repair crack on the fretboard

**plba1126** · Jul-20-2011, 1:32pm

I just got an old 20s-30s banjolin. No brand on it anywhere, a luthier at a local folk music center told me it's probably a Maybell. It's in pretty rough shape, a good amount of cracks, but it's repairable. The one thing that i'm most concerned about is that there is a crack on the fretboard. It's a pretty good size considering how small the neck is, probably about 3-4" long. I took it to a guitar tech and he told me not to glue it because it might damage it further (something about the frets getting messed up). He suggested oiling it and leaving it alone.

Does anyone have any advice on how to fix this? Also, what is the best glue to use? most of the cracks are too small to pull apart and apply glue on each side. I'm thinking I need something with less viscosity so I can apply it on the surface of the crack and let it seep in.

Thanks everyone!!

**plba1126** · Jul-20-2011, 1:36pm

Another thing. The neck is slightly bowed on the high end, where the fretboard is no longer attached to the neck. How do I fix this? I was told steaming it, but the instrument is so old and the wood seems brittle

**Audio Artillery** · Jul-20-2011, 2:18pm

Any idea the fretboard material? Some pictures would be helpful too.

**plba1126** · Jul-20-2011, 2:51pm

I took some pics of it when I first got it. But not the actual crack (it's actually around the middle of the fretboard, in between the 1st two pics). I want to say it's made of ebony. It's not wide at all, maybe even considered hairline, i'm just afraid that it'll get worse through the years.

And here's a picture of the whole thing.

**Audio Artillery** · Jul-20-2011, 3:00pm

Hmmm... maybe someone more experienced can chime in, but I don't think gluing a crack is going to prevent further cracking. If you think about it, it's the fretboard is already cleated along its length by the neck it is glued to.

Personally, I think I'd just oil it and leave it be.

**Loudloar** · Jul-20-2011, 11:38pm

Here are before and after pictures of a very badly cracked fingerboard I repaired with superglue and ebony dust. As a previous poster said, it's holding together because it's glued to the neck. I'm sure the superglue helped reinforce things, but mostly this was a cosmetic repair. I ended up soaking the entire fingerboard with superglue because it was so dry and porous. Then I cleaned things up with a single edged razor blade and 3000 sandpaper. The cracks aren't invisible, but you have to look for them.

Steve

**plba1126** · Jul-21-2011, 12:38am

Looks good! Did you remove the frets when you applied the glue?

**Greg Mirken** · Jul-21-2011, 4:29pm

The advice from your guitar tech is 100% wrong. Oiling accomplishes nothing at all. No need to remove any frets to glue this crack (in fact that would likely cause a lot of chipping); start by wicking in a drop of thin CA in each fret space. Follow with medium viscosity CA until the crack is filled. Wait a day, scrape level with single-edge razorblade. You're done.

**Wes Brandt** · Jul-21-2011, 6:15pm

If the fingerboard is loose at the nut, you'd need to reglue that with hide glue, or yellow glue would work if your not experienced with hide... you should try gently loosening it more, just to be sure the whole glue joint isn't bad. Make sure the glue is worked in all the way with a few drops of water before you put in the glue and a super thin blade like an artists spatula. The best way to clamp a loose fingerboard like you have is to wrap it with rubber strips... giant rubber bands or bicycle innertube.

**Loudloar** · Jul-21-2011, 8:05pm

OK - one of the OP's questions was what to do about the fingerboard extension bowing up (over the banjo head). I'd clamp it downward until it's straight and wick superglue along the frets. Hopefully it would stay straight after that treatment. Be sure to put something over the hide head to protect it while applying the glue!

Steve

**plba1126** · Jul-22-2011, 3:39pm

Originally Posted by Loudloar

OK - one of the OP's questions was what to do about the fingerboard extension bowing up (over the banjo head). I'd clamp it downward until it's straight and wick superglue along the frets. Hopefully it would stay straight after that treatment. Be sure to put something over the hide head to protect it while applying the glue!

Steve

Okay I don't know if this was totally wrong, but I clamped the neck to a 2x4 and left it on overnight. When I took it off this morning it was straight!

**lonewolf** · Jul-22-2011, 10:16pm

If you haven't seen this neck tuned to pitch, and under tension, there is no way to tell how straight it is. I am guessing that it doesn't have a truss rod. It may be bowed a lot more than you realize. If that is true, you're probably going to need to use a pretty light gauge of strings, and settle for just playing first position. Otherwise an expensive complete restoration will be needed.

Very few players actually play the high part of the neck that extends over the head. However even if you won't be playing up there, it can cause buzzing farther back down the neck, if that part is kicked up real high. A couple possibilities are to have the fret's removed from that area, and have that part of the neck planed, leveled, and then re-fretted. The other possibility would be to leave it un-fretted, like so many do with the small extended part of the fingerboard, on the "F model" mandolins. It might be possible to cut that portion of the fingerboard free right at the point where it starts to rise, and have the angle re-cut, and reattached, another difficult job.

I agree with just filling the crack with carpenters glue or whatever, and a bit of ebony dust, and re-leveling it. Leave the frets alone! Glue can often be forced into cracks by blowing air from a squeeze bulb, or a hand held compressor nozzle. Don't try the canned air blasters, as the air comes out cold, which instantly thickens the glue, making it harder to get into the crack. I usually just lay down a bead of glue, and press it in with my finger, which actually works much better than you might think.

As neat as they are, it is sometimes very difficult to return these older instruments to a truly playable status.

Gene Warner
repairman

**plba1126** · Jul-25-2011, 2:02pm

Thanks everyone for all the great advice! After many hours on here and YouTube and $30 of materials, she's done. It sounds like nothing i've ever played before!