Split Neck / Failed Repair on Steinberger GT Pro end of neck

[UpperBout]

I bought this for really cheap on eBay, with the intention of repairing it and using it as a travel guitar.
This is how it arrived:

I repaired it by drilling out the trashed holes, plugging them with a dowel, injecting titebond into the cracks, and clamping down for 24 hours, using a wood caul shaped to the neck profile for even clamping pressure. The repair held for one trip, then I put the guitar away and didn't look at it for about 7 months.

When I got the guitar out for a recent trip, I was disappointed to see that it had re-split:

It's possible that the split was from damage in the overhead compartment - it was just in a soft gig bag. So it may not have been the strength of the repair or the materials or approach.

I wanted to ask knowledgeable luthiers a few questions:

1. Whether aliphatic glue was not the correct choice here?
2. If you were going to repair this again, what would be your recommended technique?
3. Would you recommend epoxy or CA over Titebond for this?

My thought was perhaps to cut a D-shaped plug and hollow out a corresponding D-shaped space in the end of the neck, perhaps using a tighter grained wood, and glue it in there. I'd like to retain the painted end of the neck intact if possible.

I'm not so attached to this guitar that a quick sale for salvage is not a viable option either. On the other hand, it's a decent travel guitar. I could spend another $100 on repair and I'd still be under what it would cost to buy one of these new.

BTW, this is my first post on thegearpage, although I have lurked and browsed through the years.

Thanks in advance for any advice or opinions,

Tom

 

[B. Howard]

It's possible that the split was from damage in the overhead compartment - it was just in a soft gig bag. So it may not have been the strength of the repair or the materials or approach.

Yes, especially if you had one of those little conversion headpieces on it to use single ball strings instead of the Steinberger double ball strings.

I wanted to ask knowledgeable luthiers a few questions:

1. Whether aliphatic glue was not the correct choice here?
2. If you were going to repair this again, what would be your recommended technique?
3. Would you recommend epoxy or CA over Titebond for this?

Aliphatic was not a bad choice. The dowels were not maybe a great idea......I would have glued it back together first and then assessed how tight the screws were before doing anything else. To re-repair I would likely use ca as it is less likely to lock up the truss rod IMHO. I would clamp it up tight by wrapping the end of the neck in some waxpaper and then clamping it together by binding it tightly with a piece of small rope. This will apply pressure from all directions at once not just two as a clamp would. Then carefully wick thin CA into the cracks using care near the truss rod cavity. You will have some finish work to do at the end.

 

[UpperBout]

Yes, especially if you had one of those little conversion headpieces on it to use single ball strings instead of the Steinberger double ball strings.

Wow. You have luthier ESP. That's what was on there.

Aliphatic was not a bad choice. The dowels were not maybe a great idea......I would have glued it back together first and then assessed how tight the screws were before doing anything else.

I cannot remember my exact order of operations, and for some reason I did not take photos. I do think I clamped and glued first, then drilled the dowels after assessing that the screw holes were not intact. I kind of remember wiggling the string holder to test this.

To re-repair I would likely use ca as it is less likely to lock up the truss rod IMHO. I would clamp it up tight by wrapping the end of the neck in some waxpaper and then clamping it together by binding it tightly with a piece of small rope. This will apply pressure from all directions at once not just two as a clamp would. Then carefully wick thin CA into the cracks using care near the truss rod cavity. You will have some finish work to do at the end.

Sounds good. Thanks!