broken heel advice ...

[Adrian Levi]

Wayne I will definitely consider these options and fully research them and ask plenty questions and then decide .
My first task is to remove the heel piece very carefully and then re glue it to the neck and then reinforce the heel
( Oak dowel or lag screw hidden under the button , hmm )

[Matthew Tucker]

I have just been setting up a half size student bass with what looks like a clean varnish crack right around the heel in exactly the same position, but the whole heel is still well glued into the mortise. It is not broken yet and not worth pulling the neck out of this bass, but as a preventative measure I fitted a 12mm hardwood dowel through the back of the button right through and into the thicker parts of the heel.

I think these neck blocks must be built up out of multiple timbers, probably not dry enough.