, water to keep from starting a rag on fire and help the heat penetrate the wood. Steam for my complexion. Some folks use a "hot blanket" rather than an iron, but I don't have one of those so I can't say how well it works. I don't recall if I've ever just used an iron without a rag and water. Hmm, my memory is fading. I'm guessing if I did, I burnt the rag, then added water and turned on a fan, but I don't recall that ever happening. I usually remember fire related things. If your guitar is from the 40's, it probably has hide glue and should respond well to heat. I don't know what glue epiphone uses, but the residue doesn't look like hide glue. Probably space shuttle tile glue, yep that's my bet. Good luck with your project and keep me posted as to your findings!
There are supply quality nd just straight supply issues with mahogany. Maybe Epiphone are just using what they can get. Also these guitars are built to a cost, that is why they are so cheap
Stephen, thanks for watching! I agree, there are supply and quality issues with nearly all lumber, and mahogany is one example - completely agree. I do question the variety of mahogany being used and the long term impact such a choice could have on the company brand/reputation. Maybe they should look at a different species of wood entirely, a lot of painted maple necks on guitars everywhere at low price points. There are a lot of "affordable" guitar brands, they all have to find areas to cut costs, but at what expense? I question if this lumber choice is a good one. Epi is a big brand, and should have pretty good buying power, possibly aligned with foresters...etc. Maybe they could do a better job of selecting lumber, or choosing species, idk. I really don't know if the factory this guitar was made at builds only Epi's, or may crank out a dozen brands too. A lot of variables to consider. I really hate seeing any guitar break in the box, which seems to be happening to often. Happened to this guitar, and one similar to it last year, both requiring extensive repair or the garbage can. Not arguing with you, but a cheap guitar can be better built, plenty of proof out there. I hope you are doing well, be safe and take care!
Will the body be getting a maple cap in place of the veneer? Or maybe a firebird style raised maple and walnut insert down the centre, mini humbuckers too?
Glenn, thanks for watching! At this time, I'm hoping to salvage the existing finish, but that could change. There will be some touch up required, but I was hoping to avoid overdoing this project. I need to get it back together and sell it off - yes, this one's mine. I had sold it some time ago and it broke in transit. So it went round-trip, just didn't come home the way it left. Be safe and take care!
Dave, thanks for watching and that's a good question too! I did a very similar repair to and Epi LP last year using splines and that project went well. I'll definitely do that again on other neck breaks. However, I keep seeing this same type of break in a lot of Epi Guitars. That leads me to think more about the issue causing the break. In both cases I've worked on, the guitars did not break do to mishandling. They both failed in a shipping box, which had no damage to the box. That made me think the issue is material choice, design flaw, string tension, manufacturing process.... As I look at the broken end of the neck, a cross section, it appeared that this wood has very short fiber length. Nearly a perfectly clean and straight break. The end view also revealed the minimal wood left at the point directly below the nut. This is the narrowest place in the neck, and the way the truss rod channel is cut, it removes 1/4+ of the wood at this point. Worse yet it is a "notch" for the channel, not a hole, making that point even weaker. Just a lot of weak things all coming together at the same point. The wood used is some variety of Mahogany. From what I'm finding it is something similar to a "lauan" type lumber. Fast growth, very light, and apparently very weak. I am set up to do spline neck repairs, but I'm thinking I want to save that process for projects that have better lumber already in place, and maybe even a different type of break, not this guillotine type break. In the end, I want to be sure I've made a much stronger neck for this guitar, while splines would be a great improvement. The remainder of the neck would still be what it is. This will be a fun challenge too, and gives me an excuse to try a new neck shaping process. I really just wanted a reason to do that. Hahahah! Sorry for the long essay reply, be safe and take care!
I was always overbuilding my guitars/repairs. Dad would always say "Sal, you're not building a battleship". But it did come in handy when the guitar fell or was dropped. You rebuilding this neck is WELL worth your time. Congrats !
Sal, thanks for watching!
I may have learned to overthink things from my Dad. He got the job done, but gave everything a lot of thought.
He also said "you'll never know if you build it too strong". I like that one, it's stayed with me.
I'm hoping for a better instrument when complete, making a few design changes to the neck along they way.
Should be interesting.
Many thanks!
Be safe and take care!
Yeah I have the same attitude. That is why I like these old tube radios from the 50s. My dad had one and when you press the buttons it feels like you are moving a massive object. These things just never break similarly to old IBM keyboards. The only product to have a similar switch feel was an electric beardtrimmer from Brooklyn soap company I bought. It feel just amazin to flip the switch and it's made out of stainless steel not flimsy plastic. I hate all this plastic stuff. Unfortunately few things are built that way. But it really is worth the money to invest in more high quality products.
Making a veneer from the headstock was impressive. I definitely wouldn't have bothered going that extra mile... especially for an inexpensive Epiphone, but I'm very curious to see it completed.
Old Man Zen, thanks for watching!
I hear ya and like you said "inexpensive Epiphone".
Hope this will be a "custom shop" Epi when it's done.
I kinda feel it will have more brand appeal with the Epi logo, than if I put TNP on the headstock. I really need to develop a "brand" for my scratch builds, been thinking about it, just can't land on the right thing.
Hope all is well, be safe and take care!
Your channel really deserves more subscribers man.
I know right!?
Spread the word.
Ha! Looking forward to the next/neck video! 👍👍👍
Hehe, I wasn't sure if that slipped out.
I can't wait to see where this one goes, on the edge of my seat.
Hope you are doing well, be safe and take care!
A great start John. I suspect that neck was made of Maranti, a member of the mahogany family but extremely lightweight and sadly extremely weak. I think your decision to replace the whole neck is the only surefire way to stop this from breaking again and again. I can barely wait for the next episode. PS. You had me worried for a moment with YOUR neck brace!
Hey Martin, good to hear from you and thanks for watching!
"Maranti", I'll go look that up, sounds about right.
I was visiting with a furniture builder recently, small talk about lumber..., I mentioned this project and the neck wood. He said it is likely Lauan, or Philippine mahogany, which is probably a sibling of the Maranti you mention. Maybe the same stuff by a different name.
It is a good looking wood, but there was just too much working against it at that little spot in the neck.
Weak lumber, small cross section surface, a big trussrod trench cut through... A perfect place for a failure, and it did.
A maple neck should give this guitar a fighting chance.
Hope all is well, be safe and take care!
this episode is literally the "necks-t" project :)
LOL, yes,! you got me!
Be safe and take care!
@@theNextProject thank you! :) the same to you!
Great start to another very interesting project. Over the years, you have become more ambitious as well as more competent, I remember earlier videos where you often ran into trouble and had to start again. Never taking the easy path, your projects are always facinating, very informative and most of all extremely enjoyable. Looking forward to the next installment.
Denzil, thanks for watching and the compliment too!
I do run into trouble don't I. Most people run away from a fire, I start the fire, then run into it, LOL.
Something wrong with that picture - Bahahaha!
The easy path, heard of it, just never followed it.
More entertainment off-road.
Glad you're enjoying the projects, and thank you for hangin' with me over the years. I'm glad these videos make it worth while to come back. I really do appreciate that.
Be safe and take care my friend!
Saw the neck dovetail template, genius! Roll with it! Dude, you're like the Giovanni of design.
ranman, thanks for watching!
I'm rolling with it, not sure where it will take me yet.
Pretty sure it will be better than when this guitar left the factory.
The suspense!
@@theNextProject , yo! I'm sure. The offset really was sweet. Kids in 2000 were like, we're all gonna die anyways. Y2k!
As always, fantastic video and amazing work! 👍👍 Really love the idea of using a “veneer” of the original headstock, thus repairing/improving the guitar while allowing it to keep it’s “identity”. Can’t wait for part two!
P Chudzik, thanks for watching!
Glad you are enjoying the projects and videos, greatly appreciated!
You got it, I'm hoping to help this guitar keeps its identity, although it will be a unique Epi when done.
Ep2 is probably a couple weeks out, stay tuned!
Oh, good to see ya. The man! The guitar man!
LOL, you're busy this morning!
Time for more coffee
Hey man, you really got me with this neck support. For a second I was like "Ooo, no. What happened"
Here's the story...
I was wrestling with my girlfriend, and she put a whoopin' on me.
I like her, a lot!
LOL, not really sure why I put the neck brace on, guess I was just in a goofy mood and wished there was a neck brace for these guitar issues.
IDK. : )
Hey John, took me a split second to figure out why you had the brace on. At first I was like oh no what happened then, I remembered your title. Glad to see you have another series going, and dont have a broke neck yourself :)
Jason, good to hear from you and thanks for watching!
Sorry for the "shock and concern", LOL. I was feeling goofy, saw the neck brace and thought - why not?
This should be a fun project, a lot to figure out and improve on. Good times!
Hope all is well for you and the misses.
Be safe and take care!
Nice work! Looking forward to the result!🎸🤘🏼👍🏼
gearViewmirror ( I like that! ), thanks for watching!
I expect it will be a better guitar once complete, than when it left the Epi factory. Just a guess.
Be safe and take care!
Good stuff man...I haven't done this myself yet but I will eventually., always good to watch first....👍
Thanks for watching and I hope the video(s) will be of some help down the road.
Seems each fingerboard I've removed has it's own personality.
Some have surrendered willingly, others refused and are forced into sawdust. This one was stubborn, but wants to survive and have a new life.
All good.
Hope you are doing well, be safe and take care!
This man always needs a challenge. Great video! greetings from Germany
Michael, thanks for watching and greetings for Florida US.
This project was really an excuse for me to make another tool to help me with what will be happening in Episode 2... ah, the suspense.
Hope you are doing well. Be safe and take care!
So freaking cool. Love the headstock veneer. Thank you for another great video.
914, thanks for watching and good to hear from you again!
Glad you enjoyed the kickoff of the project.
Hope all is well for you, be safe and take care!
Hey John, each time you make a new video, you amaze me once more.
On Saturday, I hope to get back my kit-p-bass.
But unfortunately, I have to wait a bit, before I collected some more money on my bank account, before I can buy that Gotoh bridge, as my car needs some repair.
Achim, good to hear from you and thanks for watching!
I understand having to put one project aside due to something else needing attention. Car repairs, gotta do that too.
Good luck with the repairs, hopefully all will be minor and you'll be back to guitar fun soon.
Take care!
Interesting Dr. Project. Nasty break.
Looking out for part 2.
Nieko, thanks for watching!
"Dr. Project", LOL I like that, hehe.
Pt 2 is underway, building things to help me make things...
Be safe and take care!
How did you separate that veneer from the block of wood? Lots of videos show what you did, but no one shows how they separate something that thin without cracking it.
Scott, great question and sorry I glossed over that.
I used a couple layers of the blue painters tape, which is a medium tack masking tape. I also applied the blue tape to my t-shirt a couple times before sticking it to the headstock.
The tape picks up some lint from the t-shirt, which reduces the stickiness just a little bit more = less tacky.
With a couple layers of the blue tape stuck together, and "de-tacked", I was able to gently pull the layers of tape apart.
It was a gamble, as the veneer is mostly clear coat, decals and a couple thousandths of wood fiber. It could have cracked, and if I'm not careful with it, I may still crack.
I hope that helps shed some light on the process.
Let me know if you have other Q's, I'll try to offer better explanations.
Take care!
Great video! Really looking forward to this one.
Emrys, thanks for watching!
This should be a fun and challenging project.
Be safe and stay tuned!
Great idea putting a new neck on, can't wait for the next video.
Musterionsurly, thanks for watching!
This guitars neck lumber is sooo ???, and the break is so /. I just couldn't attempt a spline repair. I'm kinda thinking that the fingerboard is stronger than this neck lumber, hmm.
Stay tuned!
John? Who’s John? I thought your name was Texas Tonewood! 🤣 what a project you have taken on. Hi Laura ❤️
LOL, hey Mike! Thanks for watching and sorry for the nickname confusion.
They call me "Bond, Tite Bond". Oh boy, I'm goofy today.
I'll tell Laura "Hi", and hope all is going well for you and the Ms. too.
Be safe my friend!
Always an enjoyable time, John.
I will say that you missed a good joke in saying “it’d be the last project” when you were saying you didn’t want to cut the neck off on your lap and cut your leg.
This video was too short and I want more!
Hey Tim, thanks for watching!
Ouch, that could have been "the last project".
Sadly, I do things like that at times. Thinking "nothing bad will happen", then whoops, medic!
I'm trying to mature and make better decisions, extend my life... you know.
In a way I'm glad to hear you say "this video was too short". That makes me fell that I'm not making boring stuff, so that's good. Sorry to leave ya hanging though.
I'm working on the next episode... stay tuned!
This is brilliant. I had the neck replaced on my Les Paul after years of issues with the neck. Really good to see the progress. Thanks for taking the time to share.
Jaco, thanks for watching!
Sorry you had to go down the replacement road, but sometime these things just need to be done.
Hope the new neck corrected the issues, giving you a "new" guitar basically.
Hope you enjoy this project as it rolls out.
I just took a glance at your channel, and WOW!!! you've got a lot of intricate things going on, very cool!
I'll be lurking.
Be safe and take care!
@@theNextProject I had an opportunity to try my hand at making a guitar and I’m hooked. Thanks for explaining so well. The Les Paul is a 68 reissue and it’s good as gold now - wood is the next frontier.
Hello John,
I held my breath to see if the headstock face could be recovered. I had thought that you would glue the veneer together with the attached block to avoid an accident at the last moment. Great that it worked out! As always, the guitar will be better than it ever was - even if "hopefully" something goes wrong. Wink, wink.
Stay safe my friend!
Jens
Jens, good to hear from you and thanks for watching!
That headstock veneer had a pucker factor going on. Then I kept trying to make it thinner... then realized I needed to get the veneer off the block... got real lucky.
I'll see what I can wreck, then repair. It is early in the project, so there's plenty of time.
Will do, and you be safe too my friend!
@@theNextProject Please don't thank me for watching, the joy is all mine.
The fact that something goes wrong is not an end in itself! It is the essential ingredient for the perfect result.
We are used to nothing more and nothing less from you.
I'm have a very similar epiphone LP. Headstock was thrown away so my only option was to remove it. Ended up just using some water and an iron to melt the glue away and it pulled right off. I ruined the finish but will refinish it anyway. Such a weird neck joint. I bought a new neck with a normal tenon joint. So that'll be a fun thing to figure it out. Great video I love watching your work and coming up with ideas to work on my own stuff!
Jake, thanks for watching!
Sounds like you have a good and challenging project there. Keep me posted as you work through it, always good to hear what others are up to and how they resolve challenges.
Glad you're enjoying the videos/projects too.
Good luck with your project, be safe and take care!
Loved the episode. Amazing job with the epiphone veneer. Could be nice to take advantage the situation and maybe do binding on the headstock
MorrisMorrisson, thanks for watching!
I think you are on the right track "binding the headstock". Pretty sure that will happen, unless something shiny catches my attention.
Be safe, take care and stay tuned!
@@theNextProject Thank you for the amazing projects
That was cool! Steaming off the fingerboard, routing out the neck pocket AND re-using the Epi headplate as a veneer. Looking forward to seeing your solution for the new neck joint too. I’m inferring from what you’re saying that the new neck will be left natural to show off the walnut strips, or perhaps stained / tinted rather than painted/ lacquered… But don’t tell… It’ll be a surprise for The Next Video. Cheers!
PS: slight tangent if you’re interested: Huw Price of the Tone Twins TV YT channel did a great job recently showing/describing the Epi-c battle he had refinishing an Epi Firebird - seems like Epiphone have engineered their standard poly finish to withstand a nuclear blast, along with all the cockroaches
Museums, thanks for watching!
Yep, a lot happening, steam, sawdust, recycling... crazy stuff!
At this point i plan to,...oh, you asked me not to tell.
I'll have to look up the Epi Firbird refinish video, what you're saying sounds about right. This LP has a fair amount of nuclear blast repellent on it as well. I originally started to scrape back the finish along the side of the fingerboard binding. After what seemed like an hour, I just scored where I expected the seam to be and brought out the heat. The finish is pretty durable. The urethane was probably doing what it could to keep the headstock from falling off, LOL 👍
Take care my friend!
Another terrific video - thanks!
Chris, thanks for watching!
So many ideas of what to change...stay tuned!
You really are a sucker for punishment😂.
Hi John, I think you are on the right track here bro, we are seeing a lot of "mahogany" in the trade which might look like mahogany but thats where it ends. Most is light, quite soft and really lacks structural strength.
In contrast, one of my senior colleagues has mahogany salvaged from various jobs over a long life in the trade and it is a different material altogether. We have mahogany and other timbers salvaged from old furniture, doors etc all sitting waiting to be used.
You would only have to touch it to know its miles better that the timber used in many guitars today
Anyway, looking forward to seeing how this repair progresses.
Take care.
Hey Brian, good to hear from you my friend! Thanks for watching!
I do love a little self inflicted punishment.
Seriously now, that is so cool you and your colleague have salvaged and can compare vintage lumber to current samples.
I have nothing against Epiphone, actually love the option to get an affordable "Gibson", but there is something really wrong with the neck lumber, but perhaps I've just crossed paths with a couple special (weak) samples. However, I have seen a sleep of broken Epi's in vids and for sale.
I thought about the spline repair for this guitar, but my current thinking is to save that process for a project with better wood to start with.
This guitar, and the one I repaired last year, both broke while in a box. The boxes weren't damaged, but both guitar had nearly identical breaks. I don't have the right education to make a call, but I have suspicion and it points to crap lumber ( plus some manufacturing issues ). Sigh.
So, send me some vintage mahogany and I'll build a better guitar ; )
Until then this Epi gets a maple syrup and walnut neck, yum!
Hope you and family are doing well, best wishes to you.
Be safe and take care!
Love your channel. Very inspiring!
Cedon, thanks for watching and glad you're enjoying the channel.
Be safe and take care!
It will be great if you make the open book headstock like Gibson and use the Epiphone veneer on top. Just like the Greeny or Adam Jones' Custom Epiphone. Great video as always!
Çizgi Filmci, thanks for watching!
That is exactly the plan. I hope to trim to the contour of the Epi open book shape, use the head veneer to locate tuners, probably add binding all around... Hoping it all goes smoothly.
Many thanks and stay tuned!
@@theNextProject Perfect plan cant wait to see more! 🤘
Anyone that didn't hit the like button as soon as they saw you in the neck brace needs to have themselves checked out. Fantastic! Another great video and I can't wait to see the next episode.
LOL, I like that!
Hey John thanks for watching.
Working on a project to help me get the next step of this project underway. I seem to cause myself a lot of extra work. Never take the easy path, hehe!
Hope all is well for you, be safe and take care!
@@theNextProject Why did you route the neck channel again? Did I miss that comment?
You’re work is usually top notch. My question is to the owner why bother with an Epiphone? You can buy a new one for the less than the cost of the repair.
Chet, thanks for watching!
Great question and here's the answer.... The owner is "me".
It is true, a new purchase would be less than the cost of the repair, but where's the challenge in that? LOL.
Here's the story...
I had sold this guitar some time ago, and the neck snapped during shipping. The box was undamaged, but the neck just "popped". So the minimal string tension and some vibration were enough to do it in. That's a clue to part of the issue with these guitars.
It was a nice guitar (other than the poor neck lumber), so it seemed like a good opportunity to try something a bit different.
I hope to be able to sell this guitar once it is completely repaired. Right now I'm out $400+ (sale value and round trip shipping costs). UGH!
I hope it will at least sell for the $400 when complete, but - it is an epiphone, so it may only be worth ? Sigh.
I don't make good choices very often.
Hope all is well, be safe, take care and stay tuned for more misplaced efforts ; )
Epiphone (like Gibson) has no interest in changing anything to make neck breaks less likely. If they wanted to, they would have done it years ago. Actually, Gibson did do something about it in the 70s when the started using volutes and also maple (sometimes laminated) for some necks. But you know everyone's least favorite era for Gibsons, right? The reality is, if you break a neck you may buy another Epiphone. If the neck doesn't break, they only get to sell one guitar to you.
The easiest way for them to address it, if they wanted to, is to make a scarf joint at the headstock. You solved the issues in your neck of course. Nice project.
Gee Mac, thanks for watching!
Agree'd, they don't/won't/resist making a needed change.
I hope upper level executives don't see broken headstocks as an opportunity to sell another product, but rather it being a chance to lose a customer to a different brand.
I would expect a maple or laminated maple neck to resist "most" potential breaks, but I've repaired broken maple necks on fender style guitars too, so things just happen. When the guitarist is drunk and falls off the stage...things break.
Hope you are doing well, be safe and take care!
I had an epiphone emperor pro 2 and after I looked at the neck, I sold it. I'm that guy that'll bump it. It was upsetting to see such carelessness that I'll only stay with my older maple neck epiphone basher from 2000. Wow, it's 24 now. John, you goof, thanks for the laugh 😅. I keep wondering how I'm gonna get that starcaster from you... you tug my heart strings with that, make a demo! I wanna hear it.
Ah, the Red starcaster has gone down the road, it's living in the mid-west now. I wish I were a better player to offer worthy sound samples. For now, we'll all have to imagine better sounds than what I can offer.
@@theNextProject , man, sweet guitar. Telling you I have a love affair with them.
Wow! I’ve never seen an Epiphone or Gibson with a broken headstock. 😮 😂
Lyricbread, good to hear from you and thanks for watching.
I know right?! A broken LP, it's like finding a unicorn or pot of gold, what are the chances?
I'm not sure how to enjoy my good fortune - bahahaha!
We will soon see how I spend my time, stay tuned.
Be safe and take care!
I needed this video today. I’ve just bought an Epiphone Les Paul with a very similar neck break, but mine has a broken truss rod too (somebody tried to repair the headstock and ended up with gluing the truss rod) and has lost a lot of wood. I have been wondering all day if I should try to repair the neck or just build a new one (I have never built a neck with angled headstock). I guess I’ll wait for your next video to see how hard it is
Fab, thanks for watching and hope this project helps in some way.
I think there are a lot of poorly "repaired" headstock guitars out there.
I've seen a number of videos where someone just smooshes glue or epoxy in the crack and calls it a repair. Kinda hurts to see that, but it happens.
I'll be making a new angled headstock neck as you mentioned, but honestly you could make a flat (fender) headstock type neck. It's your guitar, build what you want.
I'm hoping episode 2 will be out in a couple weeks, sorry to leave ya hanging.
Be safe and take care!
FYI, the wood used in my 2000 basher is so unique. Some kind of speckles in the grain. I've only seen that once before. The neck feels like that of one from a Gibson and not an epiphone. It still looks new too. Ofset dovetail makes it unique. You should copy that style headstock just to throw in some neat twist. 👌
I wonder what that wood is that you mentioned?
I think Epiphone lists these guitar as "manhogany" (lower case "m"), and I was visiting with a furniture maker a few days back, talking about lumber supply issues (exciting stuff). He said the neck is very likely "Lauan", which is a Philippine mahogany... so a cousin of a cousin of mahogany.
He said it's really cheap and light. I asked if it is the same stuff used in Lauan underlayment flooring, "yep" he said.
Ahhh!.
I hope to keep the Epi headstock shape, but maybe dress it up a bit. Make it a custom shop edition, LOL
Who knows where this will go.
@@theNextProject , ah yeah, just suggestions to get the creative juices flowing. Although, one of my friend's on here did one of my suggestions and I just about died cause I was so happy. No credit was given but oh well, I don't need attention. It was to do a review of his last year of guitar 🎸 skills advancement followup (taking classes) it was encouraging for sure. Landon Bailey from Canada 🇨🇦 my age. 45 ish
I keep thinking to record my practice and playback to track improvement. Sadly I don't practice enough to even get my phone or a camera out to record.
I need to set aside time for practice, as I really to enjoy attempting to play, if I ever get better - I should enjoy it even more!
@@theNextProject , it's about 10 minutes a day to keep fresh. Hour to actually learn. 😆 🤣
Why to keep the face of the neck head? I have an answer. Because of the OCNP (the Obsessive Compulsive Need for Perfection), remember?
LOL, that sounds about right!
Ah, I'm still laughing about that, must be true.
I like a challenge, most are self-inflicted, as is the face veneer idea.
At least I learned a new trick, kinda. Now I just need to keep from breaking it before I can get it on the new neck.
Be safe, take care and stay tuned!
Is that a homemade thickness Sander I see? Did you ever do a video on that project? Thank you
Zubalea, yes that is a 6 year old prototype thickness sander.
I have ideas for a V2, but this one is working so well, I don't know if I'll get around to it.
I have some plans, maybe I could put together a walk-through video, not really a build, but a presentation and some plans. Hmm.
I'll give that some thought.
Hope all is well, take care!
I’m guessing you used the lowest temperature setting possible to get the fingerboard off. Just curious what setting you used. Great project!! Love the headstock veneer.
Thanks for watching!
I started low temp, but kept ramping it up as the clock spun. The iron was cooking the water out of the rag pretty quickly, and the fingerboard was pretty warm to the touch.
I didn't get hot enough to melt the binding or the inlays. The glue used did a great job of holding on, as it should.
The headstock veneer will "hopefully" allow me to keep this an Epiphone, albeit a "custom Epi".
Be safe and take care!
The wood at the break looks very brittle - I wonder if it was kiln-dried..? 🤔
Stephen, thanks for watchin!
That's a great question, I have no idea how they prep their lumber.
The neck was crazy lightweight. This is the second Epi LP from about the same time period, with nearly identical breaks. Both broke "in the box" too, weak lumber - a big problem.
Be safe and take care!
hey amigo - when you flush mount pickups --- 4-40 inserts? hrmmm what length screws do you need for that kind of mounting without the p'up ring? i'd imagine the typical 1 1/4" is not necessary. also ... we need pt. 2 🎸
Mikey, thanks for watching!
Sorry, not completely following your question.
Flush mounting pickups - single coils, strat or tele, humbuckers, p90... ?
I did a body-mounted strat mod project where I mounted the 3 single coils into the body using 6-32 inserts, and I think those pickups needed 3/4" mounting screws.
Here's that vid, hope it helps.
ua-cam.com/video/dGZebMkmNXo/v-deo.htmlsi=xTzWcAfmDRmVD24v&t=310
Be safe and take care!
Hey john, wings for the body and ears for the headstock? What about Dumbo, who had wings for ears, or was it ears for wings? Anyway, another great video, keep it up man! 😊
Hey Mick, thanks for watching!
I always call those add-on parts by the wrong name, brain thinks one thing, mouth says something else.
I'll give Dumbo a call and ask what he prefers, LOL.
Hope you are doing well. Take care!
Seems your billable hours will far surpass the price of a new Epiphone, but R&D is almost always worth it.
You hit the nail on the head! Experience, experience, experience.
Ah, this is my broken guitar, and I'll never pay myself for all the work.
But, it is fun and educational for me. I really do like this kind of project, I feel "safe" when I can work on my own stuff, try ideas, take risks. Experience I can then feel confident with when a paying project shows up at the door.
It's fun to see a video of things getting cut to pieces too, there is always that.
Hope you are doing well, take care man!
A self-inflicted eduction.
Ouch, make it stop! 🤣
Did you know that adding multiple neck braces can pop your head off like elastics on a pumpkin?
b#, at first I was confused how braces would break the head off a guitar...then I realized it would be my head rollin'
Ouch! 🤣
Stewmac doubling the price of a commonly found tool to sell to luthiers? Someone mistake surely? :D
Hey Chris, thanks for watching!
Ha, I'm guessing there has been many mistakes, but we gotta give SM credit too. They do offer a lot of great stuff and stellar customer support, so that adds to the cost of everything.
That said, if I can buy something locally, at a reduced cost... I will!
Hope you are doing well, be safe and take care!
Will you be adding a volute ? It may help avoid another neck break
bri w, thanks for watching!
I do plan to add a volute, as long as I don't accidentally forget what I'm doing at the time... it could happen. But yes, a volute is the current plan.
I'm also considering a shallower headstock angle. I was seeing about 15˚ on this guitar, but since the headstock was broken off, it's hard to be exact. From what I've read, Epi is currently using a 14˚... but I may go down to 10˚... or who knows.
We will all know, after I make the cuts.
Hope all is well for you, take care!
ahhh insane gratuitous and wildly inefficient i love it.
witi, thanks for watching.
all good points, glad you enjoyed.
More mischief and mayhem coming soon, take care!
if the neck is mahaugany the chances are its estate grown , grown fast they dont have alot of mass and is light as hell
Mike, thanks for watching!
I'm not sure what this wood is, but it may me plantation grow. There are a number of things working against this neck, weak wood, small cross section, big truss rod channel, just a really vulnerable spot.
A Maple neck should offer a bit more strength, a volute possibly, and also considering a different truss routing. Ah, good times.
Once you get a start on the fingerboard could you not use a cheese wire or old G string ?
Malcolm, thanks for watching!
I imagine there are other possible tools that can be used/tried to separate the board from the neck.
The glue used on this neck was very strong and did a great job of holding the pieces together.
I'm not sure how well a cut-line wire would work, but it may be worth a try.
Be safe and take care!
I've seen a polystyrene foam cutter shaped like a catapult that heats up , shame I can't sent a picture.
I know exactly what you mention.
It's a hot wire cutter. I've used that for cutting rigid foam (RC airplane wings etc), but not for separating a wooded glue joint.
It would be an interesting experiment. I imagine a knife may need to follow the hot wire to keep the freshly separated surfaces from re-sticking, maybe- or not?
Interesting!
Why did you use steam to remove the fingerboard? It seems to be an unusual method.
b#, actually heat/steam is pretty common. Some folks use a "heat blanket" or similar device.
The iron/heat is to warm the binding glue enough that it will let go. Some necks have high strength glue that just says "no". For those boards I just chisel, route or plane them away. It's a lot of work any way it goes.
Be safe!
@@theNextProject I've seen heat used a lot for the fingerboard and steam used for acoustic necks. I was just curious to learn the advantages of using steam for fingerboards. I have a 1940s guitar I have to remove the fingerboard from.
Good question.
The steam is mostly a by-product in this case.
We need the heat to soften the glue, a rag to help keep from scorching the wood and inlays, water to keep from starting a rag on fire and help the heat penetrate the wood.
Steam for my complexion.
Some folks use a "hot blanket" rather than an iron, but I don't have one of those so I can't say how well it works.
I don't recall if I've ever just used an iron without a rag and water. Hmm, my memory is fading. I'm guessing if I did, I burnt the rag, then added water and turned on a fan, but I don't recall that ever happening. I usually remember fire related things.
If your guitar is from the 40's, it probably has hide glue and should respond well to heat. I don't know what glue epiphone uses, but the residue doesn't look like hide glue. Probably space shuttle tile glue, yep that's my bet.
Good luck with your project and keep me posted as to your findings!
@@theNextProject It's mymother's Hensel so it will have used hide glue.
I only use shuttle glue when I crack a smile.
There are supply quality nd just straight supply issues with mahogany. Maybe Epiphone are just using what they can get. Also these guitars are built to a cost, that is why they are so cheap
Stephen, thanks for watching!
I agree, there are supply and quality issues with nearly all lumber, and mahogany is one example - completely agree.
I do question the variety of mahogany being used and the long term impact such a choice could have on the company brand/reputation.
Maybe they should look at a different species of wood entirely, a lot of painted maple necks on guitars everywhere at low price points.
There are a lot of "affordable" guitar brands, they all have to find areas to cut costs, but at what expense?
I question if this lumber choice is a good one. Epi is a big brand, and should have pretty good buying power, possibly aligned with foresters...etc.
Maybe they could do a better job of selecting lumber, or choosing species, idk.
I really don't know if the factory this guitar was made at builds only Epi's, or may crank out a dozen brands too. A lot of variables to consider.
I really hate seeing any guitar break in the box, which seems to be happening to often.
Happened to this guitar, and one similar to it last year, both requiring extensive repair or the garbage can.
Not arguing with you, but a cheap guitar can be better built, plenty of proof out there.
I hope you are doing well, be safe and take care!
Will the body be getting a maple cap in place of the veneer?
Or maybe a firebird style raised maple and walnut insert down the centre, mini humbuckers too?
Glenn, thanks for watching!
At this time, I'm hoping to salvage the existing finish, but that could change. There will be some touch up required, but I was hoping to avoid overdoing this project.
I need to get it back together and sell it off - yes, this one's mine. I had sold it some time ago and it broke in transit. So it went round-trip, just didn't come home the way it left.
Be safe and take care!
@theNextProject oh! Buggery bollocks! Really?
Gawd bless couriers, eh?
The question is, why? Why would you NOT do a spline repair?? You’re creating so much unneeded extra work.
Dave, thanks for watching and that's a good question too!
I did a very similar repair to and Epi LP last year using splines and that project went well. I'll definitely do that again on other neck breaks.
However, I keep seeing this same type of break in a lot of Epi Guitars. That leads me to think more about the issue causing the break. In both cases I've worked on, the guitars did not break do to mishandling. They both failed in a shipping box, which had no damage to the box.
That made me think the issue is material choice, design flaw, string tension, manufacturing process....
As I look at the broken end of the neck, a cross section, it appeared that this wood has very short fiber length. Nearly a perfectly clean and straight break. The end view also revealed the minimal wood left at the point directly below the nut. This is the narrowest place in the neck, and the way the truss rod channel is cut, it removes 1/4+ of the wood at this point. Worse yet it is a "notch" for the channel, not a hole, making that point even weaker. Just a lot of weak things all coming together at the same point.
The wood used is some variety of Mahogany. From what I'm finding it is something similar to a "lauan" type lumber. Fast growth, very light, and apparently very weak.
I am set up to do spline neck repairs, but I'm thinking I want to save that process for projects that have better lumber already in place, and maybe even a different type of break, not this guillotine type break.
In the end, I want to be sure I've made a much stronger neck for this guitar, while splines would be a great improvement. The remainder of the neck would still be what it is.
This will be a fun challenge too, and gives me an excuse to try a new neck shaping process. I really just wanted a reason to do that. Hahahah!
Sorry for the long essay reply, be safe and take care!