OffsetGuitars.com

Some of you might have seen over in the 'Bad Things' thread my misfortune sending an old 90s Danelectro with UPS who somehow, despite it being hardcased and double wrapped in a box, managed to break the neck

It finally got back to me just now and I wanted opinions on whether or not this can safely be fixed. There is, unfortunately, a small chunk of wood missing that would require filling but it looks to be a relatively clean break...







So, is it even worth getting repaired or just part it out? Fellow OSG'r and good friend GaryPtaszek has a deep fondness for these so I might just give it to him and he can find use for it one way or another.

Well, it looks like it broke a long a scarf joint, so it would probably glue back together quite nicely. If you did the work yourself it would be pretty cheap (for the price of some clamps and titebond if you don't have any).

adamrobertt wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 11, 2021 7:45 am

Well, it looks like it broke a long a scarf joint, so it would probably glue back together quite nicely. If you did the work yourself it would be pretty cheap (for the price of some clamps and titebond if you don't have any).

Yeah, it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I actually sold the guitar because it wasn't getting used and will be close to worthless with a neck repair so I'd just have a repaired guitar I don't use. Better to give it away I guess

The title to this thread always starts a mind-worm for me-


"I got them....

Danelectro-oh

Neck breay-ay-ake blues...

erm, woes. Whatevs.

Couple things to mention, first up surely the missing piece is in the case somewhere? Where else would it be? And second, it looks like the end of the truss rod popped out the missing piece and thus started a crack on the scarf joint.
Given the lack of apparent damage I might even ask Danelectro if it’s a manufacturer fault and thus covered by some kind of warranty. But otherwise, I’d be really careful about gluing that small piece (or replacement) in place very firmly, along with the main break. Titebond red, seems the recommended choice.

MatthewK wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 13, 2021 5:06 pm

Couple things to mention, first up surely the missing piece is in the case somewhere? Where else would it be? And second, it looks like the end of the truss rod popped out the missing piece and thus started a crack on the scarf joint.
Given the lack of apparent damage I might even ask Danelectro if it’s a manufacturer fault and thus covered by some kind of warranty. But otherwise, I’d be really careful about gluing that small piece (or replacement) in place very firmly, along with the main break. Titebond red, seems the recommended choice.

I was hoping to find the missing piece in the case too but UPS, as part of their return system, return it to their depot to unpack and inspect the packaging and damage before repacking and returning to sender...I'm guessing it got lost during that process.

As for a warranty....it's about 25 years old so that's that.

Yup, that is a clean break - almost too clean! It looks like there wasn't ever any glue on the visible underside of the fretboard. Same for the scarf joint itself - it seems like the joint was only held together by that tiny portion on the left (the one where the wood actually broke). Something went wrong at the factory, 25 odd years ago.

Shame I don't live in England anymore, I would have taken care of that for you. A good friend of mine lives in London and might be able to sort you out, though. He's one of the best woodworkers I ever met and he used to fix everybody's guitars when we were in a band together. I can give him a shout if you want!

epizootics wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 13, 2021 10:23 pm

Yup, that is a clean break - almost too clean! It looks like there wasn't ever any glue on the visible underside of the fretboard. Same for the scarf joint itself - it seems like the joint was only held together by that tiny portion on the left (the one where the wood actually broke). Something went wrong at the factory, 25 odd years ago.

Shame I don't live in England anymore, I would have taken care of that for you. A good friend of mine lives in London and might be able to sort you out, though. He's one of the best woodworkers I ever met and he used to fix everybody's guitars when we were in a band together. I can give him a shout if you want!

Agreed, it definitely is a very clean break, and likely an easy fix. I just don't have the time to be dicking about trying to get it sorted. I've already promised to send it to GaryPtaszek and I think his guitar guy is going to sort it and save it then Gary can have it and enjoy it. I've already written it off as a loss in my head, regardless of the outcome of the insurance claim, so c'est la vie.

It's made me extra wary of shipping guitars though, even in a case. I guess you can't factor in the chance of a rogue Size 10 boot being walked across it or it being fired from a cannon from depot to depot. I'm just glad it was the £250 Danelectro and not the £1300 vintage Mustang I shipped to the same guy that got screwed.