Neck Removal Aid

[Stray Feathers]

I needed to do a neck removal on a new build, to get the darn thing right. I wanted to do a cleaner job than I have done in the past, so was looking for neck removal tools that I could build myself for this immediate task, and not take too long in doing it. I was pleasantly surprised when I finally came across this video by luthier MJ Baresi, describing his simple, elegant tool (maybe it was someone else's idea originally? I don't know . . .). It consists of three sticks of wood, a little hardware, two cam clamps, and a Pony clamp:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnV-AORpCls

So I made one, in about an hour last night. Today I used it, with a fretboard extension heater from LMII. It worked really well, and resulted in the cleanest neck removal I've done by far. The Pony clamp pulls the neck heel up (with a protective caul) as the heat softens the glue. A couple of comments: I made mine from Douglas-fir scraps and it would have been better if the wood was a little thicker, to give more lifting room for the clamp. I could also use some shims under the side arms. I did not put leather or cork on the underside of the side arms but will likely do that. The clamp tends to lift the bolt-on heel away from the body but I just watched that, took it slow, and it was fine. More precise clamp placement might help too. Bruce W.

[JLT]

Well done! I did something similar when I removed the neck of a Yamaha dreadnaught (a helluva job, since I had to deal with whatever glue Yamaha had used). I think your arrangement is a bit neater than mine was, though.

[banjopicks]

Very neat and simple device. I'm going to copy this ide for my next reset. Let me know if you make any improvements and thanks for sharing.