Takamine Neck Reset

[Dave Gentner]

I'm trying to pull the neck on a 1972 Takamine ESN10C. Putting on a new top. I've done many neck resets, but this is the first time for a Takamine. According to the Library it has a dovetail joint. I pulled the 15th fret and drilled holes, but I'm having trouble finding the gap. I've angled the bit towards the soundhole and the peghead, but no luck so far. Does anybody have any advice?

[Dave Gentner]

Actually it's a 2010. After more research I found that Takamines are a bear to take apart, epoxied joint. So I cut the fingerboard at the 14th and removed the extension. Here's what I found. An epoxied dovetail with two aluminum rods extending into the neck block. I'm thinking now about cutting the neck off, making a new one, and converting to bolt on. I ran into a similar situation once with a Yari.

[Michael Lewis]

Dave, it's just another challenge to overcome. How about CAREFULLY cutting the neck off and converting to bolt on? It would require a very narrow kerf so very little heel is lost, and a new fingerboard moved slightly toward the nut to compensate for what gets lost at the heel. Good luck!