1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ | Yamaha Vintage FG Acoustic Guitars

CTGull
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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 5, 2023 19:33:14 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 5, 2023 19:33:14 GMT -5

THE STORY: I just recently purchased a FG-140 ‘71 (the serial numbers date it to February/March 1972) made in Taiwan locally for $300 because of my love for the sound of Elliott Smith’s FG-180. I couldn’t find a 180 locally so the 140 was my best second bet. The FG-140 I purchased was in good condition other than a crack where the neck meets the acoustic body. A neck reset was needed but I tried to hillbilly it; ultimately breaking the truss rod like an idiot. The action is decently high so it will need a reck reset. Now I’ll need a truss rod replacement as well… At this point I’m also doing a full fret job just to get this bad ombré where I would like it to be. I shipped it to the best vintage FG repair man in the world, Dave. I paid a pretty penny to ship through Fedex because I used a heavy case and maybe because it was just between Christmas and New Years? Who knows. My recommendation would be to package it your self and save the $25 professional packing fee. I have also heard much better things from UPS but that’s just my 2 cents. Looking forward to hearing what happens with my FG-140!

OBSERVATIONS: He shipped it FEDEX 1/2/23 (they packed it) and I received it on 1/5/23 in a FEDEX guitar box. Not much packing inside. The guitar came in an old brown case, much of the edges delaminating. Taped to the outside of the case were, a pack of EJ17 PB medium strings in a FEDEX packing label holder, and a folded over note of what he'd like done. Inside, the neck was wrapped in his HS class t-shirt, with no other packing. No truss rod cover, saddle of bridge pins on the guitar or supplied. The pickguard is solid. The bridge is VERY thin, only .19" thick, normally .31", 1/8" was sanded off. That leaves the saddle slot VERY shallow, it will need to be routed deeper to be able to support a higher saddle. Many small dings all over, but nothing really bad. The obvious damage is the cracked heel, and the black binding looks odd. On the inside it's obvious someone repaired this damage with some kind of black glue. Looking closely, the black binding was separated, and the gap filled. It looks pretty solid. We'll see how it holds up during the neck removal. The bridge plate is the best one I've ever seen!! Without strings I can only check the neck relief (about .025", the straight edge hitting on the first & last frets), and the neck projection (5/32" from the top of the already low bridge, 1/32" off of the top).

Lots of little dings but nothing huge.

THIS is the biggest problem!! Some sanded 1/8" off the top of the bridge!!

That leaves very little saddle slot depth, which is needed to support a taller saddle after the neck reset.

Some decent fretboard divots in the first position. And a few fret divots. Most of the frets are low and flat topped. A complete refret is needed.

Some buckle rash!!

The heel crack.

You can see the binding had separated and the gap was filled. Hopefully, this holds during the neck removal.

The top bracing.

And the best looking vintage FG bridge plate ever!!

You can see the black glue in the kerfing.

Last Edit: Jan 5, 2023 19:45:15 GMT -5 by CTGull

CTGull
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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 7, 2023 10:52:59 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 7, 2023 10:52:59 GMT -5

DAY 1 – Before attempting to loosen the fretboard, I noticed the lacquer radius on the bass side looked to be cracked, and the fretboard extension in the 14th/15th area looked to be cracked and slightly raised. HOW is that possible? I put tape in the corners of the heel and cut thru the lacquer radius with a new scalpel blade. Put the heat shield on the top of the guitar and heated the fretboard extension with the halogen light, moving the guitar around little every couple of minutes. The first try I could barely get the spatula started. Put the heat shieled back on and under the lamp some more. The fretboard extension fought pretty good. I felt crunchy, the spatula dug in for sure. Sprayed water on the 15th fret to soften the wood and reduce the chance of chipping. Removed the 15th fret with the Stew Mac fret pliers. Drilled the (2) steam holes, very obviously hitting the neck pocket.

The lacquer radius on the bass side of the heel looks to be cracked.

And the fretboard is very slightly pushed up. ODD!!

I put 3 layers of tape in the heel corners and cut thru the lacquer radius with a new scalpel blade.

And I cut thru the end, even though the picture is out of focus.

And cut the lacquer radius around the fretboard extension.

And heated the fretboard extension with the halogen light, with the top protected by the heat shield.

The fretboard extension is loose. It was initially very tough. In the end it felt a bit crunchy. We'll see why later.

I wet the 15th fret area to reduce the chance of chipping the fretboard.

Removed the 15th fret with the Stew Mac fret pliers.

And drilled the 2 steam holes.

Last Edit: Jan 7, 2023 10:54:34 GMT -5 by CTGull

CTGull
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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 7, 2023 11:17:49 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 7, 2023 11:17:49 GMT -5

DAY 2 – Before attempting to remove the neck, I thought it would be a good idea to deepen the saddle slot while the neck was still attached, giving the guitar more stability with the neck in the neck rest, vs. the body possibly sliding around. I clamped the router jig to the top of the guitar and add 2 more clamps for stability. It comes with an alignment setup sled, I put a .132” gage pin in the hole and visually line up the router guide plate by eye, which is very difficult due to poor visibility, lots of reflections in the plastic parts. Once I get the sled visually centered on the slot, I put the router in the guide plate and play around with the depth adjustment until I get the 3/32” (.094”) bit in the slot to see if it is centered, and to check the depth. Once I’m satisfied the router is running parallel to the sides & bottom of the slot, I adjust the position of the router guide with long shims, looking to just touch the edge of the slot. Then I adjust the depth of the router to the final depth and make the cut. Then I use the long shims to adjust the position of the guide plate to just clean up the other side of the slot. Obviously, these need to be very precise adjustments, all done by eye. It is very difficult to see anything due to the reflections on the plastic parts and the difficult in getting direct light into the slot. The goal is to deepen the slot parallel to the top, which opening the width as little as possible, and keep the sides parallel. This is much harder than it sounds.

And it’s done. With great difficulty. I forgot how hard it is to see the cutter in the slot. And how hard it is to make manual adjustments with shims, it’s tough to be sure the gap is consistent when it’s done by feel. I found it’s actually easier to line the router guide up by loosening it, bumping the cutting edge of the cutter against the side wall of the slot, and tighten the router guide. I still need to move over a paper thickness to clean up the wall. Then reset the depth .06” and make another cut. Then I used .025” of shims to move the guide over. Then make the cut, see how it looks, make another minor adjustment, and make the final cut. The slot was about .118” wide x .08”/.06” deep, the treble side depth measured less because more had been sanded off that side of the top of the bridge, which is .19”/.16” thick. The slot is now .129”/.130” wide (very parallel!) x .130”/.100” deep. That leaves a .06” thickness of rosewood between the top and the saddle.

The setup.

Using the setup sled to line up the router guide.

Ready to go!

First pass.

Done!!!

The slot is .130" wide.

CTGull
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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 7, 2023 15:53:42 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 7, 2023 15:53:42 GMT -5

DAY 2.1 - On to removing the neck!! I put the guitar in the neck jig, put ¾ cup of water in the converted cappuccino machine and turned it on. At 4 minutes steam was coming out of the tip. After a minute of 2 of steam I can seem steam leaking out inside the guitar, on the treble side of the neck block. I had put a towel in there just in case, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this. After 6 minutes I started wiggle the neck to find some movement!! Then I noticed it was because the upper side of the guitar may not be connected to the neck block.

I removed the guitar from the neck jig and started digging into the heel corners in an attempt to separate the heel from the side of the guitar. The upper half of the bas side was fairly easy. The lower half was the hardest it’s ever been. REALLY solid. I replaced the scalpel blade since I had bent it a few times. Take a break. Finishing that side was tough. The treble side wasn’t as bad. Normally the steam softens the lower part of the joint, this is more than solid. I cut the end of the heel with the .010” saw.

Back in the neck jig. After another 6 minutes there is LOTS of movement on the bass side, with the side still attached. And some movement on the treble side. But the bottom of the joint still seems solid. On the inside, I can feel the joint at the treble side of the neck block is very hot, indicating steam is escaping. Somewhere at the bottom.

I removed the guitar from the neck jig and did more digging into the heel corners. The heel lamination is starting to crack, more on the treble side. The Treble side was very close to separated. The bass side is still solid for most of the lower corner. Broke another blade. I cut 3/8” into the end of the heel with the .010” saw, but only found wood chips, I was expecting black glue. The bass side of the heel is still more solid that it should be at this point. The steam usually gets down there and loosened it. I’m hoping they didn’t load the bottom of the neck joint up with glue if/when they glued the end of the heel back on. Dug more into the bass side heel corner. Broke another blade. The record is three. Dug into the bass side heel more. I’m still not confident it is going to release.

Back in the neck jig. Started wiggling at 3 minutes. LOTS of movement! More movement at 4 minutes. At 5 more minutes it finally released!!

AND, there’s a reason why there was so much movement on the bass side! The neck block is cracked vertically in the corner of the neck pocket, and a small jagged break up to the top, and the top is partially separated. There’s also a crack at the bottom of the neck block and about 1” up the treble side. The bass side crack is very large and very loose, that needs to be fixed immediately. The treble side crack won’t move when anything is pushed into it, and I’m not going to force it. Maybe the previous fix glued that. I’ll put a screw in later to secure it, which will be hidden by the end of the heel.

What was also keeping the neck from releasing was a shim on the bass side of the dovetail had to shear to release. There was also a piece of the top stuck on the bass side of the fretboard extension. I scraped that off, but the big crack needs to be fixed first.

After gluing and clamping the body, I took a closer look at the neck. The treble side heel lamination crack has opened up slightly. It needs to be clamped in the guitar vise to keep it from getting any worse as the neck dries.

The steam setup.

Cutting the end of the heel.

It finally released!!

Here's a better view of the dovetail shim that had to shear to release the neck.

And the piece still on the neck.

A slight crack in the treble side heel lamination.

There's the neck block crack and top separation.

The binding is loose.

The crack at the bottom of the neck block.

And slightly up the treble side.

Spreading the bass side crack.

Lots of glue squirted in there, and coming out on the inside.

Clamped.

Last Edit: Jan 7, 2023 16:07:38 GMT -5 by CTGull

CTGull
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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 8, 2023 9:37:02 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 8, 2023 9:37:02 GMT -5

DAY 3 – I unclamped the neck and found the heel lamination crack is closed. I’ll pin it later. And I unclamped the bass side neck block. Looking at the treble side of the neck pocket corner, I find a fine crack running up the whole side, which will spread open slightly when pushing a small spatula in. The crack at the bottom is still solid. The repair they did made it thru all the heat and steam, nothing on the bottom has cracked. I’ll add a small screw later to be sure. I’m guessing the guitar fell over, or was sat/stepped on, with enough force to crack the neck block in half and separate the kerfing & binding, allowing the neck to pivot upward. The repair they did seems to have fixed the lower part, but 80% of the neck block was still cracked thru and loose.

I did a test clamp to see if I can close the treble side crack, using a small piece of 2x4 and a squeeze clamp. And it does. Using a longer clamp, I attempt to close the lower crack, and maybe it closed a hair. The existing repair is holding it open. Then I squirt wood glue into the crack, using my finger to push glue into the crack, applying more, and repeat until I feel glue coming out inside the guitar, to be sure I have good glue coverage. Then I clamp it for real. I added a block and wedge to keep the long clamp from pivoting and falling off.

The vertical neck block cracks aren’t as important and being sure the bottom crack is secure, because the string tension will be holding the outer part of the neck block against the inner part, which is still glued to the top and back. BUT, the bottom crack needs to be secure so the force of the strings, or a possible hit to the headstock, doesn’t separate it again. A small countersink screw with do that, which will be hidden under the end of the heel after the neck is reinstalled.

The treble side crack.

Testing the clamping.

The corner crack closes, the angled crack mostly, because the end crack is help open by the previous repair.

Applying the glue.

After clamping.

I had to figure out how to support it while the guitar is clamped. I later added a clamp at the bottom to prevent it from tipping over.

AND, I’m still curious about the truss rod. I verified the nut goes on and just keeps spinning. Yet it can be removed without the end of the truss rod coming out. So decided to remove the truss rod for further inspection. I put thread the nut on a couple of turns, put a flat blade screw driver in the truss rod nut slot, and hammer on the end of the screw driver to get the truss rod moving. They used some kind of grease in the truss rod channel to keep the truss rod from rattling. After 50 years the grease has dried up and it more of a glue. Removing the truss rod is difficult. Once the head of the truss rod is flush with the end of the dovetail, I grab it with pliers and wiggle (MANY times!) until I can pull the truss rod out. As I started, I can see the threaded end of the rod disappearing into the hole. It’s not broken!! But, I remove it anyway to check the threads. I compare the thread on this rod to another one I’ve removed. They look the same, nothing seems to be stripped. I check the threads in the nut, they are there. I had some replacement truss rod nut made a few years ago. I thread a new nut on the rod and it feels good. I thread the old nut one and it wobbles and the threads are loose! The threads in the nut are partially stripped!! They’re visibly still there, but there must be enough gone that the allow the nut to spin under a load. I bang the truss rod back in the hole and install a new truss rod nut & washer. I was able to adjust the neck!! Fixed!

Using the screwdriver to get the truss rod moving.

The truss rod head is now flush with the end of the dovetail.

And it's out!!

The old nut, new nut & washer.

The new nut installed, and the neck is flattened.

Last Edit: Jan 8, 2023 11:27:25 GMT -5 by CTGull

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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 15, 2023 15:56:38 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 15, 2023 15:56:38 GMT -5

DAY 4 – I sprayed the fretboard with water, let it sit for a few minutes, and removed the frets with the Stew Mac fret pullers. Only the 7th fret was difficult to get out because I couldn’t get under either end with the pullers, I had to use a chisel to get it started. Wiped off the fretboard. And fixed a couple of small chips with water thin super glue.

I put tape on the body at the sides of the heel area. Scraped & sanded the lacquer radius. Drilled & countersunk a hole for a #6 x ¾” screw.

The tools.

Sprayed the fretboard to soften the wood and help prevent shipping.

The frets are removed!

It took some time, but I sanded, filed, and scraped the heel area of the body to level it. There was A LOT of old hide glue holding neck wood too it.

Since I don't know what they previously used to fix the lower part of the neck block, I added a #6 x 3/4" screw, just in case. The heel will cover it after the neck is installed.

Last Edit: Jan 15, 2023 15:57:42 GMT -5 by CTGull

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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 15, 2023 15:58:10 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 15, 2023 15:58:10 GMT -5

DAY 5 – I removed the nut, first putting a piece of tape on the headstock, then cutting under the nut with a scalpel (mostly in the corners). Then I scribbled all over the fretboard with a pencil (to see where I hadn’t sanded), then sanded the fretboard with the 10” radius x 20” long aluminum sanding beam, with 120 grit 2-3/4” self stick sandpaper. As typical of Yamaha fretboards, there was a flat section in the middle. I left a small section between the 5th & 6th frets. Then I sanded the whole fretboard with 220 grit sandpaper on the 4” long block, just to smooth it.

About to remove the nut.

You can see why the tape is a good idea.

Scribbled on the fretboard.

Started sanding. The 10" radius is going to contact the corners first, as it's sanding over the existing flatter 16" radius.

Done with the 120 grit.

After the 220 grit, and manually sanding the small previously unsanded patch.

Last Edit: Jan 15, 2023 18:34:22 GMT -5 by CTGull

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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 15, 2023 19:58:34 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 15, 2023 19:58:34 GMT -5

DAY 5.1 - Pinned the heel to reinforce the very slight separation of the heel lamination during the neck removal. Used my new 3D printed drill jig to drill a 1/8” compound angle hole, with tape set at 4”, as a visual stop at the drill bushing. Then drilled 5/32” & 13/64” to 1-1/2” deep. Blew the chips and dust out the whole (a few times), taped the heel, dropped epoxy in the hole, rolled the 3/16” dowel in the epoxy, pushed the dowel in the hole (rotating it as I inserted it), and removed the tape.

The tools.

Drilling the 1/8" hole.

The result.

Drilling the 13/64" hole.

The result.

Test fitting the dowel.

How the dowel sits in the neck.

Taped the heel.

Mixing the epoxy. The paper towel has denatured alcohol on it, which is great for cleaning up epoxy before it sets.

Rolling the dowel in the epoxy to be sure I get full coverage.

The dowel in place.

Last Edit: Jan 15, 2023 19:59:55 GMT -5 by CTGull

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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 16, 2023 17:39:06 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 16, 2023 17:39:06 GMT -5

DAY 6 – I opened & deepened the fret slots using a custom saw guide, and Stew Mac’s .020” & .025” saws (they cut .001”/.002” undersize). They are much easier to control than the traditional much larger fret saw. I line up the guide with the slot using the .020” saw, clamp it in place, and carefully use the.025” saw until the rib of the saw hits the saw guide, which sets the proper depth. Then I broke the edges of the slots with the 3 corner file and cleaned out the slots with the .016” saw (made from a hacksaw blade). Then I cut the individual frets and pounded them in with a plastic 14 ounce dead blow hammer, supporting the fretboard extension on a block of metal on top of a piece of 2x4. As an extra precaution, I glue the frets in with water thin super glue. First, Renaissance Wax is applied to the fretboard to keep the super glue from sticking to it. Then the fret is clamped with the 10” radius block, the glue is wicked under the fret, and I blow on it for 10-15 seconds (the moisture will cure the glue) before unclamping it.

Opening/deepening the 1st fret slot.

The tools. The "L" shaped piece is a bent piece of fret wire that the fret tangs have been files off of. It is used to check the slot depth.

All the slots finished.

Breaking the corners of the slots. That makes inserting the frets easier.

Installing the frets in the fretboard extension. It can be fragile, with the slots going halfway thru.

All the pieces of fret wire installed.

Cutting the frets ends.

Waxed the fretboard.

Gluing in the frets.

The frets glued in!

Last Edit: Jan 16, 2023 17:41:37 GMT -5 by CTGull

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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 17, 2023 17:30:14 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 17, 2023 17:30:14 GMT -5

DAY 7 – I taped the fretboard (to keep the metal dust out of the wood, and later keep from sanding/polishing the fretboard during the fret finishing), filed the bevel on the fret ends, and leveled the fretboard (with the 10” radius 20” long leveling beam with 220 grit sandpaper), and checking with the Stew Mac straight edge.

Beveled the fret ends with the fine side of the long file.

Marked the tops of the frets with black marker.

The frets are leveled. I didn't use the small block.

The middle of the 9th thru 12th were just barely touched.

The 16th thru 20th with slightly fall away from the strings, as the area around the sound hole is typically sunken slightly.

When I mate the neck with the body, I find there is very little sinking at the sound hole. The upper frets will have to be leveled at some point. I will clamp the neck to the body overnight, in hope the fretboard extension will bend up slightly and make mating the neck to the body (for sanding to fix the neck angle) easier.

Made a new saddle, .131”/.130” thick.

Last Edit: Jan 17, 2023 19:00:23 GMT -5 by CTGull

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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 18, 2023 19:14:29 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 18, 2023 19:14:29 GMT -5

DAY 8 – Clamping the neck to the body overnight helped the fretboard extension dip a little. It’s still tough to hold the neck in position to check the neck projection. I’m guessing it projects about 1/8” below the top of the bridge. I set the tape on the heel at .05”, and filed & pull sanded to the tape. I also put center marks at the 1st & 12th frets, and the bridge. And did some leveling of the 16th thru 20th frets. The neck seems to be central to the body, but there is a huge amount of side to side play in the neck joint. There were shims in there for a reason. The neck now projects about even with the top of the bridge, but it’s hard to be sure the neck is flush with the body, to be sure I’m getting an accurate neck projection and upper fret level. I wet the back of the fretboard extension to soften the wood slightly, put a piece of wax paper on the top, clamped the neck to the body, and will leave it overnight again.

The guitar clamped last night.

Set the tape on the heel at .05"

Filed to the tape. This makes it much easier to get the end of the heel flat and reduces the chances of shipping the finish.

After wetting the bottom of the fretboard and clamping.

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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 19, 2023 19:15:33 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 19, 2023 19:15:33 GMT -5

DAY 9 – Unclamping the guitar, the neck is sitting much better, nearly flush. Shimmed (full length) both sides of the neck dovetail to tighten up the joint. The fit is now perfect. Set the tape on the heel at .03”, filed & sanded to the tape. The neck is now very close to being centered, and projects about .03” above the top of the bridge. Made the nut, slotted for medium strings. Sanded a wedge on the back of the dovetail, clearance for the back of the neck pocket. Set the tape on the heel at .03, filed & sanded to the tape. The neck projects about .08” above the bridge. I found a random set of strings to put on (I have to start somewhere), to save the medium strings he supplied, installed them and tuned them to “D”. The nut action is high (as expected), I capoed a .013” feeler at the 1st fret to set the approximate nut action. The neck relief is minimal. The neck is about 1/64” off center, need to take off the bass side. The action is 1/8” low D and 3/32” high D.

Glued shims to both sides of the dovetail, to tighten up the joint.

Transfered the fret plane to the nut with the half pencil. It was then sanded, on a 5 degree angle, to just short of the line.

About to make the nut slots.

The nut slots started.

Marked the wedge on the dovetail.

Sanded off the wedge on the dovetail.

The first stringing!!

Last Edit: Jan 19, 2023 19:17:06 GMT -5 by CTGull

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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 20, 2023 18:52:34 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 20, 2023 18:52:34 GMT -5

DAY 10 –Retuned, the action is up to a little over 1/8” low D & a little under 7/64” high D. Sanded .015” off the bottom of the nut. Reamed & ramped the bridge pin holes. Set the tape on the heel at .03”, filed & sanded to the tape. Put the guitar back in the neck jig & tuned to “D”. The nut action is very close. Finished the nut action with the nut files. The neck is centered. The action is a little over 3/32” low D & a little under 5/64” high D.

The tools.

Reamed & ramped the bridge pin holes. Also slotted the low E & A holes so the string windings don't bind with the bridge pins.

Pull sanding.

Second stringing!! It's close!

Last Edit: Jan 20, 2023 18:54:13 GMT -5 by CTGull

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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Jan 21, 2023 18:05:33 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Jan 21, 2023 18:05:33 GMT -5

DAY 11 – Removed the Light strings, oiled the tuners (the A & B were the tightest, the B is still a bit tight), and installed the final EJ17 medium strings he supplied (to have the proper neck tension for finalizing the neck angle). Put the guitar back in the neck jig and tuned to “D”. The neck is centered. The neck relief is good. The action is 7/64” low D & a little over 5/64” high D. Set the tape on the heel at .02”, filed & sanded to the tape. Put the guitar back in the neck jig and tuned to “D”. The action is a little under 3/32” low D & 1/16” high D. That will do it!

Glued shims to the dovetail with superglue, put a strip of carbon paper in the neck pocket, inserted the neck (a few times), observed the carbon pattern on the shims, sanded the dark spots, and repeated until the neck is fully inserted. Then I used the Dremel and a small polishing wheel to polish up the heel & top area, touched up any bare wood & cracks with mahogany marker, and polished again. After everything looked good, I applied fish glue to the top, fretboard extension, and both dovetail surfaces; put the guitar in the neck jig; installed the 4 outer strings & tightened somewhat (to pull the neck into the body); and clamped.

Third stringing, with the final Medium strings.

The sanded heel, undercut with the Dremel.

The carbon paper in the neck pocket.

First use of the carbon paper on the bass side.

First use of the carbon paper on the treble side.

Second use of the carbon paper on the bass side. More contact surface.

The same on the treble side. The 3rd & 4th times it was even better.

Fish glue applied to the top & dovetail.

Fish glue applied to the fretboard extension and dovetail.

The neck clamped.

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1972 Yamaha FG-140 - Neck Reset++ Feb 5, 2023 18:36:15 GMT -5

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Post by CTGull on Feb 5, 2023 18:36:15 GMT -5

DAY 12 – Tuned to “D”, the action is a little over 3/32” low D & a little over 1/16” high D. The nut action and neck relief are good. Marked the tops of the frets with black marker. Crowned the frets with the Stew Mac Z-Files, leaving a thin black line in the middle of the frets. Filed the sides of the frets with the Stew Mac fret end file, to remove any marks made by the crowning files. Sanded the sides & tops of the frets with 600 grit sandpaper, to remove the filing marks on the sides and the leveling marks on the top. Used the Stew Mac Fret Erasers to polish the frets. Removed all the tape from the fretboard. Used the Stew Mac fret end file to file the fret ends flush and break the sharp corners. Sanded the width of the nut to fit the fretboard, rounded over the back edge and side corners, and sanded all the surfaces smooth. Sanded a .040” wedge (measured at the low E slot) in the bottom of the saddle. Oiled the fretboard and bridge with Howard Feed-N-Wax. Cleaned the guitar with Wizards Mist-N-Shine. Reinstalled the strings and tuned to "D".

The fret finishing tools.

The frets crowned.

The first fret polished.

After removing the tape. The dark stripes are the thin super glue I used to glue the frets in. I will scrub them off a little later. with 0000 steel wool.