A straight glue job, starring HIDE GLUE
A Peghead Crack
© Frank Ford, 4/27/02; Photos by FF


Here's another "simple" peghead break. This time the guitar fell forward off a stand and landed flat on a carpeted floor. If you notice the grain direction along the break, you'll see that there's a fair bit of gluing surface:

But, because the grain turns forward toward the face of the peghead, this will always be an especially vulnerable area. If the neck grain stayed parallel to the length of the neck, it would be somewhat stronger. So, while the glue will hold well, the guitar could easily be subject to a future break in the same general area.


From the treble side, the grain direction is a bit more favorable:



There's hardly a sign of damage from the front, where the veneer simply bent forward without cracking:



A heavy padded caul on the back and a flat caul on the front, along with some good clamping pressure and an application of hot hide glue pretty much completes the structural repair:

As usual, I chose hide glue because of its resistance to the heat of a parked car or a case left in the sun.

Hide glue cleans up with warm water, leaving no visible residue on the surface of the finish:



A bit of new lacquer to amalgamate the shattered finish at the edges of the crack, and the instrument gets put away for a week to allow the new lacquer to dry:




After leveling an buffing, the crack is still visible, but not objectionable:


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