Can this neck be saved? DONE

Even if it ain't broke you can still fix it.
Stray Feathers
Posts: 677
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Location: Ladysmith, BC

Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by Stray Feathers »

As for this new use for drywall screws, maybe we will see a new item for sale online: "Luthier Screws", at three times the price of drywall screws, of course . . .
phavriluk
Posts: 554
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:49 pm

Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by phavriluk »

And let's guess which supplier of all things guitar, needed or not, will offer them...
peter havriluk
Diane Kauffmds
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Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved? Second question for John

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

So, this is my solution. I've cut off the old heel, which was stacked, and glued on my own stack. I've cut a dovetail tenon. I'll cut a dovetail mortise. I'll also dye the neck so that the difference in color isn't apparent.

So, I have one last question for John Hall. Will the neck hold okay, since the tenon doesn't extend completely to the front of the neck? The worst thing that can happen at this point is that it becomes a bolt-on neck.

So John, can I go ahead with the dovetail in this configuration?
20210926_112112.jpg
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Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Diane Kauffmds
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Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

After my experience with this nonsense, I've come to the conclusion I need some kind of metal detector in the shop. I found 2 types that seem to cater to woodworkers. One is called Little Wizard II, which runs ~ $29, and is specifically for woodworkers. I'm not sure if there's a reliability problem.

This one seems to be the first choice when I look at reviews. It's sold as a stud/nail finder for plaster walls, but is being used in Woodworking. It finds ferrous and non ferrous metal:

Zircon MetalliScanner m40 Handheld Electronic Metal Detector https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VKJ1MM/re ... K9E807V1F0
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.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 »

TEETERFAN wrote: Sat Sep 18, 2021 5:41 pm 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.
Well, there shouldn't have been any screws in this position, period. Bolt-ons screw from inside of the guitar, through the neckblock. I thought I was going to find dowel pins, which I have seen before. This was the result of someone who didn't know or understand a guitar neck from his butt. I've encountered some pretty messy neck installations, but never a heel hollowed out, with a drywall screw installed from the top, at an angle!
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
tippie53
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Location: Hegins, Pa
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Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by tippie53 »

magnets work
it is hard sometimes to know what the odd ball guitars construction is or what someone did before. Repair is almost as much about detecting lots of learning opportunities out there
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
John Reid
Posts: 110
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 3:48 pm

Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by John Reid »

I was thinking magnets, too: neodymium, or rare earth magnets are cheap and work well. I’ve used them to find hidden nails in old wood. It’d be easy to try before you spend more on the detectors.
Stray Feathers
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Location: Ladysmith, BC

Re: John Hall, can this neck be saved?

Post by Stray Feathers »

This is what I would try:

https://www.homehardware.ca/en/magnetic ... /p/1018080

My own is different, a veritable antique, and I can't find one like it online, but I've used these too. The magnetic arm swings to point where the metal is. 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 »

John,

Will this dovetail hold although it doesn't extend to the front of the neck, or should I bolt the neck on?

I cut off the stacked heel and replaced it, cutting this dovetail. The dovetail is one with the heel, as it should be, but I couldn't extend it further forward because of the truss rod.
20210926_112112.jpg
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Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
tippie53
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Re: Can this neck be saved? Another question John

Post by tippie53 »

I would dowel it from the top for a good tie in. I have seem them stacked so you should be fine
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
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