Is this method of neck reset physically possible?

[FLRon]

Perusing Youtube the other day I came across this fellow from Australia who claims to have found a new method of restoring the proper neck geometry on guitars that are in need of a neck reset.

Some of you have many years of experience in resetting necks,so I pose the question to you: is this method even remotely possible? I'm not asking if you would do it, I'm simply asking if it is
physically possible to return the neck geometry to the proper angle.

My brain tells me that at best it's a crapshoot and an easy way to destroy a guitar.

https://youtu.be/UTVzGM1Znv8

[mirwa]

This video has come up before in discussions.

The process requires the guitar to sit in a forced position for approx a month after steaming the neck block, and front area of the guitar.

Most luthiers dont have the time to have a neck reset sitting in their shop for a month, we try to get it out in aday or two

The person saids it works and it holds, so one has to take it at face value until someone else proves otherwise.

I have reservations about creating a loose neck block from the steam, loose sides or even water stains in the wood.

Steve

[FLRon]

Thanks for the reply. One of the things not talked about in the video is what does this method do to the neck joint itself once the glue has been softened.

As someone who has limited understanding of the long term effects of string pressure on the neck geometry, I fail to see how essentially loosening the neck joint and applying downward force can accomplish what the gentleman in the video claims.

Maybe I'm just a natural skeptic because it seems to me that the neck would return to it's pre-reset angle once the clamps are removed. At best you might get some movement, but exact degree of change would be impossible to predict.

[redir]

Interesting. I've never seen this video before. From the comments section is appears that quite a few others have tried it with some success.

[printer2]

The reason the guitar needs to have a neck reset is because the wood creeped, it bent due to the force of the strings. Wood bends under heat and steam, that is how we get sides bent. So steaming wood and forcing it to take another set than the one that it is in is not a long shot. I gather that he is working on the wood and not a glue joint. I have a cheap plywood guitar that I can give it a try on, mind you I think it needed a reset right from the factory. How well it will go is a crap shoot.


"DO YOU EXPERIENCE MUCH SPRING BACK WHEN YOU TAKE THE CLAMPS OFF ?

John Miner
5 months ago
Yes, you usually have to apply the steam 3 times.
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John Miner
6 months ago
It will work I've done several laminated tops. If you want to bend laminated timber you use steam.
The glue has no relevance, you are bending the timber around the neck back to where it was originally.
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John Miner
4 months ago
I'm extremely busy but I may get some time to do a follow-up, I only developed this technique about a year ago & so far so good.
There is no reason why it wouldn't be permanent, you are returning the neck to where it should be & steam is a permanent bending process for timber.
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[RonMay]

Originally Posted by FLRon

Perusing Youtube the other day I came across this fellow from Australia who claims to have found a new method of restoring the proper neck geometry on guitars that are in need of a neck reset.

Some of you have many years of experience in resetting necks,so I pose the question to you: is this method even remotely possible? I'm not asking if you would do it, I'm simply asking if it is
physically possible to return the neck geometry to the proper angle.

My brain tells me that at best it's a crapshoot and an easy way to destroy a guitar.

https://youtu.be/UTVzGM1Znv8

It most definitely works. I have done it.
The important thing is to protect all of the insides of the guitar with rags, t-shirts, or what ever you can cram into it, and only leave the meager amount of wood, the top where the neck attaches bare to the steam, leaving only a channel about the size of the sound hole with the rest of the top protected and insulated from the steam.

The main precaution is to only steam it for max. of 30 seconds. I took my late brother's mid '60 Regal Jumbo Western, (dreadnought) and reset the neck using this method.
I would also make sure to follow his instructions to the letter, even as lax as they might seem.

That was about 10 months ago or so and it has remained stable at the desired string action height.
I would do it again if another guitar needed it in the future.

Ron

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by RonMay

It most definitely works. I have done it.
The important thing is to protect all of the insides of the guitar with rags, t-shirts, or what ever you can cram into it, and only leave the meager amount of wood, the top where the neck attaches bare to the steam, leaving only a channel about the size of the sound hole with the rest of the top protected and insulated from the steam.

That is good to know. please keep us updated

[printer2]

Originally Posted by RonMay

It most definitely works. I have done it.
The important thing is to protect all of the insides of the guitar with rags, t-shirts, or what ever you can cram into it, and only leave the meager amount of wood, the top where the neck attaches bare to the steam, leaving only a channel about the size of the sound hole with the rest of the top protected and insulated from the steam.

The main precaution is to only steam it for max. of 30 seconds. I took my late brother's mid '60 Regal Jumbo Western, (dreadnought) and reset the neck using this method.
I would also make sure to follow his instructions to the letter, even as lax as they might seem.

That was about 10 months ago or so and it has remained stable at the desired string action height.
I would do it again if another guitar needed it in the future.

Ron

I am getting a little old and a little slow. Where exactly is the steam suppose to be directed?

[redir]

This is interesting. So he's saying that he's actually bending the wood and not resetting the glue joint. It looked like he placed the steam left and right to the head block.

I might have to try this on my wife's old plywood Washburn that needs a neck reset. It would be a lot easier than a bolt on conversion though as mentioned it does take a considerable amount of time and takes up space too.

I wonder if it really needs to be held in clamps for a full month?

[printer2]

Originally Posted by redir

This is interesting. So he's saying that he's actually bending the wood and not resetting the glue joint. It looked like he placed the steam left and right to the head block.

I might have to try this on my wife's old plywood Washburn that needs a neck reset. It would be a lot easier than a bolt on conversion though as mentioned it does take a considerable amount of time and takes up space too.

I wonder if it really needs to be held in clamps for a full month?

I think one of the comments has a person saying they got some spring back and clamped for longer. But My mind plays tricks on me sometimes. I thought he was referring to bending the wood and not the glue joint so it makes more sense to me, or better yet, that is what I thought he was implying.

[FLRon]

Well it seems this method does work after all. I'm still confused however as to what exactly is the purpose of the steam. Is it to soften the glue in the joint or to bend the wood? Or both?

I'd also be interested in learning how long this method holds up compared to a traditional neck reset.

[mirwa]

Its definetley a puzzling one

Typically i find that guitars need a neck reset not because of the neck or the neck block but because the sides of the guitar ever so slightly buckle and allow the body to kind of fold a little bit around the sound hole area.

His process which I wont knock does not address this area, so it is a bit puzzling

When we do something like a back slip to reset a spanish heel, we shorten the length of the back fractionally which pulls the sound hole flat again

Steve

[LifesShort]

Originally Posted by RonMay

It most definitely works. I have done it.
The important thing is to protect all of the insides of the guitar with rags, t-shirts, or what ever you can cram into it, and only leave the meager amount of wood, the top where the neck attaches bare to the steam, leaving only a channel about the size of the sound hole with the rest of the top protected and insulated from the steam.

The main precaution is to only steam it for max. of 30 seconds. I took my late brother's mid '60 Regal Jumbo Western, (dreadnought) and reset the neck using this method.
I would also make sure to follow his instructions to the letter, even as lax as they might seem.

That was about 10 months ago or so and it has remained stable at the desired string action height.
I would do it again if another guitar needed it in the future.

Ron

I'm going to give this a try on an old Yamaha FG-75 in the next couple of months. How many times did you steam it?

Thanks!

[printer2]

Originally Posted by mirwa

Its definetley a puzzling one

Typically i find that guitars need a neck reset not because of the neck or the neck block but because the sides of the guitar ever so slightly buckle and allow the body to kind of fold a little bit around the sound hole area.

His process which I wont knock does not address this area, so it is a bit puzzling

When we do something like a back slip to reset a spanish heel, we shorten the length of the back fractionally which pulls the sound hole flat again

Steve

That was my thought, that the wood around the neck and sound hole gets steamed and it takes a set rather that the neck block being steamed. That was my confusion at the beginning, I could not see the neck block mattering.

[ynor]

Any updates on the long term results using this method to reset the neck?