Harmony H162 major repair project is finished - How did it turn out?

[downtime]

So I wanted to try a neck reset……

I purchased a Harmony H162 for $35 in rough shape to practice major repairs on and recently finished the project.
Overall I’m happy with how it turned out and I learned a ton along the way.
It plays nicely and actually sounds really good.

Here is a list of problems/repairs needed:
-Bridge lifting and cracked
-Multiple large cracks on back and soundboard
-Loose and broken braces on both top and bottom
-Heel separation and bad neck angle
-Dent/crack on bottom side near the end pin
-Broken and bent tuners
-Thick goopy finish sprayed over entire guitar - including the fingerboard and frets!

Things that went well:
-Crack clamping and cleating
-Dent repair on the side. I made a tuner clamp to pull the cleat up against the inside and flatten the dent while gluing.
-Fingerboard sanding and radius, dot inlay replacement
-My first ever re-fret
-Tuner replacement

Things that didn’t go so well:
-Fingerboard removal. This was much more difficult than I thought it would be. The glue was very stubborn and I made a bit of a mess of the soundboard under the extension and also took a couple gouges out of the neck. This step wasn’t necessary but I wanted to try removing the fingerboard just to do it for practice and I also wanted to re-glue the steel neck reinforcement bar.
-Dovetail fitting. This was my first time working with a dovetail joint and it proved tricky to get get it reshaped and shimmed correctly so that the heel was solidly in the pocket and did not move. I eventually got there but it took me a long time.

I ended up sanding the back, sides and entire neck down to bare wood and then stained and refinished them. Again, not necessary but did it for the experience. I slightly reshaped the neck while I was at it.
I sanded some of the overspray off the top but then left it alone. I re-finished the back, sides and neck with Tru-Oil.

I was disappointed I couldn't salvage the original pickguard, it basically disintegrated so I ended up buying a thick D45 shaped pickguard and did what I could to cut it down to a similar shape as the original.

I posted several threads in this forum soliciting advice along the way and want to say thanks for all the great comments and willingness to help!

I already have 2 more Harmony guitars waiting for neck resets, I’m looking forward to it.

Before and after Pictures:

[Fathand]

Looks good!

In my grade 7 shop class there was a sign, "Learn by Doing" . You have succeeded.

[Bob Womack]

Nicely done!

Bob

[jaywalker]

Nice work, it looks great!

[Horseflesh]

Love it... That must have been very satisfying.