Can this neck be saved? DONE

[Diane Kauffmds]

Thanks John

[Diane Kauffmds]

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.

20211022_152226.jpg

20211022_152248.jpg

20211022_152303.jpg

20211022_154539.jpg

[Diane Kauffmds]

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

20211030074022.JPG

[Diane Kauffmds]

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

20211031_132811.jpg

20211031_132751.jpg

[Stray Feathers]

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.

[BEJ]

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

[Diane Kauffmds]

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.

20210921_132956.jpg

20210926_101354.jpg

20210926_101012.jpg

20210926_102053.jpg

20210926_112101.jpg

20211022_152226.jpg

20211022_152248.jpg

[Diane Kauffmds]

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.

20210909_113633.jpg

[krrtlr1]

Beautiful work Diane!

[TEETERFAN]

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