www.KitGuitarsForum.com

Thanks John

Well, the neck reset from hell is done. For better or worse, this is how I did it.

I installed (2) 1/4" dowels, close to the fingerboard, on each side of the truss rod. I chalked them, so by installing the dovetail to the point where the dowels hit the top, I was able to mark where they hit.

I took a measurement of distance from the fretboard to the center of each dowel, and using that measurement, marked where to drill the holes to receive the dowels, in the bottom of the dovetail mortise. I drilled the holes with a 1/4" bit.

I decided that as long as the dowels were glued on 3 sides, I could simply slide them into place. Using a 1/4" router bit, I routed slots for the dowels to slide into the drilled holes. I applied glue to everything, and set the neck.

The guitar is done. I've had it strung for several days now.

Here's the finished neck. As you know, I totally replaced the heel.

That's a remarkable recovery! After all your trouble, you might wonder if you should leave some record of what you did for the next luthier who is asked to work on the guitar.

Some real nice work there, it's amazing on how well you hid the drywall screw.

For the record, I totally replaced the heel, making a dovetail. I removed the drywall screw, cut the heel off, and made a whole new stacked heel. I cut a mortise in the body and set the neck. I also used 2 dowel rods on either side of the truss rod, because I couldn't put the dovetail in that area.

So, there are no screws or bolts now.

I also had to make a new bridge. The action had gotten so bad that someone had chopped the front of the existing bridge away. The front of the bridge was less than 1/4" thick.

Beautiful work Diane!

Excellent work. The instrument has been given a new lease on life!