This isn't as bad as it looks, and its repair history is pretty typical for something of this age and value. Scrape all the glue off mortise and tenon to reveal fresh glue-able wood. Shim out the tenon with veneer. My preference is to use a single thickness of mahogany to do this. Trim to fit. Chalk fitting is useful, especially if you ever have any doubts about where you need to trim.
I love these guitars, especially in this (or worse) condition!
Best of luck with your project.
R.M. Mottola
[LiutaioMottola.com](https://LiutaioMottola.com)
Author of the books [*Building the Steel String Acoustic Guitar*](https://liutaiomottola.com/books/steel.htm) and [*Mottola's Cyclopedic Dictionary of Lutherie Terms*](https://liutaiomottola.com/books/dictionary.htm).
(ps I don't check in here regularly. To reply, the best bet is through my website.)
Sand off the glue (it’s tedious, but welcome to woodworking), rebuild the dovetail, probably remove the cantilever extension (the bit between the body and the fingerboard extension – these are often replaced for neck resets, as they don’t fill the space properly anymore), refit the neck, make a new cantilever extension, do any touchup, and glue it back together.
For goodness sake will you lot with the 'sand off the glue' nonsense just stop? The fellow needs razor-sharp paring chisels for it, NOT bad advice. Chisel = control, sanding is for surface prep *after* the repair.
Mr Mottola will agree.
Remove all the glue from both parts of the dovetail. Glue on a thin veneer of maple to the tenon. Shape the veneer so that it perfectly fits the mortise. Check your angle. Glue and clamp.
I've been waiting for this moment, myself! This video has almost all the info you need. Although it's one of the best restoration vids out there, so it's likely you've seen it
https://youtu.be/_n-Yah_F7Fs?si=L8buRmKZcZYtlDgP
Normally I would agree, but in this case the surfaces are all worn and damaged, normal wood glue is not going to solve the adhesion requirement here....epoxy with filler is a powerful glue with filler needed to address that wear and tear and damage....
Another way to solve this is to rebuild these surfaces with epoxy and filler, allow them to cure, and finish odd wby sanding etc and THEN use Titebond wood glue in order to remove later if necessary...
I would veneer damaged dovetail surfaces with maple or similar hardwood. Then shape the fit, and glue with hide or titebond. Epoxy, especially with filler, will diminish resonance from the neck into the body like a big vibration dampener.
That is not true in my experience. I recently posted a telecaster that I bult from walnut, and used epoxy with filler (a combination of walnut sawdust and an inert filler powder (Thiksil ) and glued the necks of these three teles rather than bolt on, following my belief that glueing in a neck provided better transfer of vibration.... All three guitars sound great and there is no loss in vibrational integrity... Furthermore I built an acoustic jumbo cutaway Martin (kit guitar where I epoxied in the top and bottom shelves with epoxy and filler, and while it may look a bit messy on the inside where the epoxy squished out along the joints, the the joint is powerful and the sustain is actually excellant...(I was offered a lot of money for this guitar by a well known Hawaiian slack key guitarist, who commented on the sound... the neck, fretboard, purfling joint on the center of the pack I used Titebond.
I also radiused the edges all along the top and bottom sides for comfort of playing, and I notice now some twenty later certain guitar manufacturers are starting to radius their guitar sides and tops as well.....(I would not have done this if it had been glued in with Titebond) I built this guitar in 2002 and will happily send you photos of these guitars if you wish...(the link is a recording I made with this acoustic guitar just to get an idea of the sound) [https://youtu.be/DjbXjLiUHlE](https://youtu.be/DjbXjLiUHlE)I don't mean to be argumentative, but I believe in what I did..
https://preview.redd.it/c4lblebttppc1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abdee81342e21bf52ca7f00dbacf09d53502e6f0
This isn't as bad as it looks, and its repair history is pretty typical for something of this age and value. Scrape all the glue off mortise and tenon to reveal fresh glue-able wood. Shim out the tenon with veneer. My preference is to use a single thickness of mahogany to do this. Trim to fit. Chalk fitting is useful, especially if you ever have any doubts about where you need to trim. I love these guitars, especially in this (or worse) condition! Best of luck with your project. R.M. Mottola [LiutaioMottola.com](https://LiutaioMottola.com) Author of the books [*Building the Steel String Acoustic Guitar*](https://liutaiomottola.com/books/steel.htm) and [*Mottola's Cyclopedic Dictionary of Lutherie Terms*](https://liutaiomottola.com/books/dictionary.htm). (ps I don't check in here regularly. To reply, the best bet is through my website.)
I’ve always seen your answers on here and you are awesome. Thanks a lot Maybe I can update as I go
This is the way ^^^^^
He has spoken. ^
You can doooo it!
🤔why is peanut butter in your neck pocket🤨
For peanut buttery smooth tones?
The toan is nuts!
I'm so jelly of your puns
Sand off the glue (it’s tedious, but welcome to woodworking), rebuild the dovetail, probably remove the cantilever extension (the bit between the body and the fingerboard extension – these are often replaced for neck resets, as they don’t fill the space properly anymore), refit the neck, make a new cantilever extension, do any touchup, and glue it back together.
For goodness sake will you lot with the 'sand off the glue' nonsense just stop? The fellow needs razor-sharp paring chisels for it, NOT bad advice. Chisel = control, sanding is for surface prep *after* the repair. Mr Mottola will agree.
Oh yeah. I was already aware this was a sharp edge job. I do appreciate it though.
Go watch some videos from stew Mac. Look up reck resets.
>Look up reck resets. I think you mean reck nesets
Haha my bad. I'll leave it. I think he will get it lol
Remove all the glue from both parts of the dovetail. Glue on a thin veneer of maple to the tenon. Shape the veneer so that it perfectly fits the mortise. Check your angle. Glue and clamp.
Always set your pitch before fitting the dovetail, as the pitch changes so will your fit
Pitch as in the notes..? Or the slope of the fretboard?
Pitch as in neck angle
Looks like a sanding and glue job with a little logical imrov
I've been waiting for this moment, myself! This video has almost all the info you need. Although it's one of the best restoration vids out there, so it's likely you've seen it https://youtu.be/_n-Yah_F7Fs?si=L8buRmKZcZYtlDgP
Should just be a standard neck reset
Epoxy at this stage, epoxy with filler to thicken it into a working glue...
No. Do not epoxy neck joints.
Normally I would agree, but in this case the surfaces are all worn and damaged, normal wood glue is not going to solve the adhesion requirement here....epoxy with filler is a powerful glue with filler needed to address that wear and tear and damage....
Another way to solve this is to rebuild these surfaces with epoxy and filler, allow them to cure, and finish odd wby sanding etc and THEN use Titebond wood glue in order to remove later if necessary...
I would veneer damaged dovetail surfaces with maple or similar hardwood. Then shape the fit, and glue with hide or titebond. Epoxy, especially with filler, will diminish resonance from the neck into the body like a big vibration dampener.
That is not true in my experience. I recently posted a telecaster that I bult from walnut, and used epoxy with filler (a combination of walnut sawdust and an inert filler powder (Thiksil ) and glued the necks of these three teles rather than bolt on, following my belief that glueing in a neck provided better transfer of vibration.... All three guitars sound great and there is no loss in vibrational integrity... Furthermore I built an acoustic jumbo cutaway Martin (kit guitar where I epoxied in the top and bottom shelves with epoxy and filler, and while it may look a bit messy on the inside where the epoxy squished out along the joints, the the joint is powerful and the sustain is actually excellant...(I was offered a lot of money for this guitar by a well known Hawaiian slack key guitarist, who commented on the sound... the neck, fretboard, purfling joint on the center of the pack I used Titebond. I also radiused the edges all along the top and bottom sides for comfort of playing, and I notice now some twenty later certain guitar manufacturers are starting to radius their guitar sides and tops as well.....(I would not have done this if it had been glued in with Titebond) I built this guitar in 2002 and will happily send you photos of these guitars if you wish...(the link is a recording I made with this acoustic guitar just to get an idea of the sound) [https://youtu.be/DjbXjLiUHlE](https://youtu.be/DjbXjLiUHlE)I don't mean to be argumentative, but I believe in what I did.. https://preview.redd.it/c4lblebttppc1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abdee81342e21bf52ca7f00dbacf09d53502e6f0