Official Luthiers Forum!

So, not going to go into how I ended up with this,
but I ended up with this problem, and I can't let it go.
The neck should be on the same plane as the top.
Lap steel, dovetail joint, titebond original.
Decided to fix it. Ideas?
1/4" at the nut, 1/4" at the body joint, extension drops off about an 1/8".
It would work, because lap steel has high string height,
just can't live with it.
I'm thinking cut the neck off at the body, set it at the right angle,
and figure out a good way to make a good joint, bolt on?
Thanks in advance.
Alan

Alan, given how small the heel is where it meets the back, I don't think there's enough material to do a bolt-on. I'd probably cut off the neck as close to the body as possible, clean up that area, and make a new neck with a mortise and tenon which would give you enough material for a bolt-on either with KD nuts, inserts, or hanger bolts. Good luck to you.

_________________
michael propsom
www.propsomguitars.com

Thanks Michael.
Didn't think about the heel being shallow.
Your' advice inspired my fix though.
Cut the neck off at the body joint,
get that end perfectly square,
throw the neck in the trash,
dig out the dove tail left in the body,
make a new neck with a dovetail to fit the body.
Nice gits on your web!
Alan

Seems fairly straight forward to me. If you can live with the neck angle, heat the fretboard extension and loosen it from the body. Insert a wedge under it and glue it back down.

If you have to adjust the neck angle then remove the neck, insert the wedge, adjust the dovetail then reattach.

Thanks Barry.
I thought of the wedge, and might do that.
Removing and resetting the neck will be really hard,
reason 1- titebond, reason 2- the back covers the heel cap,
so, hard to shim the joint.
In no hurry, so I'll wait a week to figure it out!
Might be good practice for me to try neck removal and reset.
Never done that!
Alan

Hey Alan; Yep the neck is so very over set (too much leaning back) that there is no heel left. The neck is really unusable like this and should be replaced.

It's not that the neck plane and body plane should be the same. It's that the neck plane and the top of the bridge measured between the D and G string should be similar. Not all of us agree on it being exactly the same, some of us have varying and very small differences in how we set necks.

You know though and I know it bothers you for a lap steel why even bother fixing this one. Why not enjoy it and make corrections on any subsequent guitars?

Thank you all for ideas.
I have an idea that I want to try.
I'll let you know if it works.
Alan

Well, I cut from the heel cap at the back,
to the fretboard.
Completely cut through the dovetail extension.
Then held the neck where I wanted it, straight,
then shimmed, glued and screwed the neck to the body.
Going to string it up,
and see if it holds.
Alan