Acoustic Guitar Neck Removal Part B
Source: Guitar Neck
Acoustic Guitar Neck Reset – Part C:
Since resetting an acoustic guitar neck is a rather involved process, we will split this process into several different articles. This one is the third in the series
In the last article, gave you instruction as to how to remove an acoustic guitar neck with a dovetail joint and it was a rather simple joint separation process, which describes most of the neck resets you will encounter.
Unfortunately not all the neck joints you encounter will be easy to remove in this manner and you will have your share of tough neck resets ahead of you.
In this article we will discuss removal of a very stubborn neck, by means of super-heating the joint and releasing the glue at the dovetail joint.
Since the fretboard removal gives us easy access to the dovetail (or mortise and tenon joint), we can now proceed with removal of the guitar neck from the guitar head block.
Tools and Materials:
20 gage Hypodermic Needle:
Hand Scrapers:
Old Kitchen Knife:
Propane Torch Kit:
Heat Absorbing Sheet for Guitar Top:
Wood Clamping Cauls:
20 gage Hypodermic Needle::
Double-Stick Tape:
4″ x 8″ Bessey Regular Duty Tradesman
Wood Chisel Set
Glue Softening Recipe:
Mix up a solution of 1 part rubbing alcohol, 4 parts water and a few drop of dish-washing liquid. Mix it thoroughly and fill an long-needle hypodermic needle full of the solution. Carefully squeeze the solution into the dovetail joint as deeply as you can insert the needle and let it stand for a while.
You will find that most of the time there is a gap between the back of the dovetail joint and the front of the head block, which will allow the insertion of the needle very easily.
Prepare The Kitchen Knife:
Now take an ordinary stainless steel kitchen knife and thin the blade on a grinder wheel. The knife should be totally stainless steel and not have an other material on it as this may melt due to the intense heat.
Because you have cleaned the dovetail joint out with the sawzall blade you should be able to insert the knife blade nearly all the way down into the joint.
Fill the joint around the knife with your glue softening solution and protect the top of the guitar with a heat absorbing sheet material to protect the finish.
Super-heating The Dovetail Joint:
Hold a Propane Torch on the kitchen knife handle until the mixture in the joint starts to steam and boil. When the steaming or boiling stops, add more water and continue for several minutes.
Take care not to do this too long as you may start to loosen the glue at the top and back plate head block and or the guitar plate joints themselves. Better to check more often, until you get a feeling as to the correct amount of time that you should use.
By now everything should be loosened up quite a bit. Check the status of the joint by trying to move the neck in the dovetail joint with a back and forth motion. If it won’t move yet, continue with the heating treatment. Once you detect at least some movement in the joint you are done with the torch.
Take this kitchen knife out with leather gloves or a plyers because this is really HOT. Be sure to lay it in a safe place to cool down. I usually lay mine on the concrete floor of the shop, in an out-of-the-way location that is clean
Remove the heat shield for the top and drain out what water may be left in the joint. Install the blocks on the top plate and neck as described in the last article (Part B) and apply the Bessey Clamp on the joint.
Be sure to do this rather swiftly and don’t let the joint cool down too much or the glue may begin to harden and you will not be able to dislodge the neck from the joint.
If you did your heating job properly, the neck should slide right out of the joint with very little clamping action.
Now remove the clamp, the block and turn the guitar facing upwards on a padded workbench.
Clean The Joint Thoroughly:
While the joint is still solution soaked you should thoroughly clean the joint of any old glue with hand scrapers and sharp chisels. This is the easiest time to do this as the glue will peel right off the wood surfaces. Take care not to take any wood off either the neck or the head-block side of the joint as this will compromise the fitting of the neck when it is time to re-glue.
Set the body and neck aside to dry thoroughly and do no work until the joint is completely dry.
Click The Links Below To Go To Other Articles In This Series
Acoustic Guitar Neck Reset – Part A
Acoustic Guitar Neck Reset – Part B
Acoustic Guitar Neck Reset – Part C
Acoustic Guitar Neck Reset – Part D
Acoustic Guitar Neck Reset – Part E
Acoustic Guitar Neck Reset – Part F
Tags: acoustic guitar neck reset, guitar neck removal, how to repair a guitar neck, how to reset a guitar neck
