Official Luthiers Forum!

I have a couple of Yamahas that need neck resets and I think they may be epoxied. After looking at SMs copper solder iron gadget, I'm thinking this may be the way to go. I found wrapping heavy gauge wire around a soldering iron creates plenty of heat for zero cost and I can decide the hole size for myself. Thoughts?

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I use copper sticks for resets but have learned from experience that Yamahas will not come apart easily or at all. In the last year I have done a couple of Yamaha bolt on conversions. I could talk you through the process if you want to go that route. The difficulty is that the truss rod extends into the dovetail so you can't saw through the last part.

If it was my guitar I'd do it. It makes sense and is better than having a non-functioning guitar. I'm just not sure I could sell that to the customer.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I haven’t done it, but some folks used to talk about slipping the bottom of the heel block on those guitars: release the binding near the heel on the bottom, release the back at the heel and along the sides for a short distance, glue the back so that the neck angle is right, trim the edge, replace the binding. Maybe no one will notice the dip in the outline near the heel?

I have removed the fingerboard over the dovetail by cutting it at the 12th fret. Then I drill the dovetail joint in multiple places with a long 1/16" bit. After it is apart, I true up the dovetail surfaces and use thick shims to reassemble.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

_________________
John

This is great! So many different methods to choose from. I saw a guy on YT that filled the body with rags and left the front part open enough to introduce steam to all of the joints surrounding the neck then clamped the neck in the desired position and let it set for a few weeks. Done. I think I want to try that first.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

OK must add something
do not assume you have a joint I have seen these with dowels
mu best advice when dealing with a stubborn neck
A after time if nothing is loosening STOP

B cut the fretboard off about 4 frets above the joint

this exposes the neck joint area 9 times out of 10 I find the heels are doweled to the body

this is actually easy to see what you are dealing with

at this time use the steamer and drill 4 holes at the face of the cheeks . Then you steam , as the dowels loosen you can pull the neck

if you have a neck joint you can get an idea of the angle with a thin wire or drill bit and drill 2 holes on each side of the tenon.

If you overheat the neck block you can pop it off the sides so be aware what can go wrong cause it most likely will

good luck

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

Has anyone successfully removed a neck on those 70s blinged up Alverez Yari dreds with the mahogany neck extension that supports the fretboard extension inside the body and contains the beefy box channel truss rod? The glue seems indestructible and the bound fretboard and neck extension makes fretboard removal less attractive.

On another topic X raying the neck is incredibly valuable is assessing the joint if it’s something weird. If you have friends in health care that will sneak a guitar in after hours it can be worth the hassle.

IMG_4621 by Terence Kennedy, on Flickr

IMG_4622 by Terence Kennedy, on Flickr

_________________
It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Like Barry said, the truss rod extends into the dovetail if you want to make a bolt on. I tried to get one loose on a FG75 (found on roadside dead F.O.R.D.) by steaming it and broke the heel. Put it out for garbage and they wouldn't pick it up. I still have it.

I've managed to convince a few people that a bolt on conversion is a good option. IMO it's the best option and very easy to do.

I just got a José Romero in for a 'neck reset' that I would not consider doing a bolt on coversion but for cheap guitars to get them up and running again it's a good option.

I have done the conversion to bolted butt joint on my personal FG-150 and have turned down every other request to do a reset on an old Yamaha. There is a guy who used to post on a different forum who claimed that the joint is not directly under the 14th fret and if you drill at a slight angle you can hit it and get steam into the actual joint. I haven't tried

After reading all the horror stories about these resets, and he definitely doesn't want a bolt on conversion, I told him I would shave the bridge 1/.8" and do a good setup on it including the first 5 frets, bone nut and saddle.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

He must think bolt-on necks are inferior, which is a common misconception among guitar players.

Most guitar players i know are full of myths and misconceptions. I can't change the world so I go with the flow.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

Sus I got the bridge will have 100 times the impact on tone that a bolt on neck conversion will. I know you know this. I’’ just sayin’. . . Too bad there is such a stigma (for some people) attached to bolt ons.

_________________
Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

I have a friend's 1960s or early 1970s no-name guitar, probably Japanese, whose neck needs a reset. I posted pics here some weeks back, and the only help you guys could give was that it's a Gibson B series inspired guitar.

My plan is to loosen the fretboard extension and then use a piece of bent wire to feel for a dovetail pocket. If I can find one, I'll try to steam the neck off.

If I can't find a pocket, or steaming fails, then I have two options:

1. Remove fretboard back to say the 9th fret to expose the neck joint, and try other ways to loosen the joint; or

2. Loosen the back round the rim back to the waist, free the heel block to back joint, set the correct angle and then reattach the back. I'll obviously need to trim and re-bind, but this seems least likely to leave be with a kit of parts which need rebuilding!

I have considered just sawing it off and making a bolt-on conversion, but I don't know where the truss rod ends. However, it has just occurred to me that rare earth magnets might find where the truss rod end is - I'll try that soon and post back if it seems to provide helpful information.

Option #2, the California neck slip, is a miserable job and I promised myself I would never do it again. For good quality classical guitars I either try to refret and replane the fretboard or remove the fretboard and add a shim, or a combination of both. Also the thing about this method, if you are doing it because you don't know what glue was used for the neck, well, you don't know what was used for gluing the back then either right? It's messy, can cause damage, and requires a lot of touch up work. Not recommended.

Yeah, I slipped the back on one. It was a low budget 1930's parlor so it was appropriate to the instrument but it did require rebinding and touch up. Turned out to be a PITA.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I can report that rare earth magnets definitely find truss rods! You have to slacken the strings and move them aside, because they are steel.

But my guitar is a 14 fret body joint, and the magnet tells me that there is truss rod between frets 13 and 14 but not between 14 and 15. Not as helpful as I'd hoped - the truss rod might end a saw kerf's width away from the body, or just enough closer to destroy the teeth. The magnet is about the same size as the 13/14 fret gap.

Light bulb moment - I placed a small steel nut edgewise at the end of my sick of magnets, and tried it on another instrument that's to hand. On that one the truss rod finishes half way between two frets and I can definitely feel the difference. So I'll try that on the patient and see if it helps.

That is where an oscillating tool comes in handy. Instead of risking a high dollar tenon saw, you only destroy a $1 plunge cut blade.

yes cut the fretboard above the neck John A said he does it at 12 I do it at 10 for more glue area but either technique will work. You can get them apart.

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Frank ford's bone saw may be even better!

Any tips for a bound fretboard John?

_________________
It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Peel the binding off before cutting the fretboard. This is where you appreciate celluloid binding, which will usually come off in one piece.....unless it is deteriorated.

_________________
John