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Joined:
February 2010
Posts: 3
Location: Stockbridge, GA | Looking for any advice I can get on repairing an Ovation MC148 mandolin. The neck on the mandolin is separating from the body, and I'm weighing my options on getting it fixed.
I've talked to a few local luthiers...one said they would be afraid to touch it, one said the repair might require a refret along with the reset neck, and another turned out to be a arrogant guitar snob who thought all Ovations were crap.
After searching the message boards here, it appears that the most common response to repair questions is to send it back to the factory. So I emailed the factory and their response was: "We do not do repairs here but we have service centers throughout the country. Here is a list of service centers in GA." I called and emailed the one nearest to me, but have not received a response.
Anyway, I'm a novice on mandolin. I got the thing pretty cheap ($200 w/HSC), and I'm not really interested in investing a lot of money to get if fixed, so I'm considering trying to do it myself. There's about a 1/16" gap between the neck and body at the heel. After taking the strings off, the gap closed a little, but it's still there. I can pull back on the neck, while holding the body tightly, and the joint closes up part of the way. It's not a bolt-on neck, so I'm thinking it might be as simple as re-glueing the neck.
Can anyone tell me what kind of glue would be best for something like this? Epoxy? Rhino glue? Also, I cannot see any way to clamp the neck joint, so I'm thinking...lay the guitar face down, maybe raised slightly with supports under the nut and the bridge, shoot some glue into the gap, and apply pressure (weight) on back of the body until the joint is closed tight (or something breaks) then let the glue set.
I posted this on the Welcome board and got a some feedback, but I thought I'd post it here where there's a little more traffic. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your help. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | Welcome Vince.
There's a chance I'm wrong but let me spout anyway.
The Neck Joint on the Celeb Mando is a loosely fit dovetail with an Epoxy filler. The Wood Glue standard practice would allow you to heat/steam the neck joint apart but with the epoxy it is fairly destructive to separate the two.
I would drill a hole inside the bowl straight into the heel of the neck and use a hex head woodscrew to pull in the neck. Prior to tightening I would fill the gap with Epoxy and hope for the best.
I used a similar technique here to convert a glue in neck to a Bolt-on style.
The downside of the Celeb Mando is that the neck is attached for a one-time only fit and not for removal or tweaking.
There are work arounds though. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 2791
Location: Atlanta, GA. | If you go with your method, instead of applying weight, maybe use a ratcheting cloth tie-down strap around the body,near the neck, to pull it down and close the gap. |
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Joined:
February 2010
Posts: 3
Location: Stockbridge, GA | MWoody and cholloway,
Thank you for your suggestions. That's exactly the kind of information I'm looking for.
I plan on attempting the fix this weekend. I'll let you know how it comes out.
If anyone else has suggestions, please post them. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4073
Location: Utah | I would do whatever MWoody suggests. |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 160
Location: Montana | I am not a luthier and I can just barely spell the word. But, I do build wood/epoxy boats and I have had the occasion to try to repair joints so this might help. Epoxy is readily softened by heat but the wood is a good insulator so by the time you heat the joint with a heat gun your wood is really warm. This is somewhat acceptable in a boat but I'm guessing not so good on your mando. So, what I have done with success is to take a thin piece of metal (say an old hack saw blade or putty knife) and heat that with the heat gun and then carefully shove the metal into the joint. It is slow and a discouraging word may be uttered, but eventually you get the epoxy in the joint soft enough that the parts separate. |
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Joined:
February 2003
Posts: 2178
Location: the BIG Metropolis of TR | Hello Vincent,
Welcome....The info you've gotten is all good!
ScottMt's advise is good if you decide to remove the neck and start over.
I like Woody's suggestion on installing a screw with the epoxy...just be careful to measure the length of the screw so it doesn't come through the outside of the heel, and of course pre-drill so you don't split the heel.
I also like Colin thinking on how to clamp it up...I did something like he's suggesting with a seperated heel repair. (you might want to remove your tuners also...)
The only minor problem I see is how to clamp the back of that bloomin' bowl! :D
Good Luck! |
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Help with mandolin repair