Is this going to be a problem? (headstock content)

[Scott Baxendale]

I’m pretty disappointed. Probably with myself, maybe with this Warmoth neck, I’m not sure. But I thought I was doing alright, being patient, pre-drilling the holes and going slow. It’s a new neck. Everything was going well until I put this last screw all the way in.

Is this little crack in the headstock going to be a problem? Is this something Warmoth would warranty? Or do I patch it up somehow?

Was really hoping to put the pieces of my partscaster together over the next couple weeks.

@Believer7713? @Scott Baxendale?

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There is no way Warmouth would warrant that. That crack is a user error. It cracked because the pilot hole was too small and the screw acted like a wedge to split the headstock.

Take the gear off and put wood glue into the crack and put a clamp across the headstock to close it up while the glue dries. Then redrill the screw hole with a 1/16” size bit making sure to drill the depth of the screw and not drill all the way through the headstock.

 

[crankmeister]

I would ask Warmoth if they might help you out first. I'm really not for sure what their warranty policy is though.
Cracking and splitting is more prevalent in roasted wood than in white wood. It is the nature of torrefied wood though. It's a result of there not being any misfire or sugars leg in the wood to act as a cushion for the wood fibers to bend and move in. It's been artificially aged and takes on the same qualities as a piece of their wood from art least a century past.
If they Warmoth won't warranty it then my suggestion would be to thin some Titebond, or Gorilla wood glue with water to about the consistency of milk. Use the screw to spread the crack. Then using a razor blade as a spatula apply the glue as far into the crack as you can. Let it run down into the depths and fill again until it's as full as you can get it. Remove the screw and clam it for at least a day and a half to let the excess moisture dry. Be sure to wipe the excess of when you clamp it. Very carefully ream the hole with a bit that is a few thousandths wider and reinstall the tuners.
Also, put soap on the screw threads so you are less likely to either break the screw or slot the wood again.
Tough break man, sorry to see it happen to you @crankmeister .

Very cool, thanks for such detail.

So I should remove all six tuners, or just the one or two nearest?

 

[rocknrollrich]

I'm not a picky guy, but I'd be livid. Any crack or split in wood is bound to get worse. Get ahold of them and tell them what happened.

How on earth is this warmouth's fault?
Livid because of customer caused damage?

 

[rocknrollrich]

@crankmeister totally fixable.
Make sure you test out your clamping scenario BEFORE you get the glue out.
Once glued up properly, it will be good as new, and you can enjoy playing again

 

[Butcher of Strats]

Very cool, thanks for such detail.

So I should remove all six tuners, or just the one or two nearest?

Assuming you used the same bit to drill all the holes, I would remove all the tuners and inspect in case any other cracks are hidden.
Then maybe once you select a larger drill bit after gluing the crack, enlarge a hole in the middle and confirm the screw holds well.
The end screws are somewhat more critical in terms of possibly bumping a tuner and knocking it loose if the screw holds poorly, while in the middle there is so little stress ever placed on the screws hold. Guitar hangers may put the full weight of the guitar on the tuner if an off fit or if someone shoves the guitar in roughly.

One annoyance may be that a standard drill bit set intervals are too coarse, and your choices are too big and too small.
I have a machinist number drills set, which has smaller increments between sizes, though it is now incomplete due to attrition, tools go the way of missing socks!

No need to glue any small cracks if there are some in between tuners, but still may be worth drilling all holes to the newly chosen larger size. Just be careful, and for example do not drill THROUGH the headstock into your finger.
Ask me how I know!

 

[yoreel]

I’m pretty disappointed. Probably with myself, maybe with this Warmoth neck, I’m not sure. But I thought I was doing alright, being patient, pre-drilling the holes and going slow. It’s a new neck. Everything was going well until I put this last screw all the way in.

Is this little crack in the headstock going to be a problem? Is this something Warmoth would warranty? Or do I patch it up somehow?

Was really hoping to put the pieces of my partscaster together over the next couple weeks.

@Believer7713? @Scott Baxendale?

Don't want to disappoint you in any way, but it looks like you either drilled the wrong sized hole or didn't drill it deep enough, any wood will crack if you are trying to put a screw into a hole that is too small, I don't think any warranty would cover that & they would say what I have said. I would redrill the hole to the correct size & either glue & clamp or fill the crack, I don't think it will cause any problems. A lesson learned right there.

 

[sthebluesman]

I feel your pain. I bought two roasted maple Strat necks and was aware of the cracking potential and was very nervous. The first installation went perfectly. The second was going on my 1964 Strat. Tuners went on fine but when I put in the 4 neck screws, it was tight even though I had deepened the holes slightly. Then two cracks happened, one on each heel screw. I almost had a heart attack and panicked with the Super Glue. What a mess but I did salvage it and it sounds better than the vintage neck. Thank goodness the neck pocket gave it plenty of support from the sides. Turns out (I haven’t totally verified yet but will) that the vintage 1964 screws are bigger than the current screws everyone uses now and shorter. They don’t drill the holes for those big screws. On any vintage installation, buy modern screws for the neck pocket. The glue and clamp should fix it up and last forever. Good luck. It happens, especially with roasted maple. Beautiful sounding wood though so totally worth it.

 

[seanrosedotcom]

Warmoth explicitly includes a bright warning label/sheet instructing you to be very careful, especially with roasted wood, as failing to drill the pilot holes properly WILL cause cracks. I'm assuming since you didn't mention that, that you didn't read it. Pretty sure that won't be covered under warranty and I wouldn't expect it to be. I'd glue and clamp it as recommended. Maybe some thin or medium superglue would get in there better, but wood glue will be fine if you can get it down in the crack.

 

[stylemessiah]

who knew that overdrying a wood thats already plenty dry just so you could have a wanky roasted neck like all the youtube guitar guys could end in tears when you sadly didnt predrill big enough pilot holes, golden rule, test screws on scrap wood first...and those screws dont need to be wedged in tight, theyre only there as locators, and primarily to stop torsion, not to stop the tuner elevating off the face of the guitar...no need to screw them in all the way to China

add this to the list of things that need to die, and exist For NO Good Reason, along with relicing

having said that i hope you get a replacement, do Warmoth offer a predrilled neck? because i would go with that...

 

[jwsamuel]

Wick some titebond in there clamp it and wipe off any residual that seeps out.

Titebond or cyanoacrylate glue. Get thin cyanoacrylate and it will be easy to flow it in. Take the screw out first, then fill the crack.

 

[Chatmanx]

I don't think that it has been said, but just in case, leave the head clamped as you install the new screw and clamp before screwing in the future. (That's what she said.)

 

[crankmeister]

Don't want to disappoint you in any way, but it looks like you either drilled the wrong sized hole or didn't drill it deep enough, any wood will crack if you are trying to put a screw into a hole that is too small, I don't think any warranty would cover that & they would say what I have said. I would redrill the hole to the correct size & either glue & clamp or fill the crack, I don't think it will cause any problems. A lesson learned right there.

Thanks, man. Good information won’t disappoint me, even if it means it was user error. It’s the me that disappoints me, and that’s already sunk in.

 

[iGav]

If they drilled the holes and it happened it'd be a different story.

Bring it to a tech/luthier/repair and have it fixed. It's an easy fix and not expensive. Glue and clamp.

That's it, just fix it.

 

[StratUp]

Part of it for me is a comfort zone.

With that said, I’m about to put together my next Partscaster. To challenge myself I will be getting all the parts without predrilled holes: neck/body, bridge, head stock Etc….. (have a set of nice traditional tunners that came off of an older strat

To keep me in close proximity to my comfort zone,
and to insure the holes are straight, at the correct depth, and to assist in maintaining the the correct locations, I will be adding some type of drill press to my modest work bench.

This Partscaster thing, it’s addictive

Benchtop drill presses work. You can convert some/most of them to a floor press fairly easily too. Saves bench space and eliminates some limitations.

Horrible Freight has one the are clearing out. I don't know anything about it but might be worth reading a couple hundred reviews and deciding. https://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-5-speed-bench-drill-press-60238.html

 

[Slartybartfast]

I’m pretty disappointed. Probably with myself, maybe with this Warmoth neck, I’m not sure. But I thought I was doing alright, being patient, pre-drilling the holes and going slow. It’s a new neck. Everything was going well until I put this last screw all the way in.

Is this little crack in the headstock going to be a problem? Is this something Warmoth would warranty? Or do I patch it up somehow?

Was really hoping to put the pieces of my partscaster together over the next couple weeks.

@Believer7713? @Scott Baxendale?

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You did drill pilot holes, I assume?

 

[StratUp]

Assuming you used the same bit to drill all the holes, I would remove all the tuners and inspect in case any other cracks are hidden.
Then maybe once you select a larger drill bit after gluing the crack, enlarge a hole in the middle and confirm the screw holds well.
The end screws are somewhat more critical in terms of possibly bumping a tuner and knocking it loose if the screw holds poorly, while in the middle there is so little stress ever placed on the screws hold. Guitar hangers may put the full weight of the guitar on the tuner if an off fit or if someone shoves the guitar in roughly.

One annoyance may be that a standard drill bit set intervals are too coarse, and your choices are too big and too small.
I have a machinist number drills set, which has smaller increments between sizes, though it is now incomplete due to attrition, tools go the way of missing socks!

No need to glue any small cracks if there are some in between tuners, but still may be worth drilling all holes to the newly chosen larger size. Just be careful, and for example do not drill THROUGH the headstock into your finger.
Ask me how I know!

FYI - Some Ace Hardware stores still have the old fashioned case with all the numbered machinist's bits in the rack so that you can get the specific size(s) you need without springing for the full machinist set. Also useful for replacing bits you've damaged in the machinist set you have.

 

[Butcher of Strats]

I would be upset (with my self) as well.
not sure how folks feel about them but it’s one reason I go with Hipshot. The no-screw mounting system is a breeze and one less process that can potentially go wrong. I also like the feel of the tuners.

I have not tried hipshot, too pricey but used may come my way one day. Are they set by a pin in a drilled hole? Or by press gripped prongs?
I bought the Sperzel one pin drilling jig then Sperzel went to a prong system, not sure if all Sperzel are prong style now though.

I have two sets of them and they work great. I love em both but for someone that likes the traditional tuners, they really aren't an option. I like both styles of installation so I couldn't choose one over the other.

I was hoping for a no screw split shaft option then Fender provided one!
First time in decades that Fender did something I wanted...
These are I belive Chinese Ping made and not as tight and precise as my fave Gotoh split shafts, but the one set I bought is now on my daily player are they work fine. Standard Fender two pin, I got this Warmoth factory finished neck with ebony board for $250 including standard two pin tuners, so I swapped on a $45 set of these new split shafts, which were so new they were out of stock everywhere. Clicked email me on Sweetwater and when they got more in stock I bought them. No regrets.

Look closer and you can see the first owner of the neck drilled for the D/G tree off center and crooked. I just left it off and have not bothered to fill the buggery holes.
Also FWIW, I have come to like jigs over sleight of hand and bought a vintage tuner drilling jig a while back.
Nice straight line up. By mere mortals!

 

[Butcher of Strats]

FYI - Some Ace Hardware stores still have the old fashioned case with all the numbered machinist's bits in the rack so that you can get the specific size(s) you need without springing for the full machinist set. Also useful for replacing bits you've damaged in the machinist set you have.

Oh good point!
Conditions of attrition are pretty dire here though, may be cheaper to just order a whole new set of number drills.
They eally are handy in small sizes where the standard sets fall so short. Worthwhile to get a specific use bit though.
My set after almost 20 years and it was used when I bought it, already missing some sizes and had none of the large bits.

 

[NotchFilter]

If you glue it correctly, you won't even know it's there. I would inject some Titebond in there while the screw is in place and the crack is open, and then remove the screw and clamp it. Voila! Like new.

 

[Eric Dahlberg]

Thanks, man. Good information won’t disappoint me, even if it means it was user error. It’s the me that disappoints me, and that’s already sunk in.

Don’t be disappointed, it’s not a big deal. When people talk about broken headstocks ruining guitars, they’re not talking about this. Your neck will be good as new if you just take your time with the repair.