1972 Yamaha FG-110E Neck Reset

DAY 2 – Put tape on heel area & scored thru the lacquer in the corners. Used the halogen light and heatshield to loosen the fretboard, with difficulty, about 45 minutes total. Removed the 15th fret & drilled the 1/16” diameter steam holes. Put the guitar in the neck jig and turned on the steam, changing holes every minute. The first 6 minute session resulted next to no movement, not a good sign. I took it out of the neck jig and cut a little deeper into the heel corners, but the wood was still very hard. The second 6 minute session loosened it a bit, but the heel lamination cracked on the treble side. I took it out of the neck jig and cut deeper into the heel corners, it felt softer but there were still some hard areas in the middle of the heel. I let the third session go 7.5 minutes because it seemed like the neck wanted to let go, the fretboard had some clearance on both sides, but more on the treble side, it has to be hung up on the bass side. I removed the guitar from the neck jig and cut further into the heel corners, that now feels 80% free. It took another 5.5 minutes of steam for the neck to finally pop, with a good amount of pressure from the neck jig. LOTS of glue, especially at the bottom of the pocket. I think it was the face of the heel stuck to the bass side that was hanging it up. Normally when it takes this long a chunk of the dovetail is torn out, not this time. I scraped out most of the glue while it was still wet, scraped off the pieces of the top stuck to the bottom of the fretboard and glued them back to the top. Then I clamped the neck heel in the guitar vise to be sure the heel lamination crack doesn't expand, but I noticed the fretboard was slightly bulged at the 15th fret (from the steam), so I undercut the top of the dovetail with the vibrating saw and clamped the fretboard down while clamping the heel.

Taped (3 layers, to the protect the top in case the scalpel slips) & scored thru the lacquer in the heel corners.




And scored thru the lacquer in the fretboard extension corners.




It was tough finding the joint between the fretboard and the rosette since they were flush.


The halogen light and heat shield to heat the fretboard and protect the finish on the top.


Almost loose.


Wet the 15th fret area to soften the wood and hopefully prevent any chipping.


No chips!


Drilled the holes on a compound angle to hit the neck pocket.


Artsy shot.


The steaming setup.


The third steaming session the neck started to come out but wouldn't release.




It finally popped at the end of the forth session!!  I've seen that half dowel a couple of times.  ODD!  I had a tough time loosening the fretboard because most times the spatula gets hung up on the rosette, and it did big time on this one, and then it tends to dive into the top after that.




Lots of glue. Lots of heel still stuck to the side of the guitar.




A large amount of the top stuck to the bottom of the fretboard.




LOTS of glue!!!






Getting ready to glue the piece of top back on.




Clamped the wax paper and thin foam.  I let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then remove it all a couple of times, to clean up any glue squeeze out and see how well the pieces are sticking.


I need to clamp the heel to keep the lamination crack from expanding.


It's closed.


But I noticed a slight bulge at the 15th fret from the steam.  So I undercut the top of the dovetail with the vibrating saw.


And clamped it to compress it, with a popsicle stick against the fretboard as a spacer, to close the gap slightly and bend the fretboard down slightly. 


A better picture.

DAY 4 - Sanded the top in the fretboard area. Removed the excess hardwood heel pin with wire cutters. Undercut the heel with the Dremel and 1/8” ball burr. Sanded the dovetail surfaces to get the joint back together. Checked the clearance in the neck pocket (1/16”), sanded a 3/32" wedge on the back of neck dovetail. The neck isn't fully seated, I estimated the neck projects about flush with the top of the bridge. It is about 1/8" off center, need to take wood off the treble side. Set the tape on heel at .03", filed & sanded to the tape, taking more off the whole treble side. The neck is just about fully seated and projects about 1/8" above the top of the bridge, and is off center about 3/32". Put in the neck jig, installed the old strings, and tuned to approx. D. The nut action is very close. The neck projects about .03" above the top of the bridge. The action is a little over 7/64" low D & a little over 3/32" high D. The neck is about .03" off center at the 14th fret, take off the treble side.

The heel area before scraping.




The heel area after scraping.




Undercut the heel & sanded to fit.






The dovetail marked before sanding.




After sanding.