Can this neck be saved? DONE

Even if it ain't broke you can still fix it.
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Can this neck be saved? DONE

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

I have a custom acoustic steel string guitar on the bench that needs a reset. To make a long story short, there's no mortise/tenon, no bolts. I've decided to drill into the glue seam, heat, gently work it, to see if someone used dowel pins, or if they just glued the neck to the side.

Sigh...just when you think you've seen everything...

My question: can this neck be saved by turning it into a bolt-on, even with no tenon? My gut screams, "no", because the heel just isn't made for that kind of stress.

But. What what do you think?
Last edited by Diane Kauffmds on Sun Oct 31, 2021 7:44 am, edited 2 times in total.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
tippie53
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Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by tippie53 »

yes I have seen dowels and replaced them with threaded inserts and done it that way
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Diane Kauffmds
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Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Thank you!
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
tippie53
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Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by tippie53 »

many ways. I even used a drywall screw once
on a uke
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

I was gently pulling upward, peeking underneath the heel as it came up, and I saw 1 dowel pin, which I thought was very odd. All of a sudden, it gave.

Sigh...I can fix it, but still! I'm not going to repeat what I muttered when I found this. It was buried behind the heel cap. The wood stuck to glue around it made it look like a dowel.
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Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Stray Feathers
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Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by Stray Feathers »

That's a shame, in spite of your careful approach. I wonder if one of those magnetic stud finders would have alerted you to the hidden screw? Bruce W.
Diane Kauffmds
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Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

You know Bruce, that's a very good question. Maybe a small metal detector.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
TEETERFAN
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Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2018 12:43 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by TEETERFAN »

Sorry you encountered this. Hidden screws on anything can be “the devil”. Perhaps a thin blade or saw could have disclosed it was metal when you first detected it.
Kevin Doty
Kansas City
BEJ
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Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by BEJ »

Just what we need, another use for a drywall screw.
phavriluk
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Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by phavriluk »

Well we can take the notion of a craftsperson's skilled attention to detail out of this 'custom' instrument. Screw hidden by the heel cap?

FWIW, maybe installing a floating tenon in the neck - - - grain running vertical - - - and routing a corresponding mortise in the neck block, and installing threaded inserts into the new tenon will assure the neck's own integrity and offer a secure improvement. I've used that technique on five I've built and I've been happy with the results.
peter havriluk
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