Gluing a broken guitar peghead

Dan Erlewine’s got a nasty broken peghead on a yard sale guitar. He shows how to fix it, and shares his thinking on which glue to use and how he does a glue test. This is actually a double break needing two repairs at once.
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[@jonq8714]

Man, I wish I could have kept watching the repair...

[@seanobrien7568]

me too, need to see the finished guitar

[@sonnic1995]

This guy is amazing, it's like that scene from Toy Story 2 when Woody gets a repair lol

[@joebwhite]

Thanks Dan! This video gave me the confidence to repair a headstock with a nasty "smile" break and salvage a perfectly good guitar.

[@fluorescentbanduk4270]

would just like to say everything you do is spot on and a great teacher i have been fixing and repairing guitars for 10 years now and i allways watch your channel for new ideas and different ways of doing things you are a living legend in the luthier industry !

[@aidantod33]

Dan love watching you work. You are a Master sir, a master. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, ingenuity, skill and enthusiasm. What a guy. God Bless you.

[@AlexTaylorW]

Last week we had a guitar sent in to the shop I work at with a very similar break to the one in this video. It had clearly been repaired before and the glue joint had failed after it took a bad hit. After doing a bit of research on the best adhesive to use for the repair (I considered regular Titebond, hot hide glue, epoxy) I noticed StewMac had uploaded this video, so I made up my mind to try the LHG. I glued the headstock on Tuesday, left it clamped overnight and let it sit for 24 hours to cure before messing with it. The glue joint was solid as a rock, and the guitar stays in tune and plays great now. One thing I will say is that the LHG must cure under pressure because after 12 hours the excess glue from squeeze out was still kind of tacky but the headstock is solid.

[@jordancherkinsky4788]

Alex Taylor n

[@TonecrafteLuthiery]

The suction cup was genius. Definitely gonna steal that idea lol

[@DonCrowder]

I look forward to seeing a video history of everything you do to this one. Great video, as always. Thanks Dan!

[@SteveOrlandoPhotographer]

Thank you Dan for sharing you incredible knowledge- Steve

[@jacklalor3672]

Dan Erlewine is the definition of cool

[@cat793c2008]

Lots of head stock repair videos out there but I have not seen anyone take the same amount of care and attention to details that Dan does. Saw one where a guy used PL premium from Home Depot. Couldn’t believe it. Keep teaching us Dan. You are one of the best. Thank you

[@manysnakes]

I don't repair guitars or anything, but I am under the impression that whatever Dan does is the correct method and everyone else is a pretender to the throne.

[@MusiciansReflib]

I watch a lot of videos like this, but this guy is my favorite

[@thespiritof76..]

Living legend for sure Dan Erwin! RIP to Rurle Yarborough Luthier from Alabama, still learning from Dan.

[@chump5101]

More helpful hints that I didn't know or think of. Thanks Dan, keep it up!

[@makrele2487]

I could watch this series hours and hours....👍😎

[@CAVERN1234]

Fantastic work. I love watching all your videos. Best wishes from Liverpool England.

[@joelewisband879]

I love watching his videos Ive learned a great deal from him..

[@FletcherHandcraftedGuitars]

Dan is the closest thing to a living legend that the luthier industry has.

[@nateemory3994]

You need to look up bill foley, owner of the German village music haus. He is like the Yoda of the guitar. If your ever in central Ohio stop by and give him a visit.

[@truthfulrobot9295]

Hes a national treasure

[@halbertking2683]

Dan,You make it look easy.Thanks.

[@davidlawlor4317]

Love this guy. So pragmatic in his approach. His secment Willy Nelson's Trigger was amazing. Spoke about it like it was a mortal being.

[@andriealinsangao613]

On the video about Trigger, it wasn't Dan, it was his brother/cousin Mark Erlewine.

[@Legend-ln2iu]

Great quality work Dan!

[@tysonrinker5958]

Dan the man can do anything

[@dale8809]

Watching this guy reminds me of I when I was a kid hanging out in my grandpa bob's shop (he called it dinking around, or fartin' around). I was always extremely fo d of him. Anyway, he would do little projects and explain them to me like I was just another guy in the shop. Fart jokes, couple dirty jokes ...you know...fun times. I wish I could hang out at stewmac. I miss Grandpa bob.

[@garymitchell5899]

Sentimental nonsense. If he even existed

[@PlanetRockJesus]

Excellent video. Gave me confidence to finally glue the cheap but nice Yamaha acoustic that the head snapped off from. Thanks!

[@joeventura1]

How does this guy not have a million subscribers? Awesome videos!!!

[@ramencurry6672]

Most people in the general public are not into technical stuff in the music world

[@vinleone4366]

Fascinating, thanks for sharing your knowledge 👏

[@curtgreco2795]

Dan should live forever

[@billygoatct]

I'd love to meet Dan someday in person. On my Bucket list. 🎸🍻🐐

[@paulhoneycutt905]

I had a Gibson mandolin headstock break. The repairman machined a rout on either side of the truss rod and installed two hard rock maple strips. He then refinished it and unless you held it just right in the light, you couldn't tell that it had ever been broken. And with the maple pieces, it'll never break again.

[@patrickpalmer3374]

I watched this several times thank you.

[@avielkharrat5788]

Dan, how much love do you pour into those things to keep 'em live and going!?!?

[@stevenleek1254]

You're in good hands with dan!

[@WaRLoKWYATT]

Dan is so goddamn good at what he does. I would trust him to do anything.

[@imxd9698]

I would love to see a full repair on one of these bad boys

[@ThibautVDP]

Bless this man.

[@LaMusicade4]

Be nice to see it working

[@TonecrafteLuthiery]

“I’ll deal with that later.” I felt that 😂

[@northyland1157]

would be nice to see it all finished and playing at the end

[@shovelest6861]

Nice Job!

[@davekeith576]

I have an old classical ,65 yr old ,broken in much the same place . Someone before me used haroldight very rough job But it sounds beautiful ,, lovely tone .my favourite guitar . Im not going to do a thing to it , looks rough but its lovely.

[@guillermocarrera5150]

I have an old acoustic that have a similar break and is kind in the same condition as this one... Would love to see all the repair made to it.

[@brucelevine6517]

well i just did this repair so what i did a little different was after gluing the peg head i scraped and sanded both sideof the peg head then i traced the peg head out line on two pieces of beautiful blood wood over lays cut out the shape with a jewelrs saw guled and scaped them and fine600grit sanded them i fineshed it with a water base shellac and fine sanded1500 grit and polished it looks great no ones the wiser

[@JohnHorneGuitar]

Hmm. That almost made me want to break my axe so I could try these techniques!

[@j.d.schultzsr.9215]

I broke 6 gitfiddles, just to try this out, but never got any of them repaired to playability. They're all waiting for appointments with the firepilace.

[@andrewphillips7975]

Love how he doesn't over explaine things like most videos do.

[@rustyrobot72229]

The headstock of my les Paul snapped off. It was ran over. Would hide glue be strong enough for tension for electric guitars??

[@videogamemusicandfunstuff4873]

I would really like to see the finished item

[@jedeyez]

You're awesome! Thank you

[@DisabilityExams]

Headstock broke off my '74 Les Paul Standard in 1977, when the guitar stand that was holding it tipped over. I glued it back with Elmer's White Glue and it's still holding well today - 2018. You can't feel the joint playing, but you can see it.

[@TonecrafteLuthiery]

Oh man that's rough.

[@Matthew_Eitzman]

JDave Foster, Elmer’s glue is great for an anal sex lubricant. It’s wet when the sphincter is loosening and then it becomes sticky providing greater friction for increased stimulation before orgasm.

[@Sheehy223]

@@Matthew_Eitzman What is wrong with you?

[@seanobrien7568]

@@Matthew_Eitzman hahahahaha

[@kristopher6031]

@@Matthew_Eitzman 🤣

[@friedrichbahk5675]

Tite bond instrument. I've used it, it's nicer glue! I have a wonder about how to replace guitar neck old to know neck on not bolt-on neck

[@patrickpalmer3374]

I did all that an it came out as perfect as it can but the touch up blending is waiting but not a problem. I'm thinking about glueing a 1/4" face plate on this yamaha I bought as you did on eBay 60$ new one it plays great I just want to give it a little added strength as it will match the black finger board and bridge but what will it do to the tone. Just wondering, I also have a Yamaha 200n silent with a black plastic pick guard and might just make it ebony.

[@AgimLubonja]

I insist in saying that Dan = the Genius!

[@truthfulrobot9295]

How can i repair a Taylor neck without having to buy a new neck? Also can i use a syringe to add glue to the cracks if i dont have a suction cup at the moment?

[@laurahenthorne7819]

I'm a newbie. Have a small old Fender that has the key missing that you turn to tune the guitar. I'm not sure what to call that part. I was going to tune it using pliers but my sister said that will ruin it. I would appreciate any advice. I only play chords but love my guitar.

[@buggybunny5769]

Why not use original Titebond to glue back on?

[@NMranchhand]

I hope we get to follow this little Charlie Brown guitar throughout Dan’s application of TLC!

[@atxpunx]

What is the name of the screwdriver handled wire brush?

[@elidurham3384]

I am buying a 70s j50 and the headstock is broken off and isn’t with the guitar. Do you have any tips to build a new headstock and attach it

[@laurahenthorne7819]

Wondering how to repair a tuning peg. Thanks

[@jyotirmoyarnob5757]

Can i use favicol for same condition???

[@finnmurtons8727]

my guitar has a crack on the upper part of the neck and upon closer inspection, the wood itself is split. it is still held on by quite a bit of wood and the fretboard itself along with the truss rod. if you tighten the strings, you can clearly see the split. ive removed all the strings but I have no clue how to repair it. can you help?

[@DestressYourMind]

You mean like this? 1:53 You can use this same technique to fix it.

[@Iazzaboyce]

Those suction cups are messy - most cracks can be wedged open enough (even with the sharp edge of a Stanley blade) to slide a thin piece of plastic (cut from a plastic bottle or envelope) to feed/push plenty of glue in.

[@kenrich4327]

Hi Dan Why not use Tight Bond glue for the head stock repair Just wondering? Or CA glue for crack?

[@stewmac]

Dan likely chose hide glue over Titebond or super glue for a couple of reasons. Hide glue does not creep at all, and for this repair you want as tight a joint as possible. It also dries darker than Titebond, so it blended better with the surrounding dark brown finish. Super glue would not allow enough work time to get everything set in its proper place. On top of all of that, hide glue is Dan's personal preference.

[@kenrich4327]

stewartmacdonald Thank you so much for the info. Great points. Thanks again for responding take care Ken

[@mamachip]

I have always used Titebond or thinned ( warmed) epoxy for this type of repair. Most lutheirs reject the notion of TItebond cold bottled hide glue. Why would you choose to use this over titebond or epoxy?

[@dpcustom]

I agree that the bottled liquid hide glue was problematic for me. Joints often exhibited squeeze out long after. Today I'd use Titebond 3, which had a stronger cured strength than the regular.

[@robenriquez7586]

What is the name of the glue and where can i get it? Great video..

[@stewmac]

Dan is using Titebond Liquid Hide Glue in this video. You can purchase this glue through our website, or by calling our toll-free number (1-800-848-2273) and placing an order by phone. www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Glues_and_Adhesives/Glues/Wood_Glues/Titebond_Liquid_Hide_Glue.html

[@juliantaylor7663]

Can you use the suction cup method on titebond

[@nono-xw6qd]

Julian Taylor yes, the thicker viscosity makes it’s less effective than with hot hide glue however. That being said you can make it closer to HHG’s consistency by warming it in a water batt

[@wildtimbrown]

Jerry Rosa (Rosa String Works) uses water before glue up and uses Original titebond. I have seen him use suction cups too, but the water before glue really seems to rev up the capillary action.

[@saiyaniam]

Is the glued section really stronger than unbroken wood?

[@Music10161]

The easiest way to find out is get a good wood glue and two pieces of wood, glue them together and clamp them overnight, then try to break the glue joint. I've even done it with white glue and have broken everything except the glue joint

[@Jpw824]

Is the neck gonna come off or is the body gonna come off of the neck? Looked like he was moving the body which would make it come off of the neck

[@wyattsdad8561]

Would regular wood glue, like tight bond work to do a repair like this?

[@TheStonerman63]

Wyatt's dad Yes, Titebond would work. Maybe not as well as the hide glue, but it does a hood job. he's probably using hide glue because it's what they would have used when this guitar was made, but he may just prefer hide glue to Titebond.

[@MrRackenstein]

Yes those creamy looking original tite bond work just fine.

[@sitedrm]

What happened to this guitar, did it ever get fully repaired?

[@stewmac]

Dan used this guitar as an educational tool for teaching many different repair techniques. So it really only had work done to it when there was an opportunity to demonstrate a specific technique. In that regard, I'm not sure that it will ever be fully repaired.

[@rediryou]

Interesting. I built a guitar about 20 years ago with Franklin LHG but I hear nothing but horror stories from luthiers and that we should never even consider using it. My guitar is still holding up just fine but since then I have used Fish glue for the long open time repairs. I think maybe the LHG gets a bad wrap because people don't look at the date on the bottle and more importantly don't test it!

[@brucelevine6517]

all hideglue is vounerable to break down it was used because its easy to take apart with a hot knife and violins not having a large sound hole need to be take apart to fix i dont know if tite bond has solved that problem ? but hide glue is best for sonic transfer that is the tail thats been told over the centuries ?

[@Val-dk1zt]

Later? How to make caverns?

[@SparkyGirl426]

The first thing I would have done is check to see how the two pieces fit together. I do that before removing any loose pieces. Then I see what can be salvaged before removing the loose pieces and set them aside to be glued in either at the same time or later. Maybe the chunk that was missing was long gone before Dan got to it but saving every little piece after a break can result in an invisible repair if the wood isn't too damaged.

[@brucelevine6517]

thats why i used a peg head over lay cause a little missing piece can spell weakness

[@lamecasuelas2]

wait, so what happened??

[@hadouma]

And again the video on this channel does not show the end result

[@frontbum420]

Wonder if a whole new block of wood and a scarf joint cut in the neck would be quicker?Ideas anyone

[@mamachip]

Not quicker.

[@d0risthesheep]

[Insert Gibson joke here]

[@paulroden2742]

Why use the hot water?

[@ericvondbass7047]

To prolong the glue's curing time

[@arnoldr1746]

How about Luthier's ASMR

[@darren334]

Arnold R no

[@mikelindell9784]

It’s not often you hear ‘cheap’ and ‘1930’s guitar’ in the same sentence

[@YouWorryMe]

What a cliff hanger.

[@jhcode]

"plywood guitar" lol

[@jonbrooks6748]

It was plywood. What's funny about that?

[@johanzh2550]

as new

[@dangitbobby0001]

Chub's hand.

[@TrixBruh]

His name is Dan? I thought it was Stewart lol

[@65sgboogieman8]

He's Dan Erlewine, the other dude is Stewart MacDonald

[@mortensen1961]

Stewart-MacDonald is the name of the company, after the founders Kix Stewart and Bill MacDonald.

[@simonextra9689]

When he said “I bought this guitar for teaching purposes” I thought this was a guitar playing channel, but then he started mentioning what was wrong with the guitar then I remembered what I came here to watch

[@manuelpachuca4222]

♍️📐🤘🕊️

[@jspartacus]

LOL... I'm sure 99% of the likes are Les Paul owners.

[@h.m4627]

jspartacus omg 😂

[@Mekratrig]

Not cool; was expecting to see the missing wood filled with epoxie. Also wanted to see him color match it.

[@bridgeofjericho2299]

incomplete!

[@wijk89]

But why go through all that trouble for a $45 guitar?

[@ewm335]

He tells us at the beginning: “I bought this guitar the other day because it’s a good teaching guitar,” i.e., good for teaching guitar repair.

[@wijk89]

Eric Moya Oh I see. I thought he meant a good guitar to teach playing the guitar on. Thanks!

[@datdang9113]

why don't u just buy a new guitar for several hundreds of dollars instead of fixing it like this?

[@bluehornet6752]

I think you missed the point of his demonstration video.

[@Captain-Nostromo]

Dat Dang: Well, then there wouldn't be any repair video, Wise Guy!

[@datdang9113]

Captain Nostromo but this case is too tough to repair

[@anthonynonya]

Not too tough for Dan. Like the other guy said, I think you missed the point- he's doing it to teach guitar repair. That guitar is perfect - cheap with a lot to fix, a perfect learning tool.

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

if you had a 1965 mustang that needed a new fender would you just go buy a new car? if you replied yes,these videos arent for you ,this guy REPAIRS OLD GUITARS. this gentleman REPAIRED a very old guitar that isn't currently made,its an antique.