An unsecured guitar strap let go sending this Collings City Limits Deluxe from a standing playing position down to the floor peghead first.

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The neck and body escaped damage.

My best option was to salvage the severed part of the peghead. A Marine Epoxy was applied to the break area and clamped under light pressure for 24 hours.

An infrared heat lamp set over the ebony peghead overlay softens the joint joint allowing me to cleanly remove it. This photos depicts one of two holes I pre-drilled to help relocate the new overlay into the correct position.

With the overlay removed the surface is cleaned and planed flat.

A portion of the mahogany splintered during the fall leaving a void in the peghead.

A router was used to cut out the damaged wood and provide a solid surface for a replacement piece.

A new piece of mahogany was cut, fit, glued and clamped into place.

The Collings Guitar Company fabricated a replacement overlay complete with ivoroid binding and logo.

The CL Deluxe shares a little bench space with other guitars in the drying area.

Prior to clearcoated, the peghead was sprayed with a light amber toner to match the existing color and the back of the peghead was airbrushed with a thin coat of tobacco brown shading to conceal the repairs.

The machine keys and truss rod cover survived the original fall so they all went back into place.