1992 Seagull S6 Folk

CTGull,
Congratulations on your new to you Guitar.
Nice guitar, pity about the crack in the heel.
I'm sure you will work your magic on it and get to really like it or flog it for a profit. 😀

CTGull,

How do you fix the crack in the heel.

Do you just wack a large screw up though the little heel plate. 😀

It finally came today after a wild ride during the blizzard 2 days ago.  It was supposed to be delivered yesterday, but it took 12 hours to go from VA to NJ (450 miles) DURING the blizzard!  Then it sat in NJ for nearly 24 hours before heading to CT.  Oddly, while the tracking said out for delivery, they changed the delivery date to next Tuesday, and then next Monday.  An hour later it showed up at the local FEDEX Office location.  The advantage of sending it to the FEDEX Office is it sits in a warm room, instead of outside in single digit temps; it won't get stolen off my porch, and it's easier to hide it from the wife!!!

I let it sit for an hour, then opened the box.  I take pictures all over as I open it.  The box had a large gash in it, exposing the cardboard case, and a smaller gash on a corner.  No damage to the case or the guitar, other than the known heel break and the G string snapped, probably when they loosened the strings.

It's time to take some measurements.  Without string tension, since the tension with pull up the neck at the heel break.

The heel isn't broken, it's separated. The neck is 3 pieces, the heel being 2 of them. The original glue joint (not that I see any glue) failed, only held together by the 2 dowels, although they only had 3/16" engagement.

The fix - simplified version: I made a clamping caul (that was a pain!!) and used hot hide glue to glue it back together. I was afraid if I used Titebond there may have be old glue I'm not seeing, preventing true wood to wood contact, and it could possibly fail again. Hot hide glue will glue damn near anything. Tomorrow I will drill 2 holes and epoxy in 2 dowels, preventing the joint from ever coming apart again.

Unfortunately there's a very slight gap at the joint. I chiseled around the dowels, thinking something minute could be holding them apart. Nothing. Maybe I damaged the small part of the heel when I removed the neck. Oh well, it's done. Tomorrow I'll install the dowels.

I remounted the neck and found it projected 5/64" above the bridge. A neck reset should not be required. I put some old strings on it that I had on my desk. Tuned it to E flat to not stress the strings. I has adjusted the neck relief flat, which is now a little high. What is higher is the action. I thought it would be close but it's actually 1/32" higher than I'd like to see. The sound?? Not impressed.

That is certainly a possible. My other Seagull Folk is one of my favorite guitars. I haven't completely given up on this one. I really need to work on a few other guitars before I do any more with this one. All I need is time and motivation.

A possible minor problem with this guitar is the nut slots were opened by someone, without the proper nut files.  They are a bit wide.  A couple of strings are "thuddy", possibly because of the wide slots.  I didn't spend much time analyzing it.  I could replace the nut.  The old strings could be another problem.

Thanks. It's a challenge, and it gives me something to do, when I feel like it.

Unfortunately I've got too many guitars!! I need to sell some. But some of the repaired ones aren't pretty enough to sell to a store. I'd have to spend months trying to sell them on CraigsList or give them away.