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This Ovation 12 string suffered some severe trauma. 18 years ago an angry wife smashed some guitars and this was one of the victims. It has been in its case all these years until the owner decided to bring it in and see what could be done.



Along with Gibsons, Ovations suffer a high rate of broken necks. While Gibsons usually crack, Ovations are very prone to breaking completely off just like this one. Usually a laminated neck like this is much stronger than a plain mahogany neck. But when you combine the slim neck profiles these guitars are known for with the big cast aluminum truss rods they used there is just not much wood holding it all together.

The owner made it clear from the start that he was not concerned with how the repair looked. He simply wanted the neck repaired so the guitar was playable again and felt good in the hand. While I would have been happy to make some cosmetic touch ups to conceal the repair I was just as happy to simply make the repair. I have been using a structural epoxy for these types of repairs. I have also developed a clamping and alignment tool for doing these jobs which allows me to do these types of repairs quickly and accurately. Here we see the neck being glued back together in the fixture.



And after a bit of scraping and sanding followed by a bit of padded on CA and a good buffing here we have the finished product. Plays as good as it ever did and it has a battle scar with a story to tell.

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

nice repair Brian ; I like your repair fixture too...

Times 2.
Please tell us more about that jig.... I find it very intriguing.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Yes to the neck fixture, as well. Which epoxy did you use, Bryan?

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I have been using System 3's T-88 epoxy for these and it works very well.

The jig has been further improved from what is pictured here. I had a rash of severed necks come in recently and needed to come up with an adjustable clamping system that could both provide alignment and some clamping force in the lengthwise direction while allowing access for other clamps as needed. There are two cork lined frames, one that clamps to the neck shaft and another that clamps to the headstock. Three rods between them allow for positioning the two pieces in relationship to each other as needed and can also provide clamping force in the direction of the neck which is always the toughest way to obtain any force. With the last set of mods ( not pictured) the whole thing can be set up and aligned dry, separated to have adhesive applied and then returned to the exact position of the dry fit. It is also very open to allow clean up of squeeze out and allow room to apply other means of clamping to pull the FB back down tight etc.

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Thanks Brian. Any chance of getting one or two pictures of your latest jig?

Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

Very nice jig. Nice repair.

Time for a video, Brian.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Very nice piece of work on that jig, well done.

Steve