Kentucky KM 600 Cracked neck

[Kagey]

This is a picture of my Kentucky KM 600, This is a older model 600 with a lot of playing time on it, When this happened the instrument lost tune and was unplayable. Before that it sounded good and Had been a great piece.
My question would be , is this instrument worth repairing? I have access to several good luthierers but am hesitant to spend a lot on this mandolin in repairs unless I feel it would be worthwhile. The crack extends all the way around the neck.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I've seen a couple of guitars with that problem. It's most likely that the heel of the neck is made up from 2 pieces of wood glued together & that the glued joint has failed. It was quite plain to see as the necks weren't 'coloured',just natural wood & the 2 separate pieces were easy to see.Both the guitars i saw were at the shop of the luthier i used to use years back,both were repaired & returned to their owners. The best thing that you can do,is to find a good luthier,let him examine it & give you a quote for a repair.Then it will be up to you to decide if the cost is worth while. If it's been a good instrument in the past & the cost wouldn't be too great,i'd personally have it repaired,
Ivan

[bmac]

And if you find it too dfficult or costly to repair then offer it in the classified for those interested in restoration... There are folks willing to take it on as a labor of love and are looking for just such projects... Myself included.

[belbein]

Oh, hell--I'd try that fix in a heartbeat. It's easy woodworking. The only hard thing is getting the neck off and maintaining the finish while repairing it. It looks like enough of the joint is still there to maintain the neck angle pretty easily when you do the repair (hehehehe--last words of a fool: "how hard can it be?").

I completely agree with Mr. Mac. Except on one thing. Labor of love, or a labor of masochism?

[StuartGold]

I had something like that happen with my guitar. I was able to open the crack a bit and force some glue (titebond 1) into the crack (using an air compressor to try to drive it as deep as possible) I wiped off the excess and clamped it and three years later, it is still holding. I did have to sand a bit and do a spot finish and buff but I like the way it came out. If the neck angle is wrong after the clamping, then you might be in for a lot more work but it's not necessarily going to be the case. Give it a shot.

[belbein]

The key though is "lost tune and was unplayable." I suspect that it stressed the neck joint and that screwed up the neck angle. So it's going to have to have some sort of neck reset. Maybe shooting the glue in there and clamping it will work to re-angle the neck ... but if it became unplayable then sure as shootin' the neck joint has moved.

At least, that's what I think.

[Kagey]

You will notice in the 2 pictures the one shows a level crack that gives the impression that it is broken all the way around in that manner, if that was the case I wouldn't worry over the repair so much.
Look closely at the second picture however (sorry for the bad pic) and you will see that the crack turns upward and actually goes above the mandolins body and continues down the neck on top of the mandolin body , (not in the mandolin body but in the neck) In essence , this is not a simple Straight crack. I think your speculation about the neck angle is absolutly true.
On the second picture the faint line that appears near the joint and turns left is the crack.

[Rick Lindstrom]

Your second photo leaves a little to be desired as far as clarity goes, so I can't really tell much from it.

This mandolin would be a good candidate for the "glue and screw" technique. Take off the heel cap and drill a hole for a (properly sized) wood screw through the heel and into the neck. The hole through the heel should be opened up enough that the wood screw threads don't bite- that way it'll pull the crack closed when you tighten the screw. Put some glue in the crack (work it as deeply in as you can with a thin blade like a palette knife), and then use the screw in the heel to pull the glue joint up tight. Replace the heel cap and you're done. An invisible repair that will never come undone if you did it right.

If the neck is actually loose enough to wiggle it out of the body, I'd probably do that, clean up the exposed joint, add the glue, put it back together and then pull it all together with the screw, which you have of course pre-drilled the hole for before adding glue.

Assuming that you get the joint pulled tight with the screw, the proper neck angle should be restored because the heel is still where it originally was

Rick

[kkmm]

I was able to open the crack a bit and force some glue (titebond 1) into the crack

I would use hot hide glue in this case. Need to clean up whatever glue that was there in the crack first, then heat up the crack up so HHG has time to flow in to the crack.
I have done this on a cracked headstock successfully. btw the headstock crack had no glue in it, just plain wood so I skip the clean up part.

[belbein]

the crack turns upward and actually goes above the mandolins body and continues down the neck on top of the mandolin body

Understand that everybody here knows more than me, but the wood geography doesn't make sense to me. My bet is the "turning upward" crack is just in the finish. Hard to believe it's in the neck heel or neck block, unless that is one funky joint OR someone stepped on it or used it to play cricket.

[belbein]

I would use hot hide glue in this case. .

Yeah, I mean, like the guy's already got a messed up mandolin and a tough repair on an instrument that is sunk right in the gray area of economic cost and benefit ... His day's not going to get much worse no matter what happens. So why not throw him into the single most finnicky concoction the world has ever known? I hear that HHG is the real reason that the Roman Empire fell.

[Kagey]

It is one weird looking crack It actually looks as if its under the finish where it turns upward. That was the reason I could not get a good picture of it. Thanks for all the ideas.

[Michael Lewis]

As is often the case, you get one chance to get it right. I suggest you take it to a reputable luthier who will use hot hide glue. You might be able to get it back in line and playing well or you might not. That is the chance you are faced with. An experienced luthier has a much better chance of getting it right, or he (she) might see some other issue pertinent to this repair and not shown in the pics.

You don't need any screws or other reinforcements here, just a clean joint, good glue, and clamping. This will be the least expensive approach if it works, and if it doesn't work the neck should come out and be repaired before re-setting. An 'in hand' assessment by an experienced eye might determine the neck should be removed first. It is near impossible to tell without actually seeing it in person.

[MikeEdgerton]

If you're looking for an adventure and don't care how it turns out you can try it yourself. Otherwise, if you want to really make it playable again I'd do what Michael says and get it someone that knows what they are doing. If you manage to mess up the repair and then take it to someone it will end up costing you more to fix it. The question is how attached are you to the mandolin? If it has deep sentimental value then why take the chance? On the other hand, if losing wouldn't rock your world you have the option to take the other avenues.

[Kagey]

Thanks for all the suggestions and observations, I've decided I'm going to take it to Lewis Price (Pricetone) I'm playing one of his Mandolins that he built for me now. After paying a little more attention to the damage to this instrument I've realized that what I was calling a crack on the opposite side of the neck away from the obvious crack is more of a "Compressed" type area. A look down the body across the bridge (with my glasses on) helped me realize this thing has a very obvious twisted neck. I really want to try and fix this mandolin for a backup. It had a good sound and I got many years of great service from it. Thanks again!!!