Cracked neck heel installing strap locks

[FLRon]

Really sorry this happened. As you now know, wood doesn’t respond well when you don’t use a pilot hole before tightening a screw in wood. I’m sure this is an easy fix for a competition repair tech.

[Big Band Guitar]

From my many years of woodworking and functional / restoration of furniture.

Proper size pilot holes keep wood from splitting.
Beeswax keeps the screw from breaking and makes driving easier. Also helps preserve the screw head.

Both are essential for wood screws.

If these recommendations are ignored you might as well drive in a nail.

[Howard Emerson]

It’s very fixable, so don’t worry too much. I can’t help you with the feeling of embarrassment, but I know just how you felt/feel.

Meanwhile....For anyone ever attempting this sort of thing you should, first and foremost, drill a hole in a scrap of hardwood to test the screw resistance.

Do it with NO wax, soap, etc. The wrong size hole will be screaming at you, and any lubricant will only give a false sense of security.

The threads should show adequate purchase in the scrap hole you’ve drilled.

THEN you can drill the heel and grease the hardware for easy going.

Best,
Howard Emerson

[vintage40s]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

It’s very fixable...

Mainly because it's in compression. A luthier will spread it to glue it and it be stronger than new.

[John Arnold]

I struggled to install a Schallers on my taylor as well. it broke off in the heel and luckily I guess before it went deep enough to split it- remarkable that it cracked against the grain on yours.

This cracked with the grain. The primary cleavage plane in wood is perpendicular to the growth rings. The custom of using vertical grain wood for necks is a contributing factor. A slab cut neck is less likely to fail in this manner. A common misconception is that vertical grain hardwoods are stiffer or make a more stable neck. Not true.

I always drill a pilot hole that is slightly larger than the root diameter of the screw threads.
Poor quality metal cannot be discounted as a factor in broken screws. Using wax or soap helps ensure that the screw does not break....it is no insurance against a cracked heel. If anything, lubricating only gives a false sense about how much force you are putting on the heel while driving the screw.

[Goat Mick]

For this reason, I always install strap locks with the same screws that held the strap button on.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by vintage40s

Mainly because it's in compression.

It is in tension.

The cantilevered neck is subject to a force that attempts to bend the neck. This puts tension along the back of the neck and compression along the fingerboard.

The string force, if it has any practical relevance to the split, will attempt to pull the split apart, not push it together. That is evidenced by the split opening, rather than closing on its own.

[Dan of SC]

I would take the strings off. Open the crack as much as you dare. Use a syringe to force in Titebond in as deep as you can. With the guitar face down, supported at the top of the neck and bottom of the body, using some sort of padding for protection. Now put another padding over the heel/headblock area and put some kind of weights on it, a little at a time just until you get good squeeze out, no more.
This is easy for me to say, I have nothing to lose. Kinda like planning a bank robbery just for fun.
Good luck!

[mirwa]

Do not just squeeze glue in, remove the neck or have it removed, its two bolts and one allen headed screw, have repaired many of these, its not a hard fix, but....

Repair process - Neck is unbolted and removed, the two halves of the neck cleaned and re-glued with titebond and a simple clamp, then some finish work if you want, Re-attach neck job finished.

This photo is just one from my collection for reference, the screw in the photo was someones way of repairing the break



Steve

[jdto]

Originally Posted by Goat Mick

For this reason, I always install strap locks with the same screws that held the strap button on.

The new Schaller S-Locks are one piece, so that isn’t an option. I have a few sets on my electrics and the screws are also slightly larger than standard, so it is worth drilling and using lubricant to ensure they don’t split anything. That said, I didn’t drill on my Tele or Strat and they went in just fine. On my Gretsch I had to drill the hole out to size. The new design is really nice with the grub screw to keep it from coming apart.

[Dwight]

Originally Posted by BluesBelly

NO! NOT Cosmetic.
Force wood glue, Titebond, or Elmers wood glue, or similar, into the crack while it is open as is in the photos. Then Remove the screw And loosen the strings all the way and the wood should come back together. Wipe off the excess Glue with a damp rag. Clamp or hold the joint tightly for a couple of hours minimum. Do not play for 24 hours. If done correctly the glue will hold tightly.
If you reinstall the strap lock, drill first
FWIW I am a master woodworker, a finish carpenter, and a guitar tech.
If your not comfortable doing this repair yourself, seek help.
Good Luck

Blues

Good answer, in the OP's case he should probably have someone else do it just like that.

[nitram]

Originally Posted by Big Band Guitar

I second that. the above repair is what I would do.

That's what you get when you don't drill the proper size piolet hole.

I know you didn't mean it but a "piolet" is a two-headed ice axe.If this weren't so sad, that would be funny.

[phavriluk]

Advice seems to be worth what we pay for it. Any advice on this topic that suggests forcing glue into the crack from the outside is dead wrong. As Mirwa has stated, the Taylor's neck bolts on and off very easily and a repair tech can do a solid and thorough repair in a few minutes. Please, no well-meant but incorrect shortcuts.

[Dan of SC]

Originally Posted by mirwa

Do not just squeeze glue in, remove the neck or have it removed, its two bolts and one allen headed screw, have repaired many of these, its not a hard fix, but....

Repair process - Neck is unbolted and removed, the two halves of the neck cleaned and re-glued with titebond and a simple clamp, then some finish work if you want, Re-attach neck job finished.

This photo is just one from my collection for reference, the screw in the photo was someones way of repairing the break



Steve

This is better'n what I had!

[Big Band Guitar]

Originally Posted by nitram

I know you didn't mean it but a "piolet" is a two-headed ice axe.If this weren't so sad, that would be funny.

Darn that auto correct