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Friend from work brought me this Sigma she said her Grandpa had from the mid '70's. I realize it is not an expensive guitar but it has sentimental meaning to her. The white button you see on the heel is a repair attempt by putting in a screw with a white plastic cap by the local music store. It didn't work. You think this neck can be saved? I was just thinking of flooding the crack with Titebond and clamping. If that is good enough how would I repair the finish on the crack?
Any ideas?

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Work in epoxy, clamp it, clean up the squeeze-out, and call it good. It should look well enough and likely hold up for longer than most other parts of the guitar will. Of course I may take a bit more thought and care on an heirloom-quality instrument, but this is a suitable case for a quick fix (or "appropriate workmanship" as I often refer to around customers ).

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

First, get that screw out. It may be holding the crack open. Not that you couldn't use a screw, but that one is in from the wrong angle; a screw should have gone in from under the heel cap.. If the joint will close tightly (after screw removal) you can glue with Titebond. Clamp between the base of the heel and the board, with another clamp and fitted caul just up the neck from where the screw now goes through. After you get it glued you can remove the heel cap and put a dowel through the joint to reinforce it, and replace the heel cap.

Make sure the neck block isn't cracked, too, before proceeding.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

+1 for everything that Howard said - that's the way to go!

If you do decide to use epoxy, warm the mix a little with a heat gun or similar; it gets a lot runnier and would penetrate the crack nicely

Howard thanks, that's some good sound advise. Should I drill the dowel hole to just under the fretboard? or have it go in at an angle towards the headstock. I'll have to be mindful of the truss rod I suppose.

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Chuck,
Since the guitar means a lot to your friend I would do it right
as Howard said, even though its a cheapie. Definitely get that screw out!
Let us know how it goes.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

I'm guessing the screw and plug were put there from the heel pulling loose at a time before the crack occurred. It would have been better to bolt it from the inside, but that's another issue. My guess is that when you pull the screw the heel will also come loose from the shoulders, meaning it will have to go back in in some form. It would be better to bolt it from the inside, but if it's holding and since the damage is already done I'm not so sure it's a must-do part of the job.

My recommendations were based on a few presumptions that may or may not be true. First was that the customer wasn't so concerned with the poor previous repair and plug, and only wanted the current crack repaired and stabilized. If this were the case I don't think I would bother pulling the old screw and plug (assuming they seem to be holding).

The second was an uncertainty of how long the crack has been open, how contaminated it may be, and how tight and neatly it closed. If it's an old weathered crack and the fibers don't line up neatly, this is why epoxy was my first recommendation. If it's fairly fresh and neat, wood glue would work just fine - and with much easier cleanup.

These are all things to discuss with the customer. If the screwed heel is holding to the shoulders, the crack is old and weathered, and they have a "what's done is done and I just want to keep it playable for a cost appropriate to the instrument" attitude, I'd still go with my original recommendation. If they want it more properly repaired and look at cost relative to it's sentimental rather than market value, then yes I may consider pulling the plug / screw and take a more complete heel rebuild approach.

I should certainly disclose though that I come with some predisposed biases. Largely, the words "sentimental value" raise the hairs on the back of my neck when a customer brings in a repair. I have learned from a few bad experiences to no longer take in repairs in which the repair bill vastly outweighs the market value of an instrument, because they want it repaired for sentimental reasons. Granted, this is not grandpa's $50 catalog mandolin that a customer wants a thousand dollar repair done to, but I still proceed with caution in all sentimental cases. I'm also coming at this from a business perspective, where I have plenty of other repairs I'd rather be working on anyway. If you're doing this for a friend the circumstances are certainly different.

EDIT: - Okay, I went back and actually stopped and looked that the pictures this time . I thought the screw was further down the heel and pulling the heel to the block. Looking at more than a fleeting glance, I see it looks like a misguided attempt to pull the crack in question closed. Different story from what I was thinking. Pull the plug and screw as Howard said, and if it does require hardware to close it up it should indeed come from the heel, or in some cases under the 12th fret inlays will work.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Angle up toward the headstock, but of course, not so much that you exit the heel en route. The crack does go to about trussrod depth near the body, so what you could do is use two dowels (1/4" dowels would be enough. Try to get good hardwood dowels, not the Chinese mystery wood now found in most hardware stores), with the holes also angled out a bit toward the sides of the fretboard so as to miss the rod. The depth should be enough to just about kiss the bottom of the fretboard.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.