1st Neck reset

[ricklt]

Hey all, I recently swapped for a cheap acoustic guitar. The main reason that I swapped for this guitar, is that it needed a neck reset. I am trying to learn all I can about repairing guitars, so I thought I could try it on a cheap one. If I screw it up it's no big loss.
My question is about steaming the neck pocket to remove the neck. Is it normal for the wood to become saturated with water in this process. I have a book by Dan Erlewine that said you shouldn't get the wood to wet. Using steam, I don't understand how you can prevent this.
I did get the neck off, but the wood is very wet. Thanks for all answers.

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[ChrisN]

I have no business responding, as I've not done a steam out reset, but assuming you didn't steam the block or sides apart, it should be OK when it dries out after 7-10 days or so. Hopefully you'll get better info, but that's my input.

The guidance to not oversteam means to not hold the needle in there too long, work in bursts, work different areas for shorter periods to prevent saturation, constantly wiggle and check, etc.

[mirwa]

Yes the wood will be soaked, you will need to let it dry before refitting the neck

Steve

[Drover]

All good advice here...Let it dry out for a couple of weeks....You will get water..I use a pressure cooker and it seems to give me a steady steam supply and less water..

[BradHall]

A lot of cheaper guitars have epoxy or other mystery glue in the neck joint. Steam will not penetrate it, but getting the wood saturated as you describe will sometimes allow the joint to release. Certainly a bad idea. I learned through experience on my first reset, an old Alvarez 12 string. What I have found effective is to drill 2 holes, one for the steam needle and one to drain the condensed moisture before it saturates the wood. With wood or protein glue it doesn't take much time for the glue to heat and release. Constant pressure from a clamp can help also. I steam with the fret board facing the floor so gravity helps drain the condensate also. I'm an amature builder and more experienced one s than I likely have other methods that also work. Good luck.

[ricklt]

Getting ready to reinstall my neck. Just wondering if you all can see anything I need to take care of before I continue, or maybe some advice on how to proceed.Any advice would be appreciated.

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[ChrisN]

Keeping in mind I've never done one as far as you have, the only thing I would mention is that I don't see any replacement shim material on the sides of the dovetail to replace lost wood and to ensure a solid continuous wood/wood connection all around the joint.

I know only what I read, but I see a lot of resetters taking tremendous pains to test fit over and over again, gradually sanding away bits of their added shim wood and smoothing the remainder until it seals like a bank vault door, then they glue it.

If yours is nice and joint, then onward you go, but I thought I'd mention it. Looks good to me!

[Hot Vibrato]

I have some advice: Use hot hide glue - NOT Titebond.

If the dovetail is a snug fit (It should be), then it will swell somewhat when glue is applied, causing the fit to be even tighter. Titebond is amazingly strong, but it grabs FAST, which can work against you in this case. Hot hide glue is slick, and it doesn't grab immediately.

To be clear, I've done several successful neck resets using Titebond, but I once had one seize up before I had it clamped all the way. So I had to steam it out and do it again. Since then Hot hide glue has been my glue of choice when gluing in a dovetail, and that part of the job is much less stressful as a result. Good luck!

[ricklt]

I do have a shim that I am going to use.

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[ricklt]

When you do a neck reset, how long do you wait to restring it. I know what the glue says, but do you wait longer or do you string it after 24 hours and start playing?

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[murrmac123]

I have to say I am slightly mystified by this thread, and even more mystified why any more experienced repair people haven't chimed in.

Maybe I am in a minority of one (which is, coincidentally the same number of resets that I have done) , but IMO the first essential is to ascertain exactly how much you have to remove off the heel in order to achieve the desired neck angle.

This involves measuring the action at the 12th fret, and the distance between the soundboard and the underside of the E string at the bridge ..once you have these parameters, the shaping of the heel is predetermined ... you can't go wrong.

Steaming off the neck without prior measurement and then trying to ascertain the angle with a straight edge is very much a shade tree mechanic approach IMO

[ricklt]

That is not what happened. The neck came loose, so it had to be taken the rest of the way loose and reglued. Don't make assumptions when you don't have all the facts.

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[mirwa]

After gluing let it sit 24hrs, string it up and start playing.

Steve