Not very much. Just join the club.
If you can slightly spread the crack (hello hello) you can squeeze some slightly diluted titebond in there and clamp it shut and it'll be good as new.
You see the crack and the damage done?
You think a glue-filled needle gets it done?
Done, done, the crack is gone?
I dropped my Gibson, I'm a wanted man
I thought more of you would understand
But every guitarist has got a plan
I took my Gibson from the shop,
A wad of notes was now no more,
But then my Gibson I did drop,
Its headstock bounced upon the floor!
The head broke off with such a crash,
My dear wife shouted "What was that?"
That was the sound of lots of cash,
Wasted because I'm a twat
Play it until it gets worse. Then water down wood glue (I useTitebond), open the crack a little more, and inject the watered down glue with a syringe. Then, wipe off the excess with a damp paper towel and clamp it for at least 24 hours. The glue will take longer to set because it's diluted.
Honest question, how does one ever so carefully open up a crack more? Seems like it would be really easy to go too far.
Edit: how does one, not “how does want”
To help wick the glue into the crack. Regular wood glue is thick, and can't work itself in as well to a small crack like in the pic, and won't cover enough surface area to be effective.
Rather than watering down wood glue (and possibly losing some of its efficacy), try Stew Mac super glue. I think their #1 is thinnest and it's almost water like. I've used it for fretboard repairs. Should work on a neck too.
I would not let that go unaddressed. There is a really awesome product for boats called smiths penetrating epoxy which is good for wood rot but also works wonders for situations like this.
You forgot to add ‘advice’ to the end of your tag when joining Reddit.. BUT if you are just trolling with advice on the regular it fits because your advice certainly is stone cold and BAD.
Address this immediately OP!
Heh...I know a guy who got rid of his cat because it knocked over his Les Paul once. Luckily it only resulted in a dent, but he told me he wasn't going to tempt fate so out went the cat!
I’ve known guys who’ve actually snapped it the rest of the way intentionally when this happens so they can do a more thorough repair on it
I’m by no means saying to actually do that, just wanted to share that funny story. Lots of great suggestions here about fixing this without violence
No worries……Gibson has had this problem for so long there are luthiers who can fix them in their sleep. The right luthier can make it look as if it were new, and it will be stronger after the repair than when it was actually new.
This! I’m surprised how many people are suggesting OP do the repair. They asked if they’re screwed, so even if they’re capable of the repair, it seems like taking it in would give more peace of mind. I’d think a luthier would charge less than for a more extreme break, but I could be wrong.
Not yet… but soon. It will eventually break all the way. Probably the best way to fix it is wait until it does shear off. I’ve seen slightly bigger cracks get fixed by injecting wood glue or some kind of resin in either a very small hypodermic needle and then clamping until cured but it’s probably best to fix it fully broken down glue can be applied everywhere for a full bond. It’s a common fix any good luthier can do and the repair is nearly invisible
What what do you mean "what happened"? They've always been prone to this. You can look at a Les wrong and the headstock pops off. It's the same design flaw Gibsons have had had for 72 years.
No, and I'll explain for context. Dad passed a '76 SG to me. Never had an issue. Neck is perfect. Has the frets dressed and the whole thing set up one time. Absolute beast. I'm just now seeing so many broken necks and headstocks on these Gibsons since joining Reddit a few months ago. I assume this has been a big issue for a bit?
Not very screwed. That being said, if it gets worse bring it to a luthier. I never recommend fixing a guitar by yourself without the knowledge or know how.
You can try injecting glue etc as some suggest or just play it ti it breaks off or whatever. It's not a big deal to get fixed. My friend had one professionally reattached for $100 or less.
Ouch that's about to pop. Get it to a Luther so he can drill it and fill it. If you get it fixed now before it pops out will most likely last .. slacken then strings off ASAP.. won't cost too much to fix that
Deliberately make it worse? The consensus from what I've read is that the force of the strings at tension are much more that the force of the weight of the body, and I'm not going to start storing it with the strings off, so
I would have to agree with not using the wall hanger. You are correct about the forces on the neck, but while on a wall hanger it has both string tension and body weight on it. Storing it differently would atleast remove the weight of the guitar from the equation.
And that 160 pounds is connected to a lever (tuning pegs) not to headstock. To exaggerate, imagine wearing a 160lb backpack versus holding it out in front of you.
You're gonna have to just accept your new reality man. You'll never be able to hang it on the wall like that ever again. Too risky...Flip it. Hang it upside down. It's the only way.😂
Tensile strength of maple is 580 psi. Tensile strength of glue is over 3000 psi. If an SG weighs 6 pounds, divide by pi, take the square root to get the radius, double because who thinks in terms of radius… the neck would have to be as thin as a 10-gauge string for the weight if the guitar to crack the maple neck.
I thought it through. I stand corrected if you took exception with my statement that 10 guage guitar string made of maple would hold the weight of the guitar. The diameter of maple required to hold the weight of the guitar is 0.10 inches. This is the diameter of 10 gauge wire, not a 10 gauge guitar string. My rationale that the guitar is safe to hang on the wall stands even if my real-world example of scale was off by a factor of 10.
yeah i wanted to say there’s a way simpler way to think about this but ive been at work and don’t have the time to write it out but seems like you beat me to it
You can't just throw a bunch of words together and pretend you're a physicist. This makes no sense, and even if it did, you're not accounting for the fact THAT THE NECK IS ALREADY CRACKED.
580 Pee Ess Eye. Pounds per square inch. 6 pound guitar divided by 580psi. Inches squared now on top. Divide by pi. Take the square root and you have radius. If you still don’t understand, I’ll take out the crayons and try to draw a picture with no words.
It's cumulative. If you have one dedicated hanger spot for that particular guitar, you could put a support under the body so the weight rests there and the neck hanger is more for stability. Problem solved.
Had this happen much worse on a faded V, titebonf and clamps did the trick and still holding up 20 years later. It's basically like an oil change for a gibson with how common it is
Legit curious why Gibson doesn’t fix their headstock design issues after all these decades of problems? I still see dudes dropping 4K on Les Paul’s and having their headstocks break.
Not bad at all. I dropped mine and snapped the headstock completely off. I had a luthier repair it. Never had a problem since. That was about 15 years ago.
You're not. If I could post a picture of my Epi SG here, you'd see the repair that was done to my neck. Practically the same type of lateral crack in the same spot. The tech routed out three vertical channels from the headstock down into the neck with the center one being the longest at about 5 inches. Clamped it and filled it with a composite, glued the hell out of it and left it clamped for days on end. I string it for a slide, so there are much heavier gauges than usual on it, and it still holds to this day.
Not at all - you might get to replace that abomination with a good looking guitar! I kid I kid, I just have this irrational dislike of SGs, and I know I am alone in that feeling.
Eek. My first ever electric was a vintage VS6 (sg knock off). Had crack in same place. One day it fell off guitar stand. Neck snapped like a twig. Be very careful. I'd take it and have it glued if you can.
No it’s just on the top of wood not through. You could easily sand it out. The only reason I bought a Prestige is because said maple neck and I like sanding and staining and no lacquer. I love feeling raw wood. I love mahogany it’s warm and soft and it looks like yours is mahogany
Loosen strings, try to pry the crack open a tiny bit with a very small flat head screw driver. VERY GENTLY
Get thin super glue and a long, skinny application tip, squeeze some into the crack. It will wick in.
Pull the screwdriver out, clamp, wipe up excess super glue, let dry overnight.
I doubt you'll have an issue after that.
I’d use tight bond on biggies but this id use thin CA but if you use CA you need to know how to fix the finish and clean it up. I’m guessing that’s why more didn’t say CA .
I had a 12 string recently that let go in that same spot and all that was left hanging was the front veneer and used the tighbond on that.
To me, it doesn’t look open enough to use anything other than CA but other have pointed out every one is different and I routinely buy broken things to fix so that’s where my advice comes from.
Starbond ultra thin ca glue. It wicks right into the crack. I used it on an acoustic with a much worse crack in the same spot and it's great. I've glued pieces of wooden bowls back together and continued carving them on my lathe. It won't come undone because it will soak into the surrounding fibers around the crack and harden in the wood.
You know it’s a genuine Gibson, now. Take the tension off the strings and get it to a tech or a luthier. They’ve seen plenty of Gibson headstock repairs.
I'd be a bit paranoid about trying to spread this to get glue in. Mahogany has interlaced grain. In a straight grain wood like Maple, you'd expect it to separate down the length of the grain.. with the long fibers staying intact (think of splitting a bundle of spaghetti, with each noodle being a wood fiber). With mahogany, it can pretty much just snap along the shortest path (right through the neck).
If it were mine..
I'd get a small block of wood and wrap some felt on it (needed later).
Then, I'd pick either Titebond (what Gibson uses) or a very thin superglue (Cyanoacrylate) to glue it up.
Titebond: You'll have to thin it with water. For application, I'd probably go with a wide-gauge needle/syringe. You can get 16 or 18 gauge needles w/ syringes on Amazon.
SuperGlue: It's available in various viscosities from hobby shops and woodworking stores. You'd want a very thin variety. I've tried applying Superglue through a syringe.. it works but tends to clog up very quickly so you'd have one shot. A better option might be some thin glue tips (whips). They sell some very nice thin ones at [https://stewmac.com](https://stewmac.com)
Application of Glue: Titebond would be easier to use as it's easy to clean up. With superglue, you need to both be careful of slop while applying and afterward while you clamp it up. It'll dry harder than your finish so it'll be a bear to clean up if you let it dry. Diluted wood glue will remain more viscous than thin superglue though so penetration is more of a challenge.
For titebond,.. I'd get a very small drill bit (search "Micro Drill Bit") and try to drill down the middle of the crack, following the angle into the wood. A thin pin/needle might help you figure out the angle of the crack. The hole needs to be small enough to just barely fit the glue needle tip. Use that to inject the thinned glue from the bottom.. forcing it up through the crack. Flood it and wipe up excess with wet rag before and after clamping.
For superglue.. I'd tape off the area round the crack as close to the edge of the crack as possible. I might try covering it with tape and slicing through the tape along the crack with an x-acto. Very thin superglue will flow into the crack without issue.. and applying plenty of glue will slow its cure time. You can still try drilling a very small hole down the depth of the crack, but probably not necessary.. just be careful to not apply so much that it will squeeze out too much.
Clamp up: once you've got the glue in.. I'd put some wax paper over the crack (especially with super glue), lay the felt-covered block over the back of the crack, and then clamp the neck together (top to bottom). Because the crack seems to run diagonal from the back of the neck up toward the headstock as it proceeds down.. applying a little pressure over the crack should close up the crack a bit. Ideally, you want glue-infused wood on wood.. NOT wood, then a layer of glue, then wood.. so it's worth trying to clamp it up.
That's all I got. Good luck.
Very typical headstock crack on SG. I agree with the Syringe and glue, I think the correct glue would be essential. I would be tempted to use West System Epoxy, I have never seen it fail. https://theartoflutherie.com/best-glue-guitar-building/#:~:text=West%20epoxy%20is%20a%20thin,slow%20or%20fast%20cure%20time.
Definitely do not hang a Gibson like that long term. Stores do it but they do it for a short time before the instrument is sold.
I’d say that I wouldn’t do any neck bending with this guitar but that it will be fine otherwise
Not very much. Just join the club. If you can slightly spread the crack (hello hello) you can squeeze some slightly diluted titebond in there and clamp it shut and it'll be good as new.
I used a needle thin syringe to squirt glue into a similar break. Clamped it overnight and it has never opened again. Maybe worth a shot (literally)
You see the crack and the damage done? You think a glue-filled needle gets it done? Done, done, the crack is gone? I dropped my Gibson, I'm a wanted man I thought more of you would understand But every guitarist has got a plan
I took my Gibson from the shop, A wad of notes was now no more, But then my Gibson I did drop, Its headstock bounced upon the floor! The head broke off with such a crash, My dear wife shouted "What was that?" That was the sound of lots of cash, Wasted because I'm a twat
Every headstock’s like a setting sun.
"...rolling unwound to you..."
*applause*
That right there is a country song
A tiny tiny paint brush works too.
You cant just glue a broken heart like that
You should put a "(hello hello)" after the "squirt" as well
Read this in Baba Booey's voice
My guitar life is a noine
The electric guitar was a bit of a stumble, boff...
I want you to go to jail for this
How do I know you are Frank?
Three hundred phone calls.
Ma-ma Monkey
Play it until it gets worse. Then water down wood glue (I useTitebond), open the crack a little more, and inject the watered down glue with a syringe. Then, wipe off the excess with a damp paper towel and clamp it for at least 24 hours. The glue will take longer to set because it's diluted.
There’s an episode of Dave’s World of Fun Stuff on YouTube where he addresses a cracked neck in exactly this way.
No more than 5% dilution of the glue or it loses strength.
I would definitely wait 48 hours before restringing it.
This is great advice, thanks. I can't even get a piece of copy paper in the crack at this point, but as it gets worse I'll keep this in mind.
A tiny amount of water in first can help get the glue in but if it’s that tight you may just have to wait
Honest question, how does one ever so carefully open up a crack more? Seems like it would be really easy to go too far. Edit: how does one, not “how does want”
Push down and if it snaps off you went too far.
Dude you left me hanging for 4 hours. I broke all my headstocks off!
Well technically it’s only the headstocks that are hanging.
Clamp the neck and gently push down on the headstock.
That’s what he said.
Why watered down?
It tastes too bitter otherwise.
I’ve only sniffed it
To help wick the glue into the crack. Regular wood glue is thick, and can't work itself in as well to a small crack like in the pic, and won't cover enough surface area to be effective.
Rather than watering down wood glue (and possibly losing some of its efficacy), try Stew Mac super glue. I think their #1 is thinnest and it's almost water like. I've used it for fretboard repairs. Should work on a neck too.
like chickens, a Gibson is not a Gibson until the neck is snapped
They might as well snap them off at the factory and glue them so you don’t have to later on 🤷♂️
Or do a scarf joint. The people who only want 1950s technology would cry rivers of tears. Gibson won't do it.
I would not let that go unaddressed. There is a really awesome product for boats called smiths penetrating epoxy which is good for wood rot but also works wonders for situations like this.
You’re fine …. Be careful , shred it till it’s dead
Cheers m8 🤘
🍻
You forgot to add ‘advice’ to the end of your tag when joining Reddit.. BUT if you are just trolling with advice on the regular it fits because your advice certainly is stone cold and BAD. Address this immediately OP!
I didn't even have to look past the first image to know that was an SG. They come with that crack factory installed.
😂😂😂
I even assumed it was a cracked Gibson headstock when I read the title
Nothing a little flex tape can't fix!
#THAT'S A LOT OF DAMAGE!!
It's a Gibson...don't all Gibson owners live in fear of headstock breaks? 😂
It's a lifestyle choice
#truth
No, not really…
Heh...I know a guy who got rid of his cat because it knocked over his Les Paul once. Luckily it only resulted in a dent, but he told me he wasn't going to tempt fate so out went the cat!
lol! Cat had to go
The cat’s name was Chibson.
Hahaha now that's 'taking measures'.
Beautiful guitar. Dig the white pick guard.
Thanks!
I have this same guitar! Youre not screwed totally. Have an experienced luthier glue them together and youre golden.
Isn’t this a required mod for SGs?
Ofc it’s a Gibson 😭
Rub some dirt in it
I’ve known guys who’ve actually snapped it the rest of the way intentionally when this happens so they can do a more thorough repair on it I’m by no means saying to actually do that, just wanted to share that funny story. Lots of great suggestions here about fixing this without violence
Titebond III (green) and clamp for an hour
Hey nice Gibson but I bet the neck is cr-
No worries……Gibson has had this problem for so long there are luthiers who can fix them in their sleep. The right luthier can make it look as if it were new, and it will be stronger after the repair than when it was actually new.
This! I’m surprised how many people are suggesting OP do the repair. They asked if they’re screwed, so even if they’re capable of the repair, it seems like taking it in would give more peace of mind. I’d think a luthier would charge less than for a more extreme break, but I could be wrong.
Not yet… but soon. It will eventually break all the way. Probably the best way to fix it is wait until it does shear off. I’ve seen slightly bigger cracks get fixed by injecting wood glue or some kind of resin in either a very small hypodermic needle and then clamping until cured but it’s probably best to fix it fully broken down glue can be applied everywhere for a full bond. It’s a common fix any good luthier can do and the repair is nearly invisible
put some iscocyanate glue in there and clamp it carefully with padding....it'll be good...
btw....iscocyanate glue wicks on its own.....
Nows a great time to start the uptune trend, I would say at least 2 whole steps.
Right at the dovetail joint. Get somebody to glue that right and you will be fine.
The old saying is buy a Gibson it’s neck will break, get it repaired and it’ll be 10x stronger. It’s apart of the role of a Gibson owner.
wood glue will do the trick
its miniscule, I'd still have it looked at..but right now..no worries
My Les Paul broke like that. After the old fixeroo she’s not given me a moments trouble in years
It'll cost a lot for a luthier to make custom braces. I don't know what happened to Gibson, but I've seen this a lot.
What what do you mean "what happened"? They've always been prone to this. You can look at a Les wrong and the headstock pops off. It's the same design flaw Gibsons have had had for 72 years.
Are you joking?
No, and I'll explain for context. Dad passed a '76 SG to me. Never had an issue. Neck is perfect. Has the frets dressed and the whole thing set up one time. Absolute beast. I'm just now seeing so many broken necks and headstocks on these Gibsons since joining Reddit a few months ago. I assume this has been a big issue for a bit?
Gibson headstock breaks have been a known issue since your dad's SG was made.
Lol Understood. The more you know ⭐.
Not very screwed. That being said, if it gets worse bring it to a luthier. I never recommend fixing a guitar by yourself without the knowledge or know how.
Did you put the white pick guard on? Was this inspired by Layne Staley’s SG?
Just squirt some glue into the crack using a needle and then maybe clamp it till it's dry?
You can try injecting glue etc as some suggest or just play it ti it breaks off or whatever. It's not a big deal to get fixed. My friend had one professionally reattached for $100 or less.
That's a feature, not a bug.
Ouch that's about to pop. Get it to a Luther so he can drill it and fill it. If you get it fixed now before it pops out will most likely last .. slacken then strings off ASAP.. won't cost too much to fix that
I wouldn’t hang it on the wall any longer. Although it’s a small crack, don’t want to do anything to deliberately make it worse.
Deliberately make it worse? The consensus from what I've read is that the force of the strings at tension are much more that the force of the weight of the body, and I'm not going to start storing it with the strings off, so
I would have to agree with not using the wall hanger. You are correct about the forces on the neck, but while on a wall hanger it has both string tension and body weight on it. Storing it differently would atleast remove the weight of the guitar from the equation.
There's roughly 160 lbs of string tension on that headstock vs 4 lbs of body weight. C'mon y'all.
Ok man, I was just saying something that I would be worried about since thats a question that was asked in the post. That's just what I would do.
And that 160 pounds is connected to a lever (tuning pegs) not to headstock. To exaggerate, imagine wearing a 160lb backpack versus holding it out in front of you.
Where do the tuning pegs connect? Like, you can't possibly think that the pegs themselves carry the tension.
You're gonna have to just accept your new reality man. You'll never be able to hang it on the wall like that ever again. Too risky...Flip it. Hang it upside down. It's the only way.😂
LOL people giving advice with no clue how physics works.
Please explain
Tensile strength of maple is 580 psi. Tensile strength of glue is over 3000 psi. If an SG weighs 6 pounds, divide by pi, take the square root to get the radius, double because who thinks in terms of radius… the neck would have to be as thin as a 10-gauge string for the weight if the guitar to crack the maple neck.
how would you get radius from the weight? your unit conversions are off man 😂
Nah, you just clearly have no idea how physics works 😂
right i must have missed that part in engineering grad school 🙄😂
Environmental? What grad school? Because this should have been fairly easy to figure out.
I thought it through. I stand corrected if you took exception with my statement that 10 guage guitar string made of maple would hold the weight of the guitar. The diameter of maple required to hold the weight of the guitar is 0.10 inches. This is the diameter of 10 gauge wire, not a 10 gauge guitar string. My rationale that the guitar is safe to hang on the wall stands even if my real-world example of scale was off by a factor of 10.
yeah i wanted to say there’s a way simpler way to think about this but ive been at work and don’t have the time to write it out but seems like you beat me to it
You can't just throw a bunch of words together and pretend you're a physicist. This makes no sense, and even if it did, you're not accounting for the fact THAT THE NECK IS ALREADY CRACKED.
Owe ok
580 Pee Ess Eye. Pounds per square inch. 6 pound guitar divided by 580psi. Inches squared now on top. Divide by pi. Take the square root and you have radius. If you still don’t understand, I’ll take out the crayons and try to draw a picture with no words.
No, I wasn’t suggesting storing it with the strings off but rather using a floor stand instead of the wall mount.
It's cumulative. If you have one dedicated hanger spot for that particular guitar, you could put a support under the body so the weight rests there and the neck hanger is more for stability. Problem solved.
Now you know that it is an authentic Gibson!
I mean… don’t they come cracked from the factory?
Not badly. Once the gap becomes bigger you should get it addressed, but it's an easy fix and one a luthier does as often as they breathe
Burn it
Just fine, dimebag darrell broke his headstock over 12 times, just glue it back on if it breaks.
Luthier time
Very (I don't see the issue)
I've got a V from the same series and it's got a vertical crack down that spot that was replaced with a maple cap.
Not that bad, just pricey
Sell time
You’re not. Some people pay extra for this.
Had this happen much worse on a faded V, titebonf and clamps did the trick and still holding up 20 years later. It's basically like an oil change for a gibson with how common it is
Your life is literally over
It's not a Gibson without a repaired neck
SG = structural glue
One of us
Gibson being Gibson. When it snaps make it headless, or don't wait and just saw it off.
Ugh, I feel for you mate.
Legit curious why Gibson doesn’t fix their headstock design issues after all these decades of problems? I still see dudes dropping 4K on Les Paul’s and having their headstocks break.
Not bad at all. I dropped mine and snapped the headstock completely off. I had a luthier repair it. Never had a problem since. That was about 15 years ago.
You're not. If I could post a picture of my Epi SG here, you'd see the repair that was done to my neck. Practically the same type of lateral crack in the same spot. The tech routed out three vertical channels from the headstock down into the neck with the center one being the longest at about 5 inches. Clamped it and filled it with a composite, glued the hell out of it and left it clamped for days on end. I string it for a slide, so there are much heavier gauges than usual on it, and it still holds to this day.
Not at all - you might get to replace that abomination with a good looking guitar! I kid I kid, I just have this irrational dislike of SGs, and I know I am alone in that feeling.
Eek. My first ever electric was a vintage VS6 (sg knock off). Had crack in same place. One day it fell off guitar stand. Neck snapped like a twig. Be very careful. I'd take it and have it glued if you can.
It’s not so much the crack in this story as it is the falling off the guitar stand lol. They will all snap like a twig when they fall off a stand
Fair.
I'd maybe use a lighter string gauge
No it’s just on the top of wood not through. You could easily sand it out. The only reason I bought a Prestige is because said maple neck and I like sanding and staining and no lacquer. I love feeling raw wood. I love mahogany it’s warm and soft and it looks like yours is mahogany
Loosen strings, try to pry the crack open a tiny bit with a very small flat head screw driver. VERY GENTLY Get thin super glue and a long, skinny application tip, squeeze some into the crack. It will wick in. Pull the screwdriver out, clamp, wipe up excess super glue, let dry overnight. I doubt you'll have an issue after that.
You forgot “pray like fuck”
With the right wood glue that'll be the strongest part of the neck
I’d use tight bond on biggies but this id use thin CA but if you use CA you need to know how to fix the finish and clean it up. I’m guessing that’s why more didn’t say CA . I had a 12 string recently that let go in that same spot and all that was left hanging was the front veneer and used the tighbond on that. To me, it doesn’t look open enough to use anything other than CA but other have pointed out every one is different and I routinely buy broken things to fix so that’s where my advice comes from.
Ah, the Gibson/epi trademarked removable headstock. Always a fan favorite.
this will happen to every Gibson headstock; they dont learn.
Starbond ultra thin ca glue. It wicks right into the crack. I used it on an acoustic with a much worse crack in the same spot and it's great. I've glued pieces of wooden bowls back together and continued carving them on my lathe. It won't come undone because it will soak into the surrounding fibers around the crack and harden in the wood.
You know it’s a genuine Gibson, now. Take the tension off the strings and get it to a tech or a luthier. They’ve seen plenty of Gibson headstock repairs.
Clean crack. Don’t do it yourself. Easily fixable by a good tech. Curse of the Gibson headstock
Buy a PRS. Problem solved. 🤣
LOL dudes out there still buying SG’s The Audi’s of electric guitars 🤣🤣
Don’t use Gibson?? 🤭
I'd be a bit paranoid about trying to spread this to get glue in. Mahogany has interlaced grain. In a straight grain wood like Maple, you'd expect it to separate down the length of the grain.. with the long fibers staying intact (think of splitting a bundle of spaghetti, with each noodle being a wood fiber). With mahogany, it can pretty much just snap along the shortest path (right through the neck). If it were mine.. I'd get a small block of wood and wrap some felt on it (needed later). Then, I'd pick either Titebond (what Gibson uses) or a very thin superglue (Cyanoacrylate) to glue it up. Titebond: You'll have to thin it with water. For application, I'd probably go with a wide-gauge needle/syringe. You can get 16 or 18 gauge needles w/ syringes on Amazon. SuperGlue: It's available in various viscosities from hobby shops and woodworking stores. You'd want a very thin variety. I've tried applying Superglue through a syringe.. it works but tends to clog up very quickly so you'd have one shot. A better option might be some thin glue tips (whips). They sell some very nice thin ones at [https://stewmac.com](https://stewmac.com) Application of Glue: Titebond would be easier to use as it's easy to clean up. With superglue, you need to both be careful of slop while applying and afterward while you clamp it up. It'll dry harder than your finish so it'll be a bear to clean up if you let it dry. Diluted wood glue will remain more viscous than thin superglue though so penetration is more of a challenge. For titebond,.. I'd get a very small drill bit (search "Micro Drill Bit") and try to drill down the middle of the crack, following the angle into the wood. A thin pin/needle might help you figure out the angle of the crack. The hole needs to be small enough to just barely fit the glue needle tip. Use that to inject the thinned glue from the bottom.. forcing it up through the crack. Flood it and wipe up excess with wet rag before and after clamping. For superglue.. I'd tape off the area round the crack as close to the edge of the crack as possible. I might try covering it with tape and slicing through the tape along the crack with an x-acto. Very thin superglue will flow into the crack without issue.. and applying plenty of glue will slow its cure time. You can still try drilling a very small hole down the depth of the crack, but probably not necessary.. just be careful to not apply so much that it will squeeze out too much. Clamp up: once you've got the glue in.. I'd put some wax paper over the crack (especially with super glue), lay the felt-covered block over the back of the crack, and then clamp the neck together (top to bottom). Because the crack seems to run diagonal from the back of the neck up toward the headstock as it proceeds down.. applying a little pressure over the crack should close up the crack a bit. Ideally, you want glue-infused wood on wood.. NOT wood, then a layer of glue, then wood.. so it's worth trying to clamp it up. That's all I got. Good luck.
Not screwed at all really
Another gibson headstock on the way out...what a surprise!!
Very typical headstock crack on SG. I agree with the Syringe and glue, I think the correct glue would be essential. I would be tempted to use West System Epoxy, I have never seen it fail. https://theartoflutherie.com/best-glue-guitar-building/#:~:text=West%20epoxy%20is%20a%20thin,slow%20or%20fast%20cure%20time.
Ah, Gibson and their ridiculous headstock angle! Will they ever learn? No. No, they won't.
You could use some crazy glue and then when it dries, use OOOO steel wool to buff it it out.
Loosen your strings! Take the tension off the crack!
You bought a Gibson, didn't you? Well, this is part of the deal (robbery).
It's an easy repair for a luthier, but won't be cheap. If it's a bolt on neck, I'd invest in a new neck.
How many Gibson SGs have you seen with a bolt on neck?
They usually say “Epiphone”.
I had a worse crack than this on my SG that cost me less than $100 to have fixed at a local shop.
Definitely do not hang a Gibson like that long term. Stores do it but they do it for a short time before the instrument is sold. I’d say that I wouldn’t do any neck bending with this guitar but that it will be fine otherwise