snapped headstock

[tom1946]

Hi all, I have a ray sub 4 with a broken headstock, could anyone suggest a way of clagging it back together again please? so that it would last.

(Clagging) technical term

[Dood]

Yes, take it to a professional Luthier! 

A mate of mine has repaired many-a-break and some have been completely invisible. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing properly  

[Twincam]

I can probably help there. Will send you a pm. 

[KiOgon]

A; You didn't ought to have done that 😂

B: Wouldn't a replacement neck be easier?

[songofthewind]

I've fixed several breaks similar to that. It can be done, and I think it would be easier with a straight headstock. Angled ones are more difficult.

I had the extensive advice of two expert luthier friends of mine, and it was invaluable.

Let me know if I can help.

 

BTW, how the hell did you manage that??

[Grangur]

Really sorry to see this has happened, Tom.  Terry at TJC Guitars has made a speciality of fixing things just like this.

www.tjcguitars.com

Edited September 4, 2018 by Grangur

[tom1946]

Thanks guys, I couldn't find a neck anywhere, don't know even who sells them John.

My good friend Aidan is going to sort it for me.

Cheers for the help.

tom.

[songofthewind]

Good luck. I think it can be quite a fun job, but I know how daunting it looks!

[tom1946]

Well my neck has been fixed! and good.

Setup with a low action, plays perfectly.

I would just like to thanks Twincam for all his hard work in saving this neck, I'm blown away with his expertise, highly recommend him.

Thanks Aidan.

 

[songofthewind]

Nice job! Always great to see rescue from disaster!

[Twincam]

Well those were work in progress pics. I think it turned out a little better in the end. But considering the break was not just one clean snap and had multiple places that needed attention I was pleased. Especially as the break was right over where the truss rod acts!

If it was a painted or heavily lacquered finish the repair would be completely invisible. 

Anyhow glad I could help. And get a very good action to boot. 

[TheGreek]

Now you see it, now you don't...I bet you had a smile like a Cheshire Cat when this came back.

[KiOgon]

WoW! Top job Twincam and glad you're sorted Tom😎

[tom1946]

1 hour ago, TheGreek said:

Now you see it, now you don't...I bet you had a smile like a Cheshire Cat when this came back.

I absolutely did, I was driving home with a stupid grin on my face! Been playing it for an hour or so and it's not even slightly out of tune.

[ped]

Amazing!!

[tom1946]

I actually bought it like this from GFM very cheaply and when it arrived I then started to think what to do with it 

So I have a new bass that's cost about 150 shimblats cheaper than a new one. I'm heavily into these so this will be my backup until Michael (Linus 27) sells me my original Teal Stingray back.

[songofthewind]

I've got a Sub Ray 4 in my arsenal, and I think it is a really great bang for the buck. To get one for cheap is even better.

As an inveterate fixer-upper, I am very curious to know: how deep into the neck was the truss rod?

I was toying with the idea of slimming down the neck on mine, about 1.5mm, maybe you can clue us all in on the internal construction of the neck!

 

[tom1946]

The first pic shows the truss rod, the blue thing, (another tech term) Other than that it looks like any truss rod I suppose. Twincam might be able to tell you more.

[songofthewind]

Sorry, I should have said i was asking Twincam. My bad.

[mcnach]

Fantastic!

[Norris]

19 hours ago, songofthewind said:

I've got a Sub Ray 4 in my arsenal, and I think it is a really great bang for the buck. To get one for cheap is even better.

As an inveterate fixer-upper, I am very curious to know: how deep into the neck was the truss rod?

I was toying with the idea of slimming down the neck on mine, about 1.5mm, maybe you can clue us all in on the internal construction of the neck!

 

It won't necessarily be easy to tell. If it's a conventional single-acting rod it will have a bow in the middle of the neck towards the rear of typically 2-3mm

[songofthewind]

Yeah, I figured that would be the case. Fender style truss rods dip in the middle toward the back of the neck. I'm trying to figure out if there is sufficient depth to allow for a bit of skimming.

[Grangur]

If you put the @ sign in front of @Twincam's name he might get an alert that you asked a question. 

[songofthewind]

Good idea, ta. I don't really understand these messaging things!

[Twincam]

On 12/09/2018 at 13:41, songofthewind said:

I've got a Sub Ray 4 in my arsenal, and I think it is a really great bang for the buck. To get one for cheap is even better.

As an inveterate fixer-upper, I am very curious to know: how deep into the neck was the truss rod?

I was toying with the idea of slimming down the neck on mine, about 1.5mm, maybe you can clue us all in on the internal construction of the neck!

 

In the last pic in Toms original post (pic 4). You can get an idea of the depth.

Where the end of the truss rod acts is directly below where there is two breaks vertical and horizontal as seen from above in pic 3. I think its fairly thin there. It looked like the truss rod contributed to the break when the shock happened. 

If you take off a very small amount from the entire circumference of the neck, including the frets and roll the board. It will feel much slimmer. Rather than say slimming it down from the back maybe. I just feel around the neck area is a weak point and 1.5mm might be too much.