1969 Yamaha FG-150 Nippon Gakki Neck Reset

Removed the strings. The low E tuner is tight, the B & high E tuners are tight & gritty. On the inside, the bridge plate is chewed up, as usual. The end block has a fine crack. The kerfing gluing is uncommonly sloppy. There are TWO date codes: 44.5.8 on the side, and 44.05.12 on the end block.

The frets aren't too bad, although there's not a lot of height.  We'll see how level they are after the neck is off.














The top bracing.


As usual, the bridge plate is a mess.






WHAT??  A large date code stamped on the end block??










There's the side date code.






Some sloppy gluing.


Closeup of the end block date code, showing a fine crack.

They don't seem to carry that size anymore.  But Musicians Friend does, which is owned by Guitar Center.  $80 with free shipping!!

www.musiciansfriend.com//accessories/silver-creek-vintage-archtop-000-auditorium-acoustic-guitar-case

DAY 2 – Put a piece of tape on the side of the heel at the angle I wanted to drill the hole at (since I’m aiming to get the dowel further out in the heel to reinforce the existing crack), laid the 1/8” diameter drill against it to judge the depth required, drilling to the end of the flutes will be good. Got the drill started, matching the angle, pushed it in, and somehow the angle changed and I drilled thru the fretboard, nicking the edge of the 11th fret. A FIRST!! I did the same steps on the other side, maintaining the correct angle and NOT drilling thru the fretboard, or the side of the heel. I marked the depth required on the 5/32” & 13/64 drills, drilling those slightly shallower. I covered the hole in the fretboard with tape, covered the heel with tape, mixed some epoxy, dropped a wad of it in each hole with a pointed popsicle stick, rolled the dowels in the epoxy, pushed them in the holes, scraped up any excess epoxy with the popsicle stick, waited 5 minutes, and removed the tape. I then filled the hole in the fretboard with rosewood dust and flooded it with water thin superglue, added more rosewood dust, patted it down, and let it harden for a few seconds. Typically adding more rosewood dust caused it to cure almost instantly. I then scraped it flush with a razor blade, added more rosewood dust & thin superglue, scraped & sanded flush. It feels good, but the hole is darker than the surrounding wood. Next, I added tape around the fret, marked the top with black marker, and crowned it, wanting to see how the slight notch in the fret would look. Not any better. Then I oiled the fretboard, assuming the wood would darken and reduce the contrast of the darker hole. It did somewhat. If it wasn’t in a dark grain line it would look much worse. I’ll probably replace the fret, but I need to inspect the fret level first.

But before that, I need to add the bridge plate patch. I held my FG bridge plate template against the bridge plate to feel if it fits well, as they usually do. It does. I traced it onto a piece of 1/16” maple, cut it out, and sanded the edges smooth. Then I held it against the bridge plate, feeling if it centered, clamped it in place, and checked the position with the lighted mirror. It was off slightly, so I loosened the clamp, repositioned the patch, reclamped, and checked again. Once it is in place, I use a pencil to mark the locations of the pin holes onto the bridge plate patch. I remove it and darken the marks with a black marker, and then practice the actual clamping, using a wax paper covered caul holding the bridge plate patch in place, first lining the patch up with the black dots. Then I do it for real, first putting a piece of newspaper inside the guitar, just in case I drop the gooey plate. I mix the epoxy, put it on the plate with the popsicle stick (putting more in the area of the black marks), and attempt to clamp it. The black marks are partial obscured by the epoxy in the pin holes, and the plate wants to slide around. It took 3 tries, but I finally got it clamped in location. After 15 minutes I unclamp it and clean up any minor squeeze out with a denatured alcohol soaked paper towel. It’ll let it sit for 24 hours, then drill & taper ream the holes to fit the new bridge pins, ramp the pin holes, and slot the E & A holes so the string windings don’t get pinched in the holes.


The drills and hardwood dowel.


I put a piece of tape on the side of the heel to set the angle I wanted to drill at.


And this is the angle I drilled at.


It's also tipped in so the drill doesn't break out the side of the heel.


BUT!!  I broke out thru the fretboard!!  A first!  There should have been plenty of clearance for the length of the drill, but missing the angle tipped in down too much.


The second drill.


And the final drill.




Laying the dowel on the side of the heel, showing the angle the whole is at.


And the angle on the other side.


I taped around the holes.  That makes cleanup MUCH easier.




And covered the hole in the fretboard.


After dropping epoxy in the holes, I rolled the dowel in the epoxy, guaranteeing full contact.






The dowels in.




The first filling of the hole, while I was waiting for the epoxy to set a little.


Then I removed the tape.




After the first scraping and sanding it wasn't completely filled.  


So I added more, scraped & sanded.


I was wondering what the flatish fret would look like of I properly crowned it, so I taped around it and marked the top with black marker.


And crowned it.


It doesn't look any better.  I'll have to replace it.


I thought oiling the fretboard would darken the wood, but it didn't as much as I thought it would.  The camera increases the contrast more than it really looks.  It isn't that dark or noticeable.


The fret, yea that's what it looks like.


I FINALLY got a good picture!  THIS is very close to what it actually looks like, although it did darken the wood more between the 11th & 12th frets.



Onward to the Bridge Plate Patch!

I used a template to make the patch from 1/16" maple.


Verifying it is lamped properly in location.


And marked the holes to locate it while gluing.


Practicing the clamping.  ALWAYS practice you clamping before gluing!!  Then you have everything you need while the epoxy is slowly setting.


Applied the epoxy to the bottom of the patch, more around the black marks.


and clamping it in place. 


The pieces of wood are to be sure the clamps don't drop and possibly loosen.




After unclamping.

DAY 4 – Evaluating the fret level – for the low E thru G the 14th is high, with the 15th being slightly high (typical 14th fret hump); in the G position the 12th & 13th are also high; for the high E it’s 10th, 11th, 12th 13th & 15th. As I brought the higher frets down, I noticed the 1st fret is a bit high. Then I remembered I wanted to replace the notched 11th fret. Since this guitar has the 2 year period Yamaha .030” tang frets (vs. .020” is today’s standard), there is no modern equivalent, my only option is LMII FW75 fret wire with a .024” tang. I cut a piece and tapped it in. I quickly remembered the FW-75 wire is a little wider (.095”) than the Yamaha standard (.080”), and it doesn’t look right. So, I pulled it and filed the edges to .080”/.083” and taped it back it. Since the barbs on the tang aren’t much wider than the width of the fret slot, I have to glue the fret in. I wiped Renaissance wax on the fretboard (it makes cleanup MUCH easier) and wicked water thin superglue under the fret. The FW-75 fret is also higher than standard frets, and the existing frets are a bit low, but they are in good shape. The idea is to keep as much of the original frets as possible. So, I have to file and use Stew Mac’s Fret Kisser to remove most of the new fret to bring it down to the level of the exiting frets. And after all the filing I’ve done for the past hour+, my hands are tired. Done for today.

About to spot level the upper frets with the Stew Mac Fret Kisser.


Then I remembered I wanted to replace the 11th fret.


Removed cleanly, no chips.


The new & old fret, the fret wire coil, and the fret cutters.


About to glue in the 11th fret.


The 11th fret just about leveled.  It looks flatter than the rest because it is uncrowned.  The frets are about .030" high.

DAY 6 – Made the new saddle. It sticks out of the bridge .19”/.17”. Before starting the neck reset, the neck is centered and projects about 3/32” below the top of the bridge. Set the tape on the heel at .05”, filed & pull sanded to the tape. The neck is still centered and projects about .05” above the top of the bridge. Put the guitar in the neck jig, installed the original strings, and tuned to “D”. The neck is centered, and the action is a little under 9/64” low D and a little over 7/64” high D. Removed the guitar from the jig, set the tape on the heel at .04”, file & sanded to the tape. But shortly after I started sanding, I noticed the sandpaper was pulling out too easy. I put the neck again the body and saw a small gap on the sides of the heel. The dovetail is hitting the back of the neck pocket. I made a mark at the end of the dovetail 7/16” from the heel and made an angled line from the top of the dovetail at the fretboard. This wedge is the required clearance as the heel is sanded at an angle. Sanded the wedge off the back of the dovetail and continued pull sanding the heel. Sanded to the tape, put the guitar in the neck jig, and tuned to “D”. The neck is centered, and the action is 5/64” low D and 1/16” high D. Good! Leave it overnight.

The new saddle.


Set the tape on the heel at .05".  This is the end of the wedge I am going to sand off the heel.


Filed the end of the heel to the tape.  I file vs. sand because it's difficult to sand evenly and many times the rough sandpaper pulls small chunks out of the heel.


First stringing!




Marking the wedge to sand off the dovetail.


The wedge sanded off.


The second stringing!!  It's close!

Amazing work Dave! I can't praise you high enough for the work you do. It's one thing to get a guitar repaired, but to read such a detailed blog, it feels like I'm right there with you. And think about the legacy you are creating for future Yamaha lovers in 20, 30, or even 50 years. They'll have the best advice they could ever ask for.