Old Hofner archtop broken neck.

Heres a nice old thing that I may acquire as per photos the break looks really clean so I was wonder would a glue and clamp be suffice? baring in mind my repair skills are limited. Also any idea what these cuties go for I dont want to spend to much when it's in this state.

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/6223/20120229152001.jpg

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9792/20120229151933.jpg

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/6104/20120229151924.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/6291/20120229151943.jpg

I repaired a crack just like that on a small yamaha acoustic a while back.

First I made sure the truss rod was loose, no sense fighting with it while wiggling the neck around.
Then I used some padded clamps to hold the body in place face down.
Then I used a clamp to pull the neck forward just slightly to open the crack a little more.
Next I used an old business card to force some Titebond original woodglue down into the crack.
Then I un-clamped the guitar and flipped it over so it was face up and re-clamped the body to the work surface.
Then put the clamp back on the neck/table to close up the gap.
Wipe off any excess glue with a damp rag and let sit overnight.

It's been strung up with 13-56 mediums and has held just fine so far.

I have no idea if this is at all the correct way to do this sort of repair but for my guitar which was free in a trash pile it has worked great.

Good luck with it.

-Josh

I repaired a crack just like that on a small yamaha acoustic a while back.

First I made sure the truss rod was loose, no sense fighting with it while wiggling the neck around.
Then I used some padded clamps to hold the body in place face down.
Then I used a clamp to pull the neck forward just slightly to open the crack a little more.
Next I used an old business card to force some Titebond original woodglue down into the crack.
Then I un-clamped the guitar and flipped it over so it was face up and re-clamped the body to the work surface.
Then put the clamp back on the neck/table to close up the gap.
Wipe off any excess glue with a damp rag and let sit overnight.

It's been strung up with 13-56 mediums and has held just fine so far.

I have no idea if this is at all the correct way to do this sort of repair but for my guitar which was free in a trash pile it has worked great.

Good luck with it.

-Josh

ahh that sounds good considering it has held with those heavy gauge strings cool thanks.

It depends on how the neck is sitting and if it's still tight or not, ie. does the neck need to be reset? If so, then it would probably be best to glue it off the body, and then reset the neck.

It depends on how the neck is sitting and if it's still tight or not, ie. does the neck need to be reset? If so, then it would probably be best to glue it off the body, and then reset the neck.

as far as I can see it is a very clean break there and by putting a little pressure towards the join it seems to line up nicely and the action goes done to a very respectable height theres no old glue marks or anything at the break and the heel is still stuck firmly down to the body.

It looks like the factory glue joint just failed. It should be an easy glue and clamp. Make sure there's no debris or old glue globs in there.

It looks like the factory glue joint just failed. It should be an easy glue and clamp. Make sure there's no debris or old glue globs in there.

hey chaps thanks for the advice but the guitar sold for way more than I was prepared to pay for it, it would of been a nice thing to tackle though

Nearly all hofners I have seen have broken there, including mine. Not a big deal to fix tho. Where was it for sale?

Nearly all hofners I have seen have broken there, including mine. Not a big deal to fix tho. Where was it for sale?
It was up for auction here in Welly today I put an absent bid of $100.00 it went for $250.00.

It was up for auction here in Welly today I put an absent bid of $100.00 it went for $250.00.

Another wellington person, I assumed you were in auckland for some reason.
I got mine for $160, but it is a bit scruffy. I love it tho, probably coolest thing I have got off trademe.

Another wellington person, I assumed you were in auckland for some reason.
I got mine for $160, but it is a bit scruffy. I love it tho, probably coolest thing I have got off trademe.
cool mate that sounds like a good deal considering this one with the broken neck went for 250 auctions huh.

Cool headstock

Cool headstock

cool all round

Its very common for these to go at that glue joint, the others have already told you the best way to deal with it.. should be pretty straight forward..

Heres a nice old thing that I may acquire as per photos the break looks really clean so I was wonder would a glue and clamp be suffice? baring in mind my repair skills are limited. Also any idea what these cuties go for I dont want to spend to much when it's in this state.

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/6223/20120229152001.jpg

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9792/20120229151933.jpg

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/6104/20120229151924.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/6291/20120229151943.jpg

yep I have an old as Hofner with the same problem..will post more later..