I'll tell ya...
I grew up in Deepinahearta Detroit, MI., and we had a lotta po' folk. It was a constant source of amazement what guys would to do make their guitars usable (to them). I saw a Les Paul Custom that a guy took a mill bastard file to in order to "scallop" the fretboard, then buy a kite to get the sticks so he could glue them to the sides of the neck to widen it. Just horrible, but he was happy. He wanted a wider neck and taller frets, and he got it.
Of course, back in those days an LP Custom only cost ~$500 new, and they could certainly be had for much less from any of a number of starving musicians.
So, to see turnbuckles on a broken neck isn't that far outside my experience, especially on a Gibson. The things are notorious for neck faults.