Summary
10.9.2010
This Levin Archtop has a large body similar to a Gibson Super 400. The neck became slightly loose and the neck extension joint had failed. So the neck would have to come off in order to repair this properly.
This is when the fun started. This guitar has a bolt-on neck (not unlike a modern Taylor). There's no way of getting a wrench into the small f-holes so it was a mystery at first as to how the neck was bolted on originally. I removed the tailpiece and found a small hole (about 12mm in diameter). So it looked like I needed to make an extra long wrench to remove the neck.
The bolts appeared to have a square centre so the first step was to determine it's size. I stuck some modelling clay on the end of a threaded rod. Then I pressed this against a bolt to get an impression so I could measure the size of the square. It turned out to be 5mm. The clay was benificial over regular plasticine because it was not elastic and held its shape.
I took my time filing the 5mm box shape on the metal rod to ensure a perfect fit. I tighteded two nuts together at the other end of the threaded metal rod. The outer nut is for tightening the bolts and the inner nut is for loosening them.
12.9.2010
With the neck off it was time to reinforce it and repair the broken joint. I drilled two holes into the neck between the extension and the main neck piece. I then used used maple dowels for extra surface adhesion and so as not to rely on the original joint completely. I used epoxy for this part of the repair.
14.5.2011
Just got around to uploading the final pics. The fingerboard was levelled to remove a considerable back-bow, and then then it was refretted.
A shim was added to offset the tailpiece and align it with the neck. This stopped the tailpiece pulling the bridge out of position. A low profile bridge was created to improve on the original which had an incorrect radius and bad compensation profile. A bone nut was also installed.
The repair worked out great and the guitar's owner was delighted!
Back To Repairs Page
This Levin Archtop has a large body similar to a Gibson Super 400. The neck became slightly loose and the neck extension joint had failed. So the neck would have to come off in order to repair this properly.
This is when the fun started. This guitar has a bolt-on neck (not unlike a modern Taylor). There's no way of getting a wrench into the small f-holes so it was a mystery at first as to how the neck was bolted on originally. I removed the tailpiece and found a small hole (about 12mm in diameter). So it looked like I needed to make an extra long wrench to remove the neck.
The bolts appeared to have a square centre so the first step was to determine it's size. I stuck some modelling clay on the end of a threaded rod. Then I pressed this against a bolt to get an impression so I could measure the size of the square. It turned out to be 5mm. The clay was benificial over regular plasticine because it was not elastic and held its shape.
I took my time filing the 5mm box shape on the metal rod to ensure a perfect fit. I tighteded two nuts together at the other end of the threaded metal rod. The outer nut is for tightening the bolts and the inner nut is for loosening them.
12.9.2010
With the neck off it was time to reinforce it and repair the broken joint. I drilled two holes into the neck between the extension and the main neck piece. I then used used maple dowels for extra surface adhesion and so as not to rely on the original joint completely. I used epoxy for this part of the repair.
14.5.2011
Just got around to uploading the final pics. The fingerboard was levelled to remove a considerable back-bow, and then then it was refretted.
A shim was added to offset the tailpiece and align it with the neck. This stopped the tailpiece pulling the bridge out of position. A low profile bridge was created to improve on the original which had an incorrect radius and bad compensation profile. A bone nut was also installed.
The repair worked out great and the guitar's owner was delighted!
Back To Repairs Page
Repair: 1960's Levin Archtop (job in progress...)
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