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Hi guys and gals-

I just got this back today from having the fingerboard repaired - it was separating from the neck shaft. I noticed it after I bought the guitar and the seller had me send it to his repairman right away. The repair is great but the shipping company tried to kill my guitar this time. Thank goodness they didn't succeed - it looks like they stood the shipping box on it's end and let it fall on it's face - headstock whiplash!!! The shipping box and the inside of the guitar case were packed immaculately.

The pictures show the crack thru the short grain at the headstock/neck join. The guy who sold me the guitar about had kittens when I told him. He and the repairman are bending over backwards to get this fixed so I can get this guitar back very soon. Joe Heumiller at Dream Guitars sold me the guitar and Bill Tippin is going to fix it again. Both are great and I feel bad for them - I know both are as frustrated about this as I am.

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

Bummer!!! Can you get any claim from the shipping company?

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Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian

I find it hard to believe that anything makes it anywhere without being destroyed.  That is a tough one though.  Hard to believe that could happen.  I could see crushing the face, or running a fork lift through it, but whiplash?  How?

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Hesh-

You are right, the seller and repair guy have been great about this whole ordeal. It's a killer guitar - a de Jonge SSS and once I get it back it ain't leaving the house, EVER!

Christian-

Joe at Dream Guitars doesn't buy the insurance from Fedex, UPS, ect. because they are notoriously bad about paying on claims. Whoever he uses is easy to deal with and is good about paying claims immediately. His insurance is paying for the repair, so I should have the guitar back quickly.

Waddy-

The shipping box was stood upright on it's end (lower bout) and knocked over flat on it's face - the weight of the headstock is enough to separate itself from the neckshaft upon impact with the ground. I work at the Atlanta airport and have seen guitars destroyed with little effort. I work within 100 feet of the local Fedex, UPS, ect. shipping centers and see how packages are treated. It's scary.

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

I have been through this. A couple times. FedEx was no better it was a fight and a half to get them to pay on the claim. I had to get an attorney to write a letter to get the claim paid and it still took 30 days mean while My client was with out the guitar that he had waited 6 months on.

it is very easy to believe it can happen after you have repaired 50 or 100 the or so. what you describe is common, and illustrates why it is necessary to pad the headstock to stop the whiplash.

Would the best way to pad it be to use 'Great Stuff' (polyurethane foam) with wax paper or plastic wrap to sheild the guitar and case?

I bought a 12 string from an eBay seller that had this happen.  The repair was easy with the strings off and slightly speading the crack and applying StewMac's thin CA (#10??) and then clamping lightly.  The hard part was restoring the finish over the crack...... 

I just shipped out a guitar today - Ameritage case, so thats pretty good - but - I also pack below and above the headstock with bubble wrap, covered in thick brown felt so it cant touch the headstock directly. Put enough in so that the case requires a bit of effort to close, a compression fit. The headstock is now imobilized completely. You cant do much more than that. Havent had one break yet - norway, italy, california, florida, minnesota, chicago, vancouver .... host of shippers as well.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I fill the case with towels or clean rags all around the neck and headstock (a bag-o-clean-rags is like $5-10 for 20lbs in the industrial park where I work). I've only shipped a few but, after seeing the exterior of the cases, I know the packing had something to do with the guitars' survival.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

[QUOTE=TonyKarol] I just shipped out a guitar today - Ameritage case, so thats pretty good - but - I also pack below and above the headstock with bubble wrap, covered in thick brown felt so it cant touch the headstock directly.[/QUOTE]

That was the way the headstock was packed and someone from fedex still broke it. The break would have probably been worse if the packing job wasn't as good as it was.

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds