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This instructable is about repairing the neck of a guitar. Repairing a broken musical instrument looks like a difficult task, but it can be easy enough. In this case, the neck and finger board broke off cleanly, and the following steps are how I repaired the damage.
Before you begin, make sure the guitar isn't worth more than a few hundred bucks. If it is an expensive instrument, have it repaired properly by a professional. However, if it's a cheap guitar with plywood plates, you could probably by a new one for less than the cost of this repair, so the risk is small.
Other instructables about repairing non-electric guitars:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-fix-the-backing-of-an-acoustic-guitar/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Guitar-Head-Repair/ (with style)
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-repair-a-broken-guitar-neck-headstock/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Poor-Mans-Fret-Job/
Before you begin, make sure the guitar isn't worth more than a few hundred bucks. If it is an expensive instrument, have it repaired properly by a professional. However, if it's a cheap guitar with plywood plates, you could probably by a new one for less than the cost of this repair, so the risk is small.
Other instructables about repairing non-electric guitars:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-fix-the-backing-of-an-acoustic-guitar/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Guitar-Head-Repair/ (with style)
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-repair-a-broken-guitar-neck-headstock/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Poor-Mans-Fret-Job/
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Signing UpStep 1Diagnose
Before you begin the repair, try to figure out what caused the problem. If your kid dropped the guitar, that's easy to know what's the problem and there's nothing you can do about it. On the other hand, the broken neck may be a symptom of another problem.
In the case of my guitar, I found that the previous owner had strung it up with the wrong kind of strings. As you can see from the images below, the guitar was meant for nylon strings. There are structural differences between the two kinds of guitars. The differences are so great that you can feel it simply by lifting the guitar---the steel-string guitar weighs 2-3 times more than a classical guitar. All of that mass is due to the bracing and other measures taken to strengthen a steel-string guitar so that it can resist the pull of the taut strings. When my classical was strung up with steel strings, the neck broke off cleanly. Clearly, fixing the guitar won't solve the problem unless I use nylon strings in the future.
In the case of my guitar, I found that the previous owner had strung it up with the wrong kind of strings. As you can see from the images below, the guitar was meant for nylon strings. There are structural differences between the two kinds of guitars. The differences are so great that you can feel it simply by lifting the guitar---the steel-string guitar weighs 2-3 times more than a classical guitar. All of that mass is due to the bracing and other measures taken to strengthen a steel-string guitar so that it can resist the pull of the taut strings. When my classical was strung up with steel strings, the neck broke off cleanly. Clearly, fixing the guitar won't solve the problem unless I use nylon strings in the future.
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BTW - I liked your clamping set up also.
I, too, had a headstock break years ago. Broke right across one of the holes for a tuner. I glued that up with yellow glue and it's been fine ever since.
Nice fix, though - I'd like to clean mine up a bit (crackled varnish), but it's a bit too old to risk. Can't tell from your pictures - what company made your guitar?
It says "Amigo by Lotus AM22 Made in Romania"