Raising the Dead: Repairing a Rickenbacker Neck Break


Uh oh! Looks like this Rickenbacker took a bit of a spill on some concrete. Fortunately the break is clean, and there are no hairline cracks running down the neck. This repair ought to be fun. Let's get started!

Step By Step:


I've injected some liquid hide glue into the seam of our neck break, and after some careful hand fitting, applied clamping pressure.


After 48 hours in our climate controlled environment, the clamps can come off.


At this point, the guitar could probably have been strung up, but in order for me to be truly satisfied with this repair I decided it would be wise to apply some additional reinforcement.


I've marked where I want my reinforcement studs to reside on the neck heel and begin drilling. I have to be mindful in regard to the depth of each plug. (I don't want to go too deep and hit the preexisting truss rod channels)


Now that each hole is clean, I've prepared two pieces of mahogany dowel rod to plug them. (Again, I've used liquid hide glue)


Once the plugs are set, I can flush cut them to the body. I've applied an oil based finish to each plug in order to protect them from drying out and compromising the neck joint.

The Finished Product


Once dry, I tediously wet sand and buff the workpiece. Here we can see the final product. The studs are flush with the neck heel and match the original satin finish seamlessly.

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