Dumb dog and my Epiphone.
 

My favorite guitar is my Epiphone Hummingbird. Had it setting on the stand by my couch. The dog some how pushes the cushion out and knocks my guitar over. It hit directly on the nut, and I guess the pressure of the strings, snapped the headstock completely off.

At the longest point of the grain where it is broken I have 1 5/8ths of an inch. Is this enough to glue back together as is, or do I need to spline it. Will Titebond III hold it, or will I need to use something else.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...21324276ce.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9e849b904e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...22888248dd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...270af20076.jpg

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Ouch... bad dog! I'm sorry... I hope it can be fixed to your satisfaction.

I am sorry to say, I do not think you have enough long grain to effectively glue that back on, lots of end grain happening.

End grain breaks require splines or a backing plate or fabricate a new head stock.

Here is a link to the standard gluing of a head stock, if you decide to give it a go anyway.

Top right of this link, is other head stock break style repairs.

Many tutorials exist on the net, this is simply mine

http://www.mirwa.com.au/HTS_Headstock_Reglue.html

Steve

There are what looks like more cracks in the headstock. Kind of spider webbed. Maybe just in the finish? I don't know. But I think I'd be afraid of it. What do you all think?

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Sorry meant to put the pic in last post.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f0f050eeb4.jpg

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First, I love dogs. Whatever they do I can't get too mad at them. He looks like a good pooch. :)

It sounds like you want to attempt this repair yourself, which the only way it will be economically feasible. Assuming you have the skill, it should work fine, even if not cosmetically perfect.

Coincidentally, I bought a Takamine at yard sale with a very similar break. I only have a few bucks in it, so whatever happens it won't kill me. I'll probably spend as much on glue and strings as I have in the guitar.

Anyway, my plan for it is to use the existing headstock face to line it up and epoxy it back together. That will serve only to keep every thing aligned and in place for the rest of the repair. Then I will mill off the face (as that guitar has no face plate) and back of the headstock. After that I will hand cut across the break on the back, down to somewhere between the first and second frets. I'll add a new face plate and a back strap using Titebond Extend. The back strap will be hand shaped to match the profile of the neck. I may even use contrasting wood, which may add some interest and will save me the grief of trying to match the color. If I were going to do that on a guitar like yours, I might use ebony or some very dark wood for the face plate and backstrap. That could look nice against the red finish.

Here's a link to a similar repair by Frank Ford. (Thanks Frank!)

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luth...phoverlay.html

It looks like there may be wood missing..how well - how tightly will the headstock fit back on the neck? does it go back together with a nearly invisible line, or is it not clean enough to even fit it together? The answer to that will go a long way to telling you what needs done.

No missing wood. Does go together well. As you said a barely visible line.

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I think that will glue back together well but it's a LOT harder to do right when it's completely beheaded like that one is rather than hanging on by the face plate or something. The problem is that when you go to glue it up and clamp it, it will want to slip and slide out of position. Repair shops typically have jigs that lock the correct position in place to clamp it up.

Good old regular Titebond is what you want to use. TB3 would probably work, I don't know much about it, but Titebond original is what instrument makers use. HHG would be the best choice but that's never a DIY option. And actually fish glue, for it's fast tack and open working time, might actually be the best choice for a DIY.

I'm not looking to sell glue here, but I'd consider LMII's instrument maker's glue. It's much like Titebond, but has better initial tack and sets up harder.

Because that's largely endgrain, it will really soak up the glue, so take precautions to avoid a starved glue joint.

What is LMII?

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Luthiers Mercantile International Inc..

Not counting that their website says they're not shipping it right now, here's the stuff.


http://www.lmii.com/products/finishi...nt-makers-glue

takeaway
 

For them who have pets and children in the house - - - as we have seen, guitars are fragile and keeping them secure when moving hazards are around is a good thing from the guitar's perspective...

Here's a better link for the LMII glue

http://www.lmii.com/products/finishi...nstrument-glue