Understand the reasoning for doing it this way Ben- but if it was my guitar I’d want it sanded flush and refinished to match the neck. Just an aesthetic preference
Yeah I also do not like that the carbon fibre braces are standing well proud and not flush, considering the road repair was holding well adding these was a bonus so I can’t see why they couldn’t be flush sanded.
And if you think a repair like this isn't discussed upfront, you are just straight of your mind. I can guarantee that it was discussed before hand that they will be proud and not flush.
@@GroovingDrums You think Ben said to him 'I'm going reinforce your neck with Carbon Fibre Splines that will stand proud about 3mm from the surface' or 'I'm going reinforce your neck with Carbon Fibre Splines'? Then Ben Ben thought to himself 'I'm not going to make the repair as inconspicuous as possible, that's what every other Luthier would do, I'm going to make the repair look look as obvious as possible and people will marvel at my out of the box thinking!' When in reality everyone who sees it will think 'WTF is going on there? Who on earth did that to your guitar?'
Practicality before tradition. Love it! You are literally a human being with the mind of a tree + if only trees had hands. Separately, I think this officially makes you a steampunk luthier. Patent that! 🤘🤩
What an honor to have the privilege of being trusted to work on Andy's first guitar. I was always a fan of him since DD's first album. It is a shame he isn't still with the boys.
When you described what you were planning to do, I could see in my mind a very clever and cool repair/reinforcement. My vision of your words was maybe 1/2 millimeter proud with a chamfer or rounded edge on the headstock end, and smooth flush below the volute. The finished product here looks like cat shit! way too much sticking up, and the filed end looks like a first pass on a neck shape bisection. But it's not for me, so if Andy is happy, I can't complain too much. Just expected more from you having watched your channel since the covid days. Just doesn't look finished, more like an afterthought.
Compare this repair to the one Beau Hannam did recently on the white SG. You can tell who is the trained luthier and who is thinks they are more important than the guitar.
As for the above project, it's hard to see, but my designer construction instinct would have the middle of the splint exactly halfway where the break was. It looks like you started at the break so a bit further on the headstock side. That gives less area on the neck side for the splint to hold on to. My designer aesthetic gut tells me it could be shaped more beautifully with a bit more effort. Puzzling because you usually go way beyond where I would have stopped.
I think the stress will not be much different. Should the guitar fall backwards onto the back of the headstock the way most necks break, the stress is only different in that the splint doesn't flex as much as unsplinted would. Apparently that was enough to break it once already so it's enough. It's just my autism saying to me that if it's going to break, it'll break there. Unfortunately, I'm usually right, @@Da5idc
I'm baffled by this...intervention. I know the theory behind splines, and carbon fibre and JB Weld may well turn out to be a strong combination. But I think they should have been longer - is it just convenience that prompted the choice of nut blanks rather than longer rods? What bothers me the most however is the result is not "unnecessarily beautiful". Unnecessary beauty would have been fluting ocean waves into the bits sticking out of the top, or carving in the lyrics to one of Andy's songs in a script not visible to the naked eye, but nevertheless there for an electron microscope to see. Unnecessary beauty would have been inlaying the proud standing material with melee diamonds, set to look like moss growing on an ancient wall, or burnishing the remaining carbon fibre with platinum leaf to match the tuners. But this is just unnecessarily awful looking.
For mixing epoxy I’ve started mixing on a silicone pad I made with some excess when I made a mould. It’s great as nothing sticks to silicone so clean up is easy once cured. And as you can just leave it to the side you can poke at it and see when it’s gone off properly without having to guess.
Hi Ben good to see you back I’ve followed you for quite some time now If I had a vote- it would be more guitar builds /repairs etc hosted by you - i actually enjoy you burbling on whilst you work
Sorry Ben, while I respect your work, this looks rushed, incomplete and I am unsure how much strength it would add. where it had been broken you have only gone 5-10 mm past the crack so it would end on weaker grain than if you had gone further down and shaped it away. if you wanted to make a feature of the top bit, chamfers and a polished finish would have looked much more complete.
I’ve seen many videos of Gibson guitars with volutes still suffering headstock breaks, so I think this repair with carbon fibre which is stronger than wood and epoxy which creates the strongest bond between wood and non wood materials, and also adding extra material in this weak area by having the carbon fibre standing proud of the finish is a really effective solution , great work Ben
it will always happen due to the neck and headstock angle, the only way to avoid this is to change both so that the headstock doesnt extend beyond the plane of the body anymore when laid flat.
Might as well of just banged a couple of 6" nails into the head stock and left them sticking out. With any luck this is a wind up video and the next video you release is of the job being done properly. Just hope you spent more time and care mending yourself than you did on this guitar.
I dunno... I like that it was done w/o messing w/ the finish, but the final result was a bit too rough for my taste. If it were mine I'd want the neck ends of the splines contoured as closely to original as possible w/o marring the finish, and for aesthetics I might like the headstock ends extended all the way through the head (if not as deeply inset as the "working" spline area). But hey... that's just my taste. The important thing is will Andy like what you did?
I’m sorry Ben,but, after 40 years of making and repairing instruments, thats one of the worst headstock repairs I’ve seen. Using carbon fibre does add strength but the splines are to short and a future break is going to occur outside their range as the profile you used is frankly overly rigid and will transfer any shock further down the neck. I’m aware you like hand tools, free handing that repair had the potential for creating further problems. In my opinion some longer less substantial carbon fibre splines combined with adding wood to create a volute would have been a structurally superior and more aesthetically pleasing option.
He did say it was already repaired so it will probably be fine but, yeah, I think he could've just used one, cut it in half so he had two 20-25mm strips, though I get that he didn't want do deal with that sawdust. (Edit) Nah, well, ok, I didn't finish the video when I first commented but now I have, that *is* a bit much, Ben.
I understand why it's been extended, however, I really don't like how tge carbon extends like that. It should be flush like most general ne k repairs are. Personally, if it was me... I would get that changed straight away and wouldn't pay for this repair . Sorry I'm harsh with my post, but that's how strong I feel
Great to see you back Ben and glad you're taking some time for you. Personally, taking the tuners off would have been a 2 minute job and given much better access (though we know how much you hate making things easy 🤣)
Interesting comments so far... unfortunately I do have to agree with the majority. While I might have left them visible to show they were there, I would have cut them flush. I'd have also cut them lower down the neck so the break ended up in the centre of the blanks. Certainly an interesting video from a 'zen' point of view though, it's probably as satisfying for me watching you use hand tools as it was for you!! And one tool you definitely need to retrieve from head office... a good mic!
Several (many?) have commented that they would have centered the carbon fiber on the break, Consider that the CF is inlaid in line with the headstock whilst the break is in line with the neck. That means that the CF crosses the break line at an angle, and since it is sunk into the headstock it is closer to being centered on the break than it appears.
I’m trying to work out if that’s a joke and there will be a follow up where you make it look beautiful. Everything else I have seen made me think you were a perfectionist and then…
I’ve been getting a lot of bad headstock repairs on a bunch of Les Paul lately. I’ve been cutting the slots by hand so much. Idk why I haven’t made router jig yet
I personally couldn’t live with that repair. I’m sure it is strong but the aesthetics don’t work for me. I would prefer a pair of mahogany splines flush sanded and refinished.
Hi Ben, thank you for sharing and showing that you can do it without a router, I understand that it is a not a 100% splines needed procedure, but with all do respect, I believe that because of players perspective, care or request, you preferred not to touch from the nut to the frets area, but wouldn't be best to have larger splines, with preferably equal sideways size, intersecting the break, than a small and tall, on one side the most?
As Laura Kampf says, Every defect deserves respect. Sometimes letting the instrument tell its own story is preferable to trying (and often failing) to achieve an invisible repair. Thanks for sharing.
That there is a solid repair that'll stop your geetar getting swiped by a wrongun ;) Always think visible repairs are great they tell the story of the instrument, plus using nut blanks as splines is genius! Nice work as ever n glad your on right road sir
I get both the "sand it down" camp and the "leave it as is, it improves stability" camp, so I'll propose a third option: keep it flush on the nut end and shape it like a scalloped brace so that it keeps the strength but it's better loooking?
Nice job Ben. I have a question not related to the video. I have a strat, and the sixth and third string saddles are as far back as it will go and they don't innotate still. Could I move the bridge back a tad or is this going to screw up the guitar?
I can understand the artistic choice of leaving the CF blanks proud on the headstock itself and keeping as much of the weave visible as possible. But the part near the nut area would draw my eye too much and I'd feel worried that I'd smash my hand into it. I'd need to to make the CF flush within the nut transition/volute area personally. I'm going to have to try the scalpel/chisel method if I ever have to reinforce a headstock break again. I've done it once on a cheap LP copy - but I drilled a series of holes and then cleaned them up. I didn't have access to a router at the time and I kind of don't trust myself with one anyway.
I think sculpting the reinforcement blocks into the neck carve of the back of the neck would have been much more aesthetically pleasing. I know carbon fiber is hard on the tools, which might be another reason to do it this way, but I think the effort would be worth it.
Seeing that it was repaired is fine but I’d need them sanded to at least almost flat, maybe 1/32” proud at the neck area but definitely even at the nut area.
Ben, Great to see you back and looking well. That is an interesting and different repair and I honestly don’t know how I feel about it. If it wasn’t the coveted GLP, it would be easier to appreciate I think. In any case, it looks solid. p.s. I’m loving my Fender Amer. Strat D-lux. The roller nut is cool. And I love the S1 switch
It's an interesting fix to a design flaw in Gibson headstocks. Having seen you make a multi piece neck, would including layers of carbon fibre stop the issue with the grain run out? Either way, I love the kintsugi style approach to celebrate the repair as part of the story of the guitar. Whenever I've watched Ted Woodford do splines I'm always a bit sad to see them covered over.
Those splines standing proud would bother the hell out of me, even if I couldn't feel them while playing. I guess the real question is: What does Andy think about it?
Lovely to see a slightly more intimate video from you Ben without the factory hubbub. For masking the slots for the epoxy, would frog tape have worked? I've had great success in using it for home decorating with zero bleeding underneath (unlike "standard" masking tape) but wonder if it's sealing ability could be useful in this scenario?
I really like it the way it sits proud. I think if it was going to be a standard fitting offered for Gibsons I would want some bespoke and more “architectural” or “sculpturally” shaped carbon fibre to drop in. What with how often the heads go I could imagine a cool looking bit of carbon fibre with a router jig would sell.
As a player I can't help but feel that the protruding carbon fibre would get in the way when playing first position. I'm not a fan of the look, but the impact on playability, even if relatively minor, would turn me off playing this guitar.
Hmm, not sure i like the look of it as-is - it just strikes me as too bulky. I don't think I'm against the idea of them sitting proud, but I think if I were doing something like that, it'd extend them down the neck a bit further just to make the relative proportions look less stubby, sand them flush with the play area and up the carve, then have them protrude maybe 1-2mm above the flat area of the headstock.
Hi Ben, Love your videos and have been watching them for years. As a dentist (now retired - yippee) I was always taught to leave as much of the original material (in my case tooth) because the weakest point is the interface between the original material and what you are adding. i.e the bonding agent is the weakest point, no matter how good it is. If the original repair was good as you mentioned in the video, why remove more wood (original material) to replace it with carbon fibre? I totally agree that carbon fibre is very tough but question if gluing it into this neck fracture is the best way forward. I totally understand using it to strengthen a neck but don't get the use to do this repair. I am not saying I'm right here but would be genuinely interested why you chose to use this method to repair a perfectly good (your words) initial repair. Love Duran Duran by the way. All the best. P.S. were is the hand tool guitar at, at the moment?
I love watching you work, you are a true craftsman and artist. What I would say though, is please protect yourself when working with carbon fibre dust. It’s a lung irritant at best and carcinogenic at worst if you inhale it.
Form over function or function over form? I suppose it depends on whether you want to play it or look at it. Beauty, as they say, is always in the eyes of the beholder.
I like the repair, but think it could have been accentuated in a more intentional way. Maybe mirroring the carve on the opposite end of the nut blank. Polishing it or finishing it in an interesting way maybe
I love your work Ben and I'm glad to see you back working on guitars. But that is the most hideous repair I've ever seen. lol Sorry. But having them stick up that proud just doesn't make any sense to me. Just seems like way more material than you'd need to reinforce the neck.
Personally I would have gone for less carbon fibre sticking out and tapered it down to meet the back of the neck. Also, I would have done it in two goes in order to avoid removing all the wood at the same time, although I appreciate there was no tension on the neck. You're an accomplished guitar builder and I'm not, so what do I know about it anyway? If the client's happy with it, it's a good repair.
I like it. it's a perfect solution. Does the job. Head stocks break, fact of life. You could well argue that your 'solution' should be part of a guitar build! Then we'd not have a weak head stock to begin with.. But then, I repair them so all good:)
19:50 - regarding epoxy failing to cure, the great Ted Woodford has a nightmare video with a Morris acoustic where his epoxy failed to cure while gluing an entire fretboard onto an acoustic. He ended up making an entire new neck in the end so yeah, test your epoxy before you go spreading it everywhere! th-cam.com/video/vv01J7LMvws/w-d-xo.html
To be fair he clearly stated his intention to leave them extending from the neck and his reasons for doing so. Sanded flat there would be so little carbon fibre remaining that there would be little point in doing it in the first place.
I like those moments when you see stuff and it makes so much freaking sense and you wonder how on earth could you have reached the age of XX and not tought about that simple thing and you get annoyed and happy at the same time :D #MixTape
It feels like Saturday again. I think I'd want those splines sanded to the level of the wood. It would be cool to leave them unpainted and visible to the eye, but I'd want them invisible to the touch.
Jesus Pete - apparently EVERYONE'S a critic! I think it was an interesting approach to the repair. Nice to see you doing videos like this again. Build & repair videos are what drew me to Crimson so long ago. I love learning stuff from you!
I like the exposed material, though, if using carbon fibre, id like to see the weave being more of a feature. Alternatively, i would have used buffalo horn. Just my taste.
It may not interfere with playing the guitar. But I can only imagine, everytime you go to pick it up by the neck, your hand is going to get smacked by the protruding pieces sticking out. Pretty sure it would drive me nuts... no pun intended. Not to mention, practically anything can throw an artist of their game while performing. I can only imagine the first time Andy's hand slides up the neck expressively and those pieces of carbon fiber nail him in the web of his thumb, he's going to have some choice words for you. Seriously Ben, take the time to fix it right. This isn't like you.
You started off by saying it was a good strong solid repair to start with, so I'm unclear why this was necessary. Either way, I don't think I'd like the sticky out bits if it were mine. Sorry,
I use my router at the worst inconvenient times because my neighbors are jerks. Plus they make the worst noise with their pool parties so they can’t say nothing to me.
wouldn't it be better to reduce the string tension when you are cutting the slots for the carbon fibre pieces? Weakening the neck could move the headstock and you could end up with a wrong positioned headstock. Edit: He removed the strings for the glue up.
Nicely chiseled! Great to have you back! Hope you will find a balance that will keep you in the guitar building video business to amuse the rest of us miserable bastards that lack the courage to actually do some chiseling!
Not my favorite look for two reasons. One I prefer a hardwood spline and two I prefer a flush appearance. I'd be OK with a contrasting wood color such as maple in this situation for example.
Hhhmmm... I'm torn. That is obviously effective, and far stronger than it would be if the blanks were sanded flush. Presumably you talked to Andy before you did it, yes? If so, then it's OK, and something I wouldn't have thought of.
Nope! This looks like it was done by someone who needs a break and shouldn’t have done the job until the break was over. Looks sloppy and amateur. As the paying customer I’d refuse to pay until it’s done right!
Understand the reasoning for doing it this way Ben- but if it was my guitar I’d want it sanded flush and refinished to match the neck. Just an aesthetic preference
Yeah I also do not like that the carbon fibre braces are standing well proud and not flush, considering the road repair was holding well adding these was a bonus so I can’t see why they couldn’t be flush sanded.
If I got this back from a Luthier I'd be well pissed off!
And if you think a repair like this isn't discussed upfront, you are just straight of your mind. I can guarantee that it was discussed before hand that they will be proud and not flush.
@@GroovingDrums You think Ben said to him 'I'm going reinforce your neck with Carbon Fibre Splines that will stand proud about 3mm from the surface' or 'I'm going reinforce your neck with Carbon Fibre Splines'?
Then Ben Ben thought to himself 'I'm not going to make the repair as inconspicuous as possible, that's what every other Luthier would do, I'm going to make the repair look look as obvious as possible and people will marvel at my out of the box thinking!'
When in reality everyone who sees it will think 'WTF is going on there? Who on earth did that to your guitar?'
Goes on about beauty and rounding off edges and finishes with a rough chamfer on a corner. Looks like a bodge ending in a 'can't be bothered'.
Practicality before tradition. Love it! You are literally a human being with the mind of a tree + if only trees had hands. Separately, I think this officially makes you a steampunk luthier. Patent that! 🤘🤩
What an honor to have the privilege of being trusted to work on Andy's first guitar. I was always a fan of him since DD's first album. It is a shame he isn't still with the boys.
When you described what you were planning to do, I could see in my mind a very clever and cool repair/reinforcement.
My vision of your words was maybe 1/2 millimeter proud with a chamfer or rounded edge on the headstock end, and smooth flush below the volute.
The finished product here looks like cat shit! way too much sticking up, and the filed end looks like a first pass on a neck shape bisection.
But it's not for me, so if Andy is happy, I can't complain too much. Just expected more from you having watched your channel since the covid days. Just doesn't look finished, more like an afterthought.
Compare this repair to the one Beau Hannam did recently on the white SG. You can tell who is the trained luthier and who is thinks they are more important than the guitar.
As for the above project, it's hard to see, but my designer construction instinct would have the middle of the splint exactly halfway where the break was. It looks like you started at the break so a bit further on the headstock side. That gives less area on the neck side for the splint to hold on to. My designer aesthetic gut tells me it could be shaped more beautifully with a bit more effort. Puzzling because you usually go way beyond where I would have stopped.
Agreed - I've seen (pics) of a lot of breaks further down the neck. This could even put more stress on the neck immediately below the carbon
I think the stress will not be much different. Should the guitar fall backwards onto the back of the headstock the way most necks break, the stress is only different in that the splint doesn't flex as much as unsplinted would. Apparently that was enough to break it once already so it's enough. It's just my autism saying to me that if it's going to break, it'll break there. Unfortunately, I'm usually right, @@Da5idc
I'm baffled by this...intervention. I know the theory behind splines, and carbon fibre and JB Weld may well turn out to be a strong combination. But I think they should have been longer - is it just convenience that prompted the choice of nut blanks rather than longer rods?
What bothers me the most however is the result is not "unnecessarily beautiful". Unnecessary beauty would have been fluting ocean waves into the bits sticking out of the top, or carving in the lyrics to one of Andy's songs in a script not visible to the naked eye, but nevertheless there for an electron microscope to see. Unnecessary beauty would have been inlaying the proud standing material with melee diamonds, set to look like moss growing on an ancient wall, or burnishing the remaining carbon fibre with platinum leaf to match the tuners. But this is just unnecessarily awful looking.
If you're going to leave that much material sticking out of the back of the headstock, why not just fit an airbag?
I'm actually laughing right now 😂😂
Good to see you back and happy, Mr Crowe.
For mixing epoxy I’ve started mixing on a silicone pad I made with some excess when I made a mould.
It’s great as nothing sticks to silicone so clean up is easy once cured. And as you can just leave it to the side you can poke at it and see when it’s gone off properly without having to guess.
This is the guy that made me want play guitar! Loved his song supporting playing, fills, riffs etc.
Love watching you work Ben. Thanks.
Great to have you back. Nice repair.
I like the basic idea, but a more sculpted, streamlined look would be nice on the offset spline ridges.
Neat thought to use nut blanks.
Hi Ben good to see you back
I’ve followed you for quite some time now
If I had a vote- it would be more guitar builds /repairs etc hosted by you - i actually enjoy you burbling on whilst you work
I'd rather it was sanded down, but if it does what it needs to, that's all that matters.
Keep up the good work, love the channel 👍
Sorry Ben, while I respect your work, this looks rushed, incomplete and I am unsure how much strength it would add. where it had been broken you have only gone 5-10 mm past the crack so it would end on weaker grain than if you had gone further down and shaped it away. if you wanted to make a feature of the top bit, chamfers and a polished finish would have looked much more complete.
Glad you said it. U saved me the hassle of trying to use my brain to come up with words.
Yup, this just isn't a repair that really does much.
Good to see the home workshop again. It has a different, more relaxed vibe to it.
I’ve seen many videos of Gibson guitars with volutes still suffering headstock breaks, so I think this repair with carbon fibre which is stronger than wood and epoxy which creates the strongest bond between wood and non wood materials, and also adding extra material in this weak area by having the carbon fibre standing proud of the finish is a really effective solution , great work Ben
it will always happen due to the neck and headstock angle, the only way to avoid this is to change both so that the headstock doesnt extend beyond the plane of the body anymore when laid flat.
Might as well of just banged a couple of 6" nails into the head stock and left them sticking out. With any luck this is a wind up video and the next video you release is of the job being done properly. Just hope you spent more time and care mending yourself than you did on this guitar.
I would like the flush look more, admirable skill with the chisel as usual!
Is it April?
I dunno... I like that it was done w/o messing w/ the finish, but the final result was a bit too rough for my taste. If it were mine I'd want the neck ends of the splines contoured as closely to original as possible w/o marring the finish, and for aesthetics I might like the headstock ends extended all the way through the head (if not as deeply inset as the "working" spline area). But hey... that's just my taste. The important thing is will Andy like what you did?
I’m sorry Ben,but, after 40 years of making and repairing instruments, thats one of the worst headstock repairs I’ve seen. Using carbon fibre does add strength but the splines are to short and a future break is going to occur outside their range as the profile you used is frankly overly rigid and will transfer any shock further down the neck. I’m aware you like hand tools, free handing that repair had the potential for creating further problems. In my opinion some longer less substantial carbon fibre splines combined with adding wood to create a volute would have been a structurally superior and more aesthetically pleasing option.
He did say it was already repaired so it will probably be fine but, yeah, I think he could've just used one, cut it in half so he had two 20-25mm strips, though I get that he didn't want do deal with that sawdust. (Edit) Nah, well, ok, I didn't finish the video when I first commented but now I have, that *is* a bit much, Ben.
I understand why it's been extended, however, I really don't like how tge carbon extends like that. It should be flush like most general ne k repairs are.
Personally, if it was me... I would get that changed straight away and wouldn't pay for this repair . Sorry I'm harsh with my post, but that's how strong I feel
Great to see you back Ben and glad you're taking some time for you. Personally, taking the tuners off would have been a 2 minute job and given much better access (though we know how much you hate making things easy 🤣)
I need to lie down in a darkened room and try to forget what I've just seen... we are past April aren't we? It's got to be a wind up?
12:51 "I don't talk about Crimson....very much..."
Coffee came out of my nose.
Interesting comments so far... unfortunately I do have to agree with the majority. While I might have left them visible to show they were there, I would have cut them flush. I'd have also cut them lower down the neck so the break ended up in the centre of the blanks. Certainly an interesting video from a 'zen' point of view though, it's probably as satisfying for me watching you use hand tools as it was for you!! And one tool you definitely need to retrieve from head office... a good mic!
Several (many?) have commented that they would have centered the carbon fiber on the break, Consider that the CF is inlaid in line with the headstock whilst the break is in line with the neck. That means that the CF crosses the break line at an angle, and since it is sunk into the headstock it is closer to being centered on the break than it appears.
I’m trying to work out if that’s a joke and there will be a follow up where you make it look beautiful. Everything else I have seen made me think you were a perfectionist and then…
I’ve been getting a lot of bad headstock repairs on a bunch of Les Paul lately. I’ve been cutting the slots by hand so much. Idk why I haven’t made router jig yet
By watching your videos I bought two guitars at a yard sale cheap fixed them up I have learned a lot an now a new tape trick to mix epoxy yes😊😊😊😊
I like it! Not the prettiest repair but solid and "character-building"; good one Ben!
I personally couldn’t live with that repair. I’m sure it is strong but the aesthetics don’t work for me. I would prefer a pair of mahogany splines flush sanded and refinished.
Hi Ben, thank you for sharing and showing that you can do it without a router, I understand that it is a not a 100% splines needed procedure, but with all do respect, I believe that because of players perspective, care or request, you preferred not to touch from the nut to the frets area, but wouldn't be best to have larger splines, with preferably equal sideways size, intersecting the break, than a small and tall, on one side the most?
As Laura Kampf says, Every defect deserves respect. Sometimes letting the instrument tell its own story is preferable to trying (and often failing) to achieve an invisible repair. Thanks for sharing.
That there is a solid repair that'll stop your geetar getting swiped by a wrongun ;)
Always think visible repairs are great they tell the story of the instrument, plus using nut blanks as splines is genius!
Nice work as ever n glad your on right road sir
I get both the "sand it down" camp and the "leave it as is, it improves stability" camp, so I'll propose a third option: keep it flush on the nut end and shape it like a scalloped brace so that it keeps the strength but it's better loooking?
Andy Taylor produced my favourite album - Backstreet Symphony by Thunder. The Taylor/ Morley ep was great too
Why didn't you trim the Carbon Fibre pieces to sit flush in the neck before you glued them in?
Nice job Ben. I have a question not related to the video. I have a strat, and the sixth and third string saddles are as far back as it will go and they don't innotate still. Could I move the bridge back a tad or is this going to screw up the guitar?
Please email this query to Sam Faloon - customshop@crimsonguitars.com
What happen to Q.A each week
I can understand the artistic choice of leaving the CF blanks proud on the headstock itself and keeping as much of the weave visible as possible.
But the part near the nut area would draw my eye too much and I'd feel worried that I'd smash my hand into it.
I'd need to to make the CF flush within the nut transition/volute area personally.
I'm going to have to try the scalpel/chisel method if I ever have to reinforce a headstock break again.
I've done it once on a cheap LP copy - but I drilled a series of holes and then cleaned them up.
I didn't have access to a router at the time and I kind of don't trust myself with one anyway.
Functional and adding to the story of the guitar; visible mending really works on this.
I think sculpting the reinforcement blocks into the neck carve of the back of the neck would have been much more aesthetically pleasing. I know carbon fiber is hard on the tools, which might be another reason to do it this way, but I think the effort would be worth it.
Honestly, I think you should have cut down the inserts and shaped them to the headstock. Leaving them proud doesn't look good.
Seeing that it was repaired is fine but I’d need them sanded to at least almost flat, maybe 1/32” proud at the neck area but definitely even at the nut area.
Sorry Ben, but it really needed to be cut back some. I would prefer flush.
Take your time. Personally feel you need to be sound of mind and body so you don’t burn out. Glad you are taking care of you.
Have I been vision impaired or is the ear ring new?
Ben, Great to see you back and looking well. That is an interesting and different repair and I honestly don’t know how I feel about it. If it wasn’t the coveted GLP, it would be easier to appreciate I think. In any case, it looks solid.
p.s. I’m loving my Fender Amer. Strat D-lux. The roller nut is cool. And I love the S1 switch
It's an interesting fix to a design flaw in Gibson headstocks. Having seen you make a multi piece neck, would including layers of carbon fibre stop the issue with the grain run out?
Either way, I love the kintsugi style approach to celebrate the repair as part of the story of the guitar. Whenever I've watched Ted Woodford do splines I'm always a bit sad to see them covered over.
Those splines standing proud would bother the hell out of me, even if I couldn't feel them while playing. I guess the real question is: What does Andy think about it?
Lovely to see a slightly more intimate video from you Ben without the factory hubbub. For masking the slots for the epoxy, would frog tape have worked? I've had great success in using it for home decorating with zero bleeding underneath (unlike "standard" masking tape) but wonder if it's sealing ability could be useful in this scenario?
I really like it the way it sits proud. I think if it was going to be a standard fitting offered for Gibsons I would want some bespoke and more “architectural” or “sculpturally” shaped carbon fibre to drop in. What with how often the heads go I could imagine a cool looking bit of carbon fibre with a router jig would sell.
I'd have drilled small holes in the nut blanks to give the epoxy extra purchase...
As a player I can't help but feel that the protruding carbon fibre would get in the way when playing first position. I'm not a fan of the look, but the impact on playability, even if relatively minor, would turn me off playing this guitar.
its great but i cant handle them sticking out off the head stock love the shows
Hmm, not sure i like the look of it as-is - it just strikes me as too bulky. I don't think I'm against the idea of them sitting proud, but I think if I were doing something like that, it'd extend them down the neck a bit further just to make the relative proportions look less stubby, sand them flush with the play area and up the carve, then have them protrude maybe 1-2mm above the flat area of the headstock.
Hi Ben,
Love your videos and have been watching them for years. As a dentist (now retired - yippee) I was always taught to leave as much of the original material (in my case tooth) because the weakest point is the interface between the original material and what you are adding. i.e the bonding agent is the weakest point, no matter how good it is. If the original repair was good as you mentioned in the video, why remove more wood (original material) to replace it with carbon fibre? I totally agree that carbon fibre is very tough but question if gluing it into this neck fracture is the best way forward. I totally understand using it to strengthen a neck but don't get the use to do this repair. I am not saying I'm right here but would be genuinely interested why you chose to use this method to repair a perfectly good (your words) initial repair.
Love Duran Duran by the way. All the best. P.S. were is the hand tool guitar at, at the moment?
I love watching you work, you are a true craftsman and artist. What I would say though, is please protect yourself when working with carbon fibre dust. It’s a lung irritant at best and carcinogenic at worst if you inhale it.
Form over function or function over form? I suppose it depends on whether you want to play it or look at it. Beauty, as they say, is always in the eyes of the beholder.
As the initial repair was holding, I see no reason for not sanding these flush you still gain stability and the guitar looks relatively normal.
I like the repair, but think it could have been accentuated in a more intentional way. Maybe mirroring the carve on the opposite end of the nut blank. Polishing it or finishing it in an interesting way maybe
I love your work Ben and I'm glad to see you back working on guitars. But that is the most hideous repair I've ever seen. lol Sorry. But having them stick up that proud just doesn't make any sense to me. Just seems like way more material than you'd need to reinforce the neck.
it may be non-standard, but it certainly beats a snapped headstock!! especially on a cherished and stage played instrument!!
Personally I would have gone for less carbon fibre sticking out and tapered it down to meet the back of the neck. Also, I would have done it in two goes in order to avoid removing all the wood at the same time, although I appreciate there was no tension on the neck. You're an accomplished guitar builder and I'm not, so what do I know about it anyway? If the client's happy with it, it's a good repair.
Very cool approach. Make it a feature not a bug. I may steal the idea....
I like it. it's a perfect solution. Does the job. Head stocks break, fact of life.
You could well argue that your 'solution' should be part of a guitar build! Then we'd not have a weak head stock to begin with.. But then, I repair them so all good:)
Not something I would want on a repaired headstock as it looks unfinished.
19:50 - regarding epoxy failing to cure, the great Ted Woodford has a nightmare video with a Morris acoustic where his epoxy failed to cure while gluing an entire fretboard onto an acoustic. He ended up making an entire new neck in the end so yeah, test your epoxy before you go spreading it everywhere!
th-cam.com/video/vv01J7LMvws/w-d-xo.html
This video is worth it just for the super glue and epoxy trick. I’m always trying to find some scrap of cardboard or some thing that I can mix on.
To be fair he clearly stated his intention to leave them extending from the neck and his reasons for doing so. Sanded flat there would be so little carbon fibre remaining that there would be little point in doing it in the first place.
I like those moments when you see stuff and it makes so much freaking sense and you wonder how on earth could you have reached the age of XX and not tought about that simple thing and you get annoyed and happy at the same time :D #MixTape
It feels like Saturday again.
I think I'd want those splines sanded to the level of the wood. It would be cool to leave them unpainted and visible to the eye, but I'd want them invisible to the touch.
Jesus Pete - apparently EVERYONE'S a critic! I think it was an interesting approach to the repair. Nice to see you doing videos like this again. Build & repair videos are what drew me to Crimson so long ago. I love learning stuff from you!
I like the exposed material, though, if using carbon fibre, id like to see the weave being more of a feature. Alternatively, i would have used buffalo horn. Just my taste.
It may not interfere with playing the guitar. But I can only imagine, everytime you go to pick it up by the neck, your hand is going to get smacked by the protruding pieces sticking out. Pretty sure it would drive me nuts... no pun intended. Not to mention, practically anything can throw an artist of their game while performing. I can only imagine the first time Andy's hand slides up the neck expressively and those pieces of carbon fiber nail him in the web of his thumb, he's going to have some choice words for you. Seriously Ben, take the time to fix it right. This isn't like you.
You started off by saying it was a good strong solid repair to start with, so I'm unclear why this was necessary. Either way, I don't think I'd like the sticky out bits if it were mine. Sorry,
"Sneaking up on the edge" I was thinking you were referencing a Yes album...
I'd want the carbon fibre sanded level. Those protrusions just look plainly ugly. Sorry, Ben.
I second that. Looks super fugly, so very much not Ben...
I use my router at the worst inconvenient times because my neighbors are jerks. Plus they make the worst noise with their pool parties so they can’t say nothing to me.
So, did Andy like it then? Pete
wouldn't it be better to reduce the string tension when you are cutting the slots for the carbon fibre pieces? Weakening the neck could move the headstock and you could end up with a wrong positioned headstock.
Edit: He removed the strings for the glue up.
Great idea. ⚔️🗿
I love the shapes and contours of the neck, so I would prefer it to be flush with the original wood
I enjoy watching all your videos Ben, I respect you a lot, but for the love of god sand them back!!! If it was my guitar I’d be gutted with it
Nicely chiseled! Great to have you back! Hope you will find a balance that will keep you in the guitar building video business to amuse the rest of us miserable bastards that lack the courage to actually do some chiseling!
Not my favorite look for two reasons. One I prefer a hardwood spline and two I prefer a flush appearance. I'd be OK with a contrasting wood color such as maple in this situation for example.
Artistic license: it's either a win or an uncomfortable telephone conversation.
Hhhmmm...
I'm torn. That is obviously effective, and far stronger than it would be if the blanks were sanded flush. Presumably you talked to Andy before you did it, yes? If so, then it's OK, and something I wouldn't have thought of.
In my particular case it makes me anxious to see the rods like that. I want them sanded flush so bad.
Sorry Ben it looks ugly !
Aesthetically it leaves a bit to be desired, but as long as it's functional...
Just NO ! do it the right way, flush, re-finish looks factory....
Nope! This looks like it was done by someone who needs a break and shouldn’t have done the job until the break was over. Looks sloppy and amateur. As the paying customer I’d refuse to pay until it’s done right!
Keeping the carbon fiber blanks proud of the surface as a buttress is a genius idea. I would have facetted them for extra unnecessary beauty.
Hmm not a great look having them protruding like - for my tastes at least. But functionally im sure it ticks the boxes