The first major part of this restoration project is repairing the broken headstock. I decided on a couple of ground rules:
- No paint on the finish – only varnish and lacquer like the original finish
- Preserve the headstock markings including the Brian May signature, Burns logo, and the serial number – it wouldn’t be a Brian May Signature Guitar without the signature!
Initially, I took the guitar to two local quality luthiers (guitar builders/repairers) for repair estimates. It was only then that I started to realize the extent of the damage from the previous break, repair, and subsequent break. After the original (or maybe not even the first) break, the guitar was repaired with Gorilla Glue or another foaming type of glue, four small brass screws (countersunk in the front and back), and red-tinted wood filler. The repaired area was then painted over in black with some creative edges and the entire headstock as well as the first few inches of the neck were lacquered with a yellowish lacquer. The headstock markings were originally white but were yellow when they arrived. This yellow lacquer came off in small sheets when any sort of tape was removed, including the tape holding on a large chip of the headstock face. As a reminder, here is where I started out:
Both luthiers looked at the damage and told me that a simple glue job was no longer possible due to the previous repair which resulted in a lot of the wood being missing from the break area. They both proposed a slash/cut type of repair where they would slice away parts of the wood at the break area and place a new block of wood there, and then shape it down to the original shape and refinish. Estimates ran from $400 to $500. One of the luthiers felt it was important to repair and restore such a classic guitar and the other kept asking what it would cost to buy a new one.
At that point I resolved to fix it myself. I have a feeling that Aunt Judy and her friend always knew this would happen. I have no prior luthierie or woodworking experience so this was quite a challenge for me. So I turned to Google…
Searching on “headstock repair” or “broken peghead” brought up a huge variety of hits, including many guitar forum postings, photo logs, and guitar repair shop sites. Many people had very strong opinions on which kind of glue to use, whether to use additional mechanical repairs such as splines (inlaid pieces of wood), dowels, screws, clamps (OK, those were the worst-looking), how to refinish, whether a civilian should even attempt the repair, etc. It seems that Gibson Les Pauls and SGs are very susceptible to this type of break, either in initial shipping or when the guitars fall out of stands or slide onto the floor when leaning against a wall or furniture.
Looking at the repair I needed to do as well as the opinions of the luthiers I talked to, I decided to glue and then drill holes to insert wood dowels from the back. I would then saw off and sand down the ends of the dowels. The following diagram shows the dowel plan:
I then researched the different kinds of glue that could be used for the repair. Most professional luthiers seemed to prefer hide glue, which is animal-based (think where horses used to wind up). Hide glue comes in little chips and then you have to heat it up in a glue pot and apply it while hot. Not only did I think I would have a difficult time working with this glue, but I felt that the good Dr. May, a huge proponent of animal rights, would not appreciate animal products being used to repair a guitar bearing his signature. Other luthiers preferred epoxy glue, which can also be a little hard to work with due to the mixing, but I decided that epoxy would be too unforgiving since you can’t ever undo the glued joint. Gorilla Glue is strong but tends to expand and foam so most people advised to avoid it for guitar repairs, and of course a foaming glue had apparently been used unsuccessfully on this guitar. Many experienced folks use superglue to not only repair structural cracks but also to fill small holes in lacquer finished, and guitar repair supply houses such as Stewart MacDonald (www.stewmac.com) sell superglue in various viscosities. But it also seemed to be unforgiving in case there was a problem with the repair. The most forgiving, and universally recommended glue is good old Titebond wood glue. It is easy to work with, water based and easy to clean up, and can be re-broken if necessary, even though it supposedly dries out stronger than the original wood.Apparently the best thing to do with a repair like this is to not ever dry-fit the joint so that all the wood fibers will fit together again, and then glue it once with wood glue. I did not have this choice, however, due to previous repairs and re-breaks. One other big problem with wood glue is that it only joins wood to wood, and is not good for filling gaps. Also wood glue may eventually creep according to some sources. I eventually settled on both wood glue and superglue, and also decided to shelve the dowel reinforcement plan unless the glue repair turned out to be unsuccessful in the long run. I would use wood glue first on any available wood surfaces, remove any visible glue that was filling gaps, and then fill those gaps almost to the surface with superglue.
First task was to remove the old glue, screws, filler, and black paint. I probably got a little overexuberant removing the paint, but it was pretty stubborn stuff. I used sandpaper on the outer surfaces, and then small sharp objects and a magnifying glass to get rid of the old glue inside the previous repair area:
Pulling out a covered wood screw (lower left):
Here's how it looked cleaned up, front and back:
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| Note two large sections, a big chip, and two small chips that broke off during sanding/cleaning |
Note that I covered the body and neck with old t-shirts and blue tape to prevent my clumsy self from scratching or chipping it while working.
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| Ghost guitar! |
I applied the wood glue, squeezed the joint, wiped off the excess, then clamped it tight with wax paper-covered clamps. First the big chip, then the two main pieces.
Then I fell asleep...When I checked it in the morning, it was just a little crooked. Oops! I re-broke it and glued again. This time I drew center lines on both sections and used a straightedge to try and line things up better. I also hand-clamped it, meaning I held onto it for 20 minutes while the glue set, adjusting here and there as necessary. Then I used the wood clamp and let it dry for a couple of days.
Much better:
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| Attached, but not solidly. And not too smooth |
And now, the superglue. First I chipped out any pockets of wood glue I could see. Then I used a narrow tip included with the glue (medium viscosity from www.stewmac.com) to squeeze superglue into every remaining gap, crack, and screw hole I could find. After about 20 minutes I added another layer in the deep cracks, then repeated until the superglue was almost to the surface. Then I sanded.
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| Smile! |
After the superglue was dried and sanded, I used mahogany-colored wood filler, also from stewmac.com, to fill the gaps the rest of the way to the flat surface:
A little sanding, and some creative carving of fake woodgrain lines with a very sharp awl, and voila. It looks a little strange, but it's quite smooth and level:
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| Note the different layers, depending on the sanding and repair done to each area of the headstock. |
Next entry: the refinishing!
