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What glue will work best for gluing head back on Smiths all wood glue (smiths oak&teak epoxy) are Titebond glue ?

Most of us use good old Titebond.

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I only use epoxy on the worst breaks where there is missing wood or very little long grain to glue to.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Have used original titebond and no issues

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Glue choices are a consideration but so too is how you are going to clamp things up. If this is a valuable instrument and you have never done a headstock repair you might want to take it to a pro.

Pro shops sometimes have special tooling such as a headstock repair jig that is designed to clamp things up nice and snug on all axis.

Here is a link to a thread on another site that has pictures of some of the head stock repair jigs that folks use.

http://fretsnet.ning.com/forum/topics/headstock-repair-jig-that-i-would-love-to-get-the-plans-for?id=2177249%3ATopic%3A118560&page=1#comments

If the repair is done well it can be both invisible and stronger or as strong as before the break. If the repair is not done well it can destroy the instrument.

Nice fancy jigs, really not a necessity when repairing broken headstocks, a couple of good irwin clamps do the job well.

Steve

Steve..If the headstock pieces are still connected you might get lucky doing it your way but if not connected, the glue will cause the pieces to slide apart. If you do a lot of headstock repairs, you will understand what I am saying. Thanks Steve for your post I just wanted to expand on it.
Michael

All good, we average about 70 broken headstocks a year

I had a headstock repair. I used Titebond II still on there strung up after 4 years

Lots of great advice.
Titebond I has the advantage of being softened with heat. If you hose it, you can get it apart and try again.
As noted, if it's a valuable or sentimental git, you're better off taking it somewhere knowledgeable for a good repair. Some are simple and go together well. Others can be cantankerous and you won't know which until you're in the middle of it.
Pics would facilitate better advice.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Epiphone-Revolution-Casino-broken-headstock-signed-by-Beatle-Pete-Best-/111733339252?hash=item1a03d37474

Speaking of broken necks: here's a Pete Best signed Epi Casino with a really busted neck.

Great, thanks Fret. Now I know where all of the money from the garage sale Saturday will go....

Might be a wise buy. If you can fix that yourself that may be worth a decent price. Pete Best was a real Beatle for a short while.

I just got me a Casino today. This is really a super guitar. The Lennon Revolution Casino is not the typical guitar. Plays like a dream. I like it better than my Les Paul, Telecaster or Strat. It's the first electric I've bought where I got that Wow sensation.

You may be right Fret. The break doesn't look any worse that the ones I've already done. The Revolution sold for $600 new, I believe. 1965 of them made, no longer available new. So one with a neck repair and no signature would probably be in the $325 - $450 range? I guess it depends on what Pete Best's autograph is worth.

The deal would be to get a pristine Revolution and go to one of Pete's shows to have him sign it. He's still playing.
http://www.petebest.com/

Edit: The Pete Best autographs on ebay aren't going for all that much. That may change when he passes.

Nice website he has.

I have an idea to make that guitar worth $50,000.00.
1 Fix headstock.
2 put on Ebay
3 Advertize it as guitar McCartney busted over Yoko's head.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha...

Smiths Oak and Teak is really good stuff. I use it when the head stock is badly damages with splinters and lots of piece work to get it back together again. It has a nice long open time and is very very strong once cured. Simple breaks I use Titebond or fish glue depending.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Epiphone-Revolution-Casino-broken-headstock-signed-by-Beatle-Pete-Best-/111733339252?hash=item1a03d37474

The Lennon Casino with a busted headstock signed by Pete Best sold for $622

Yes, I watched the auction. Someone wanted the autograph really bad. I decided that was way too much to have to repair it too.
Besides, I wasn't able to thin the herd at the sale. Just need to get the two repairs finished up and sold. Hopefully this elbow surgery won't impact that too much.

That guitar was probably worth that or a little more to anyone who could fix it. Ive been surprised at what the older Casinos go for. I have no idea what the signature added. I'm sure Pete Best has signed a lot of guitars which loers the value of his autograph.. This is definitely a case of it being worth whatever you will pay. Casinos from Japan can easily go for over a grand up to $1600.
The headstock looked like it may have needed a section cut out and a Mahogany splint inserted. Maybe even a thicker plug than the original wood. . It did not look like just a glue job. That was a complex break that may have travelled a portion down the neck. The guy didn't give good pics which was a hint.

The thing is........there was probably other surprises in store.

Not sure why you think the break was so bad. Granted there were no shots of the mating surfaces, but the back of the headstock looked like most of the other breaks I've seen. I think the seller was more interested in showing the signature than anything else. And given it's location up the headstock, rather than down at the nut, I would think there'd be even less chance for neck damage.

Again, it's all in what someone is willing to pay...

Before I spent that for a broken neck Casino, I'd put a little with it for a Slash AFD or a nice Elitist. Gotta thin that herd....

The guy had one pick that looked like the neck break went about an inch down past the nut but I could not really see that well. Whenever I see blurry pics on ebay my crap detector alarm goes off.

I rode through Hayesville on motorcycle back in the 80s going cross country. Took a spin through Dodge City. Fascinating how the Oxcart ruts are still in the ground from the cattle drives back in the old West.

Believe it or not, there are still visible buffalo wallows in a field less than 2 miles from my house.

I can believe that but that doesn't make it less incredible. I saw a satellite pic in the late 80s showing large wallows in West Texas. Wallows from space! I hope to get out West one more time before I kick the bucket. I wouldn't mind standing in a wallow. That would be like time travel.
Some scientists think the Grand Canyon is just a Buffalo trail the rain washed out into a big ditch. When we built I-77 back in the 60s here in SC between Charlotte and Columbia SC(90 miles) we found Buffalo trails. I-77 follows the Buffalo trails.