Wanted - How to reset a neck

[fatt-dad]

Dear NG,

I have my favorite beater mandolin and the neck angle has never been right. I have "fixed" the action by lowering the bridge, but the angle of the strings is so low, it really is not right.

Now, I have other mandolins - ha. It's just that I am considering doing the surgery to remove the neck, make some kind of adjustment (i.e., whatever the reference tells me to do) and using the whole process as part of the learning process.

What triggered all of this is I was picking with a guy and he said something like, "just take an x-acto knive, work it around the joint, do some wiggling and voilla, the neck comes off!". So, I have an x-acto knife, some sofa time and may just sit there and hack away - ha.

Problems?

Thanks in advance.

fatt-dad

[BigJoe]

It is significantly more difficult than that. You also have to know how the neck was put in. Was it a dovetail joint? Mortise and Tenon joint? Bolted? Doweled? What kind of glue? How is the fingerboard attached? Is there an extension? Do you have to remove the top to remove the neck? Do you have to remove the back to remove the neck? If you cannot clearly answer these questions, you might want to let someone more experienced deal with this. Or, work with an experienced luthier. Just my suggestions.

[Jim Garber]

I always check Frank Ford's site (http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Guitar/NeckReset/00028Reset/00028reset01.html) first. That link is for a Martin guitar but he has a few other links on his index page.

I have a few real junky old mandolins that i need to do that with also. I got them for that purpose. I would just remember that a small amount of shim or cutting away goes a long way at the neck angle.

Jim

[Bill Snyder]

Who is NG?

[neal]

newsgroup

[fatt-dad]

Yes, I meant "Dear Newsgroup".

So, being a flat-top, mandolin with an oval hole (headstock marking "Montana"), made in either Romania or Korea, it is not clear to this group whether it is dove-tail or M&T? I see no bolts, so I ruled this out. Also, I can only wonder whether the top, back needs to be removed.

I know that nothing is certain (including my success), now I just wonder whether there is some easy way to discern how the neck is connected (without using a clawhammer) and what must be removed to reset the neck.

f-d (fatt-dad)

[Charlie Derrington]

Probably doweled.......

But, I'd have to see it to be sure.

Charlie

[Jim Garber]

The two junkers I have are much older. One is a Stella and the other a Regal. Both backs are coming off anyway, so I figured I'd take off the backs and fiddle with resetting the necks etc. The worst that can happen is that I would screw them up. Better than trying it on my F4, right?

Jim

[jim simpson]

I have a Nagoya f-copy mandolin that I bought from a fellow Cafe'er. It had a cracked top and I bought it as a project. I decided to take off the top to do this. I pulled a fret and cut through the fingerboard to allow full access to the top. I was pleased to see an exposed dovetail joint. I did take off the top and cleated it, strung it up and watched it collapse! Now I plan to have a new carved top put on it when I get around to it. I have a template along with a glued up billet to send to Siminoff. I had the wood from an earlier abandoned project so maybe this will all work out somehow. I have done neck resets on acoustic guitars but haven't had to do this to a mando yet. Good luck.

[fatt-dad]

Here is what I have learned. There is a block inside the sound box that has no obvious markings like a tendon (or is it mortise). I have made a groove to expose the neck to body joint and also along the fretboard to top. I am barely seeing movement on the fretboard with slight pry between the top and the fretboard. The finish that I was grooving through seemed to be real thick.

So, do I put it in a vice and then use the claw hammer or is there some finesse, like hold it over a tea pot and then use a rubber mallet?

f-d