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This guitar (a 1957 LG-1) has been the subject of a couple of threads. I've dealt with the back strap, but I feel like I still need to put something on the front. As you can see there were some significant voids in the glue joint from blunted and missing wood. This guitar rattled around a case broken for many years, and had some previous attempts at repair before I got my hands on it. Anyway, I initially had planned on removing about an 1/16" of material from the whole front and replacing it with a new piece of mahogany, but now looking at it I feel unsure about the nut ledge, and the cavity around the truss rod. I'd also like to leave the logo if at all possible. Is there any reason I can't just take material off about an inch on either side of my crack and inlay a new piece of wood for just that portion covering the break? The back strap is significantly thick (enough I think to provide the necessary structural fix) so it seems like repairing the face at this point is mostly cosmetic.

As someone who deals with these situations a lot, you will be surprised at how much integrity a face plate can add. Don't underestimate that 160lbs + of string pull. A spliced in small patch will not do much, might as well just putty it up at that point. Remember, holding tune is one thing. Surviving in the wild is another.... You need enough extra strength to counter any stress moments caused by life. Small simple things like a case dropped on the floor can be enough to re-break a repair if it was just barely holding back the strings.

PS. I typically pull the truss rod nut before re-gluing a head break to make sure there is no tension in the neck when I glue it. Tension=distortion....

_________________
Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

What about lowering a section of the face enough to accept a veneer over just a part of the head, say from the middle set of tuner holes to the bottom at the nut. Then tape off the logo and below it for a bit, say through the center of the upper tuner holes so the paint line is in the center of a "busy" area, and black lacquer the head all around.

This is not the first time someone has tried to save a logo - what other strategies might there be?

Ed

You can get replacement decals off of Etsy. That would allow you to replace the entire head plate which would be the easiest and strongest repair.

I figured the best thing would be to do the whole thing, but was hoping...

Good tip on the truss rod nut Brian. Thanks. And thanks for the tip on where to find the decal Barry, I knew they were out there but hadn't begun the search.

I would just fill and shoot black Nitro over it and you are done. That won't be too difficult to hide well. Black is very forgiving.

I used a router base with my dremel tool butted up against the fretboard to give me a nice straight line, but not sure if I should take it a little closer to the fret board?

Take it all the way to the nut or that joint line will haunt you.

_________________
Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/