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I've completed two neck resets and am considering taking on a third. (All beat up old instruments with myriad bumps and bruises, etc.) However, as part of my education, I'd like to know how to approach situations where the finish was applied after the neck was attached. (We're talking nitro lacquer in this case.) Is there some trick to prevent the finish from chipping? Or at least reduce the damage? Just curious as to what those with more experience in this procedure do in such instances.
Thanks,

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George :-)

Hi George:

That's another good reason to finish the necks off the guitars. Early on I finished or had some guitars finished with the necks on but never again....

Anyway no tricks here but what we do is score/cut through the finish as cleanly as possible, which is not always possible..., and then remove the neck. Prior to final assembly and after resetting the neck the chipped finish is repaired in our spray booth. This is the part that can add a lot of time to the repair in that we are basically waiting for finish/paint/nitro to dry.

Expect to do the final buff with the neck on after the finish has been repaired.

If you ever get the chance to view and older Gibson acoustic that has been reset check-out the joint. Some folks are pretty good at this and many are not and it shows, unfortunately.

Thanks, Hesh. I was thinking that scoring the finish might help, but don't know what type of tool to use. A razor blade? An Exacto? My dentist gave me a very thin cutting disk that I could put in my Dremel. Maybe that would work?

Many people say that old Gibsons can be tricky to reset. What is it that sets them apart from others?

Thanks again,

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George :-)

We use single edged razor blades or an X-acto will do too.

Older Gibsons are tricky at times because they were finished with the necks on.

Older Guilds are usually the worst though also because of being finished with the necks on but with the added issues of a poor heel shape for the neck reset process and the tendency that Guild had to use too much glue AND apply it to the heel cheeks and subsequently the sides instead of judicious use of glue on the dovetail only. Many shops charge more to do old Guilds and we usually do too because of the complexity and then the need for more than an average amount of touch-up work.

By the way George good on ya for doing resets and doing several of them too. Resets are very much something that require skills that include not only many repair practices but knowledge of fitting necks, neck angle, finishing, etc.

FYI there is thinking among the pros who do this stuff for a living that really any neck reset should be accompianied by a fret dress too since we are changing the neck angle, once again, and that has ramifications for the fret plain including the extension.

For us a reset usually, usually always, includes a fret dress and at times it's a good time to address any need for a refret too.

Currently we have five guitars in the shop for resets and in various phases of same. Depending on the instrument a reset can be pretty easy or something that one has to get on the floor and wrestle with a bit....

We often batch resets since we do them often. It's also a good time to do them in the winter when the added RH from the steamer has other beneficial uses.

Thanks for the tips, fellas. Interestingly, my second neck reset was on an old Guild. The neck itself come off like butter but there was a fair bit of chipping at the joint, which is what prompted me to post this question. So far I've been refretting as part of the process. As I noted above, these are old guitars in need of some TLC, so it just seems to make sense to give them the full spa treatment.

Thanks again,

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George :-)

I always figured it was because the necks were set while the lacquer was still pretty fresh, but yes some of them the finish is really fused together.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I use lacquer retarder to soften the finish in the joint. Rather than a knife, I cut through the finish with a the tip of a thin razor saw. I prefer to drop fill any touchup on the neck heel during a reset. Overspraying the heel is a valid technique, but it can negatively affect resale value.
Guilds are the worst, but Gibsons with the wide heel also tend to be glued on the sides of the body. In some instances, I insert a thin pallet knife on the sides of the heel to help remove the neck.

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John

I think neck resets require a refret. Chances are guitars that old needs it anyways, and once you change the fret plane you get a hump at the 12-14th fret, and that's impossible to level on the frets alone... I tried it and seriously couldn't do it without a refret. You basically need to plane the hump out, otherwise the guitar will be unplayable.

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Typhoon Guitars
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On a proper reset, there should be no 'hump'. Fall-away, sometimes....but no hump.
Fall-away has no effect on playability....unless and until you play on the fretboard extension itself.

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John