MIMF

Hi everyone, its my first time posting here, although I often lurk and used to be a little bit active in the old forum. I have a tricky neck repair in at the moment and am looking for a bit of advice, inspiration... whatever comes my way.

The guitar is a Martin from I think 1929 (the owner said the age but I forget) the headstock has broken at the usual place. What is unusual is that it appears to have Martin's bridle joint, although the headstock has broken off around this joint so it looks like a V joint. There is some dried up titebond in the broken joint which makes me think that the joint has come apart before and someone has put it back together as if it were a V joint...I can see a little bit of wood glued into where the headstock part of the joint would mate into the neck part. I don't know if that makes any sense.

The guitar certainly isn't all original, the fingerboard looks pretty new as are the frets, the heel of the neck has been shaped pretty lumpily and the whole guitar has been refinished pretty badly. The joint doesn't have the birds beak on the back so I am wondering whether the whole neck has been reshaped or maybe an old headstock has been put on a new neck? who knows.

Whilst I am pretty proficient at headstock repairs, I've never come across one like this and I would like a little of your wisdom of how to best proceed, the joint is pretty tight when I dry fit it, I am worried about voids in the joint I cannot see and the long term strength of the joint.

Thanks, Rich

Some more photos...

another one

and another

There's no decal on the front of the headstock but there is the stamp on the back of it which makes me think the headstock is bonafide

Richard, that's a tough one. As long as originality is not a concern you could glue it back together and proceed to execute a back strap and new face veneer. That would render it functional but would lose the external evidence of the 'v' joint. There is not so much tension with nylon or gut strings.

By the 20s Martin was using serial numbers which can be used to date the guitar. Look inside the sound hole at the neck block.

Thanks for your reply Michael.

I would like to keep the headstock as original as possible but I was thinking about having to replace at least some of the headstock veneer because it is quite damaged at the break and there is some missing. I'd like to keep the back for the sake of the joint and the stamp at the top of the headstock.

Rich

That is an odd one. It is not made like Martin typically made the bridle joint in the 1800's, but during the 1920's and 30's I think they were making some changes as they went from gut stringing to steel strings.

Richard, replacing the face veneer will add little to no strength if the back of the headstock is not reinforced also. You could saw the back of the headstock with the Martin stamp as a veneer and reattach it after a structural repair is made.