Repairing a Smashed Bass Neck and Scroll

This bass had extensive damage: multiple breaks in the scroll and vertical cracks running through the neck and fingerboard. Typically, necks don’t crack this way because the grain runs horizontally, but in this case, the grain ran vertically, leading to a more complex break. Here's the step-by-step process I used to restore it:

1. Remove the Fingerboard: The first step was to carefully remove the fingerboard to access the damaged neck and make the necessary repairs.
2. Create Protective Molds: I designed molds to protect the edges of the neck during the clamping process.
3. Apply Mold Material: The mold material was placed directly onto the edges of the neck to ensure even support.
4. Lightly Clamp the Mold: I lightly clamped thin strips against the mold material and let it dry to create a stable edge mold.
5. Reinforce the Mold: Once dry, I added more mold material to strengthen the initial layer, ensuring it could handle the pressure from clamping.
6. Clamp the Neck: Using the molds, I clamped the neck laterally to close the vertical cracks. I also applied clamping along the Z-axis to ensure the cracks aligned correctly.
7. Reinforce the Scroll: The scroll was reinforced using my inner sleeve method (though unfortunately, there are no photos of this part of the process).
8. Finishing Touches: Once all the repairs were complete, I performed the finishing work on the neck and scroll to restore the bass to its original condition.

This process successfully repaired the bass, stabilizing both the neck and scroll and ensuring the instrument was playable once again.

IMG 20240613 120454 508 IMG 20240613 120454 508	IMG 20240613 120604 681 IMG 20240613 120604 681	IMG 20240613 120614 811 IMG 20240613 120614 811
IMG 20240613 120651 408 IMG 20240613 120651 408	IMG 20240613 120746 122 IMG 20240613 120746 122	IMG 20240613 120757 203 IMG 20240613 120757 203
IMG 20240613 120909 389 IMG 20240613 120909 389	IMG 20240713 124207 060 IMG 20240713 124207 060	IMG 20240713 180641 997 IMG 20240713 180641 997
IMG 20240714 130756 250 IMG 20240714 130756 250	IMG 20240714 151305 478 IMG 20240714 151305 478	IMG 20240714 151858 012 IMG 20240714 151858 012
IMG 20240715 170235 842 IMG 20240715 170235 842	IMG 20240715 180918 835 IMG 20240715 180918 835	IMG 20240717 164143 420 IMG 20240717 164143 420
IMG 20240808 132318 814 IMG 20240808 132318 814	IMG 20240910 125223 270 IMG 20240910 125223 270	IMG 20240910 125239 623 IMG 20240910 125239 623
IMG 20240910 125246 305 IMG 20240910 125246 305	IMG 20240910 125258 208 IMG 20240910 125258 208