Yamaha Acoustic with cracked neck

[tadol]

First, I’d get it looked at by a pro, as well as a price to have them do it - but -

If you want to try it yourself, I would only use a water based glue, ‘cause its gonna be messy and once its clamped up, you’ll want to be able to cleanup with damp rags -

I would try to rig up a way to open the crack up just a tiny bit - you may need a couple clamps, and some blocks to prevent more damage from the clamps. Once you can open it a hair, you can work in some glue with a shim, or similar. Once you’ve gotten as much glue in as you reasonably can, you would reverse the clamps and use them to close the crack as tightly as you can, again being careful with blocks and pads to prevent any clamp damage to the neck. You’ll get glue squeeze out (hopefully) and you’ll want to clean as much up as you can. Once the glue has dried (give it overnight) remove the clamps and finish cleaning it up - thats when you’ll be happy if you used a glue that cleans up with water. You can then figure out if you want (or need) to do some finish repair, and how far you want to go with aesthetics.

Its not a hard thing to do if you have some workshop skills, but its one of those jobs that can also very easily cause more problems or damage if you aren’t careful. A good tech will have no problem with a job like this, and if you really only need structural repair, it shouldn’t be very expensive. But you start touching up color, finish, aesthetics - cost will go up depending on expectations.

Good luck!

[Theleman]

Great. Thank you for your advice and info.

This afternoon I got the FG-401 out, and had a few strum of blues, and it played beautifully.

Funny thing is that it never lose tuning. I think the guitar was tuned about 6 months ago, and it is still perfectly in tune. So when I see the crack, I cannot believe it. But maybe it is better to have a look at some point.

I will just keep playing as is, and when / if in the future, it starts giving noticeable problems, then I will either get it seen by a luthier or put it up in the workshop vise, and go through your instructions trying to repair it, because the guitar play quite nice, and vintage mellow tone.

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by Theleman

I will just keep playing as is, and when / if in the future, it starts giving noticeable problems, then I will either get it seen by a luthier or put it up in the workshop vise, and go through your instructions trying to repair it, because the guitar play quite nice, and vintage mellow tone.

By leaving it you run the risk of the remaining wood eventually fracturing and letting go with a big bang, then its a luthier repair more than likely.

Fixing the problem now also has its downsides, you could prematurely break the neck prepping it for glue

Steve

[phavriluk]

Steve, I think you've touched an important point. Prying the neck break open wider to create a path for the relatively-viscous yellow glue does offer the possibility of completing the fracture. And I can't see how an uneven break allows a sufficient amount of glue to be poked into the break. Any probe able to penetrate the break won't hold enough glue to do the job, I think. That is why I suggested clamping it up as soundly as can be done and wicking in some CA. The glue loves to get into everywhere, and in the case of the neck break, that's the idea. And CA thrives on gap-free joints. I also won't have it in my guitar-building shop, but when the need matches the materials, I think it can be used.

[tadol]

I’d suggest you try clamping 2 pieces of wood together and wicking CA in between them - I don’t think it’ll work too well. Sometimes, you can get that to work with non-porous materials, but with porous materials, eh - Plus, it’ll make one heck of a mess that’ll be really hard to clean up.

If you clamp the neck right, you can adjust the clamps very carefully to open up the crack just a tiny bit, like 1/64”, and then you can work in a bit of glue (you can thin that over-viscous glue a little bit, and its easy to work in with a thin piece of wire, or a thin plastic poker made from a bit of plastic from a water or soda bottle) and if (when!) it gets on the finish on the neck, it cleans off really easily. Which CA won’t -

Just my 2c - do as you will -

[reeve21]

I have a similar crack in an old Ibanez. It had been repaired when I bought it, but opened up again. I had it repaired again, but it opened up again.

Definitely more than the finish, I can see some separation, right up near the headstock. I've had it for 10 or 15 years now, and it has a real nice sound for a solid top with laminated back and sides dread.

The crack does not affect intonation. Now that it is not my "go to" guitar I keep it tuned down a half step to relive some of the pressure. But it stayed in standard for a long time without exploding

So I guess you can tell I would leave it as is.

[Theleman]

Yup, I am leaving it as is. I am actually trying to sell it because I am trying to downsize my collection. I put most of my acoustics and some electrics for sale.

If someone buys, it is going very cheap for a project or a gig guitar.

If it doesn't sell, I will just keep playing it around.

When it gives noticeable problem, or crack space, then I will see to it.