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Joined:
December 2002
Posts: 2
| Hey Folks,
I have a friends Celebrity model with a loose neck that I'd like to repair. He said it had been sitting in the case for a couple of days and when he went to go get it, the string tension had gone, and the neck was pulling up. What i really need to know is how do they attach these necks in the first place? It doesn't seem to be bolt on, so i'm assuming it's a sort of dovetail. If it's a dovetail, what kind of glue will bond plastic to wood? Also, what kind of glue did they use to attach the neck and the fingerboard to the top. I'm considering heating the fingerboard extension and using a putty knife to get the extension off so I can get a better idea of the damage. Please help if you can.
-Kamron |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3651
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Kamron, I asked the Mother Ship exactly that question a couple of years ago. Apparently, they use an epoxy compound for construction of their instruments. While heating the joints will theoretically soften the compound; I would caution the use of much prying force on any of the glued surfaces. I did such a fretboard removal on a Celebrity about a year ago, because the soundboard was caved in. I stopped at that stage. I REALLY didn't want to wrestle with the neck removal, based on my experience thus far.
I would say take it to an authorized Ovation technician, at least for diagnosis and treatment options (sorry, occupational jargon). You may get away with injecting a bit more epoxy around the joint and resetting the neck. Your call, but go slow. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Oh, you guys are talking GUITARS!!
When I saw ". . loose neck on a Celebrity . .", I thought Drew Barrymore was out of rehab again!
[ December 19, 2002: Message edited by: cliff ] |
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Joined:
December 2002
Posts: 2
| Thanks for the advice Seesquare. I actually ran into a site after posting my question and found an alternative to a reset. Apparently, this is somewhat common. The recommendation was to drill a small hold in the back of the bowl to reach the dovetail area, then force a two part epoxy into the open chanell with a syringe, and then lay the instrument down, suspending it on the body and the nut, and using a bag of twenty pound buckshot for clamping pressure. After that, i can fill the hold using a simple plastic bridge pin and finishing it as close the the bowl as possible. I think this is the route I'm going to take, as I've never reset a neck before, and a reset would cost about three times as much. My friend seemed fine with the procedure so I'll be drilling a hole in the bowl. If anyone thinks this is crazy, let me know quickly, or it'll be too late. Thanks. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3651
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Great Yankee ingenuity.....with apologies for geographical sensitivites, of course! Good luck. I've used surgical tubing, tied around the peghead and the endpin strap button, using a shoebox as a tensioning spacer between the back of the guitar and the stretched tubing. |
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Loose neck on a Celebrity Model CS257
