'61 JM repair/refin - now oly. white - polished assembly pics, almost complete

[painted wood]

Hi,
I bought this '61 JM in '98 for $600.  It was in parts and stripped (headstock too).  The only issue it has is that there were termites living in the headstock while it was in storage before I bought it.   :'(

The good news is that they entered the headstock through the top end and exited out where the "F" in the logo would have been.  The neck is fine.  The headstock is amazingly secure and still strong even though there are some deep termite channels in there.

My plan is to refin it BMM with matching headstock. like this one: plans have now changed to oly. white
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oly. white inspirational pic
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Here's mine:
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On the back of the headstock is a hairline crack and a small gouge/creavis.  My question is : Should I sand down the back of the headstock too and glue the crack and then use reranch neck amber to refinish the back of the headstock and sides too?  I love how the finish wears away towards the neck and the only thing keeping me from sanding the back of the headstock is the original finish fade into worn neck.  What would you all do?  replicate the fade later and refin the whole thing?  I think I will regret not doing it later , but it is the original finish on there now.  :-\ Thanks!
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[MrFingers]

I would leave the back of the headstock as it is now. For the crack, try if you can use an injection needle and put the glue in the crack.

(I'm fan of the refinish)

[waynebell]

Does the crack open up easily?

Does the cracked part move?

I would vote, leaving the back of the headstock as-is.  Especially if there is no movement.

As for the crack, I would either use wood glue injected deep into the crack, or else just use some water thin super glue, and have it go deep into the crack by capillary action.

Be sure you carefully mask the headstock, so that you wont have to clean up any haze or super glue residue.

[fullerplast]

I agree... the less intrusive the repair, the better.

Cool JM, keep us updated!

[painted wood]

Does the crack open up easily?

Does the cracked part move?

I would vote, leaving the back of the headstock as-is.  Especially if there is no movement.

As for the crack, I would either use wood glue injected deep into the crack, or else just use some water thin super glue, and have it go deep into the crack by capillary action.

Be sure you carefully mask the headstock, so that you wont have to clean up any haze or super glue residue.

No it doesn't open up very easily.

Hardly any movement.  The crack only goes a little past the gouge and slightly flexes with pressure.

So I guess I'll just leave it for now and paint the face.

next issue:  

I tried to use wood putty filler to fill the crack at the tip of the ball end and I discovered that the entire ball end is hollow.  How do I fill such a large cavity void?  I tried elmers glue  and it was too slow to dry and seemed like it would dry with a little flex instead of rock hard, so I scraped it out with a small utensil and now need to fill it right.  I think I should leave a 1/16"  area at the surface to fill with wood putty....right?   Here are pics.
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[theworkoffire]

You need a two-part epoxy wood filler that hardens chemically for something like that. If you're needing to match the wood colour well then you'd be best to fill it right up to the top (epoxy filler is too messy and quick-hardening to try anything too clever), then scrape out the top 1/16" to fill with a matched colour filler.

Best of luck - I get really jealous of projects like this!

[painted wood]

You need a two-part epoxy wood filler that hardens chemically for something like that. If you're needing to match the wood colour well then you'd be best to fill it right up to the top (epoxy filler is too messy and quick-hardening to try anything too clever), then scrape out the top 1/16" to fill with a matched colour filler.

Thanks! I'm off to the hardware store now.  Would you also just leave the back of the headstock alone?

[theworkoffire]

Personally, I'd be looking at a complete refinish with that. I think if you can get a good colour match on the filler, you have the chance of making such a difference to it by being able to sand it down properly and get back to fresh wood. Sure, you'll lose some mojo, but I just think it will make more sense to give it some serious love if that's what you're doing to the body and the front of the headstock.

It's a difficult decision; see what you think after you've done the filling and you've sanded and primed the headstock.

[painted wood]

sounds good.  I completely agree...one step at a time.  Tough to decide...I am a vintage mojo lover.

I bought the loc-tite 2 part epoxy filler, injected it into the void, mixed it with a nail, and now to let it sit until tomorrow.

I also bought some filler that looks to be a good match...tomorrow I'll use the wood filler.
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[jetset]

Email StewMac for advice: http://www.stewmac.com/email
They are great about what glue/etc to use for weird repairs, and usually will email you back in a day or so.

I personally would not refinish any of it, just get the hols and cracks dealt with and leave it be.  It's a cool neck with a cool story - don't bury the story in a refin.
--j

[painted wood]

Email StewMac for advice: http://www.stewmac.com/email
They are great about what glue/etc to use for weird repairs, and usually will email you back in a day or so.

I personally would not refinish any of it, just get the hols and cracks dealt with and leave it be.  It's a cool neck with a cool story - don't bury the story in a refin.
--j

excellent point...the epoxy is hard as a rock.  The headstock will never break off now...at least not there.    Thanks TWOF!

[BenHagerty]

I kind of like the finish on it haha

[jop]

What happened to the finish?

[painted wood]

I kind of like the finish on it haha

me too  but I think BMM will look better.  even more raw.

The finish was stripped by a previous owner, painted blue with silver glitter on top.  Then someone stripped it and took it apart.

I bought it in parts w/ case...every last screw was accounted for.  The frets were dead so I had it refretted with .092x.046 and assembled as soon as I got it. 

The epoxy cured rock solid and filled up the cavity.
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I filled the tip with "plastic wood" natural filler.  It hardened great and is rock solid, and stainable.  I thought I'd go light and then stain it to match. on the side sliver.
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I sanded it flush with 220, 320, and 400.
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I'm waiting on a fender neck amber order from the reranch.  I plan on staining the filler sliver with a small brush to match and then using a brown colored pencil for the grain line that should pass through the area.

The top will get s&s sand w/ 600, then primer, sand 600, then BMM. 

[warreng]

what a great project! cant wait to see the results.