Les Paul Gold Top Shattered Neck II

[Mike Conklin]

Follow up photos to topic "Les Paul Gold Top Shattered Neck"

Thanks

[Dick Hutchings]

Did someone fall on that!

[Mike Conklin]

It was dropped on concrete.

[Barry Daniels]

Before any glue comes out, you need to see if all the pieces can be re-aligned and how to clamp it. You may have to remove the fingerboard first.

[Paul Breen]

+1 on Barry's comment to remove the finger board. That will give you better access to the break from both sides and more control over aligning the parts.

[Mike Conklin]

I’ve removed dozens of fretboards (wood) bound and unbound (mostly) but have not removed a boltron or other plastic bound fretboard. Am I doomed to re-bind with “aged” plastic or can I successfully remove the whole kit and kaboodle intact. Neck removal = heat. Heat + plastic = no bueno.

I, to have though this the next logical step. However there are some missing pieces. Other than that, I’m confident it will realign once fretboard is removed.

Before I proceed I would like to know the answer to the question regarding plastic bound fretboards. Will the heat render them and useful or is there a method to apply heat that will leave them intact? I typically use a heat blanket and a big putty knife.

[Barry Daniels]

Try to keep the heat more concentrated in the center of the fretboard and don't let it touch the plastic. You might be able to remove the fretboard with the binding still attached and undamaged. You don't really have any other options on this neck.

Keep the temperature moderate. Hot enough to soften the glue but not hot enough to burn the plastic. Somewhere around 200 degrees F would probably work. It will be a bit slower but less damaging.

[Mike Conklin]

Well, I have a small bridge heat blanket that could fit in the middle of the fretboard, I also have a hobby iron which is just about as wide as the neck. The neck heat blanket is wide enough to cover the entire neck. It IS tapered, so perhaps I can use the narrow end on the high frets and slowly move up the neck. Then use the bridge blanket for the low note frets?

[Barry Daniels]

Sounds like a good plan.

[Clay Schaeffer]

I've used a long thin spatula similar to the ones used for frosting cakes to remove fretboards. Heat it up and work it between the fretboard and neck, reheat and move it further along until the board is off.
https://www.knifemerchant.com/product.a ... uctID=1293

[Mike Conklin]

Thanks! It’s VeryLikely a case of our Occam’s Razor. I’ve been conspiring and planning all kinds of complicated ways to do this but you, my friend, I think you just got the bell “ding-ding-ding” andhit the nail on the head. That means will be seeing you next week on “Mike’s gGot an Incredibly Stupid Yet Simple Problem!”
M

[Barry Daniels]

I hate to go against established convention (and my old friend Clay), but I don't think that a spatula effectively applies heat to a fretboard joint. If the spatula is in the joint then that section is already separated and the heat is not needed there. The heat needs to be applied to the tight joint ahead of where the spatula is and there is no way that heat can move that far through the wood to be useful unless the spatula is very hot and you give it plenty of time. If you look closely at a spatula in the act of separating a joint, you can see that a split is present about 1/4" ahead of the spatula. This demonstrates that the spatula is actually providing a wedging action to split the glued joint but only if the glue is brittle. If it is not brittle then splitting action can follow the grain instead of the joint. Heat in the spatula doesn't accomplish much of anything. I came to this conclusion after many years of repairs.

If you want to effectively apply heat to a fretboard joint the best way is to apply it from the face of the fretboard and give it time to penetrate the thickness of the fretboard for 5 to 10 minutes.

[Mike Conklin]

Good thing I've been drunk for a couple days.

You, Barry, also make sense. I believe I will use a combination of the two methods. I'm currently in the process of making a thin heat iron from scratch. (No disrespect, but eff those pirates at Stew-Mac. I mean, really, a hundred bucks for a block of aluminum at the end of a stick?)

It's too wide for this application anyway. I am fashioning one out 1 x 1/4 inch aluminum flat bar. I'm stacking 3 and then will tap and fashion a wood handle out 1/4" steel rod and a 1" dowel.

That way I can keep it centered away from the binding. I always used an artist's "spatula". Very thin and easy to heat with torch. Between the two, I hope for a relatively stress free removal. I plan on scoring the binding line up and down the neck in an attempt to not bring a bunch of nitro with me.

When I sober up, I'll send pix of my progress.

[Dick Hutchings]

Hmm, in one breath you say Barry makes a lot of sense and in the next you say this "Very thin and easy to heat with torch".

I also think Barry makes a lot of sense and will never heat my spatula

[Barry Daniels]

A small piece of metal like an artist's spatula holds very little heat. It is kind of like aluminum foil that has been in a hot oven. You can take it out of the oven and touch it immediately because there is no heat sink effect to the thin foil. The artist's spatula is also too thin to provide much force. A dull and thick putty knife is my weapon of choice.

Hope you don't take my comments as being too negative. Just trying to steer you in the right direction.

[Dick Hutchings]

Nor mine, I'm just an A$$!

[Mike Conklin]

I have used an artist's pallet blade (H have a small one and one about the size of 1/3 of my phone. I have never used it as the primary method BUT as I'm lifting the fingerboard and I start worrying about too much force, I have a torch handy, heat up the knife and in nearly every case it has gotten me past tight spots and back to the hot spots that work more easily.

removing fingerboards is not the problem. Removing a fingerboard with aged cream boltron or whatever it is, is the problem. I do not relish the idea of altering original anything and if I had to, I also fear color match will be bad.

No offense taken from anyone here unless they are intentionally being a dick (no offense Dick Hutchings LOL). I very much appreciate your contributions. I'm just going to go REAL slow and see what happens. At this point, I don't even know for certain the neck can be repaired (I think it can but I've been wrong before...). I'll post some pix as I go along. First I have to weld some aluminum which is always a treat.

Thanks!

[Mike Conklin]

Off topic but I haven't been on the site for about 15 years: I'm looking for advice as to what webpage designer I should use. I built my original one with apple software that is dead and gone (the company is rapidly going down hill since Steve left us). No support, no nothing. So it's been many years since I was able to use it. Anyway, I figured this would be a "Marketing" topic but I see none. Please advise as to which board I should pursue this in?

Thanks

[Charlie Schultz]

Interesting idea for a subforum. For now, I'd suggest the Jam Session.

[Mike Conklin]

Thank you Charlie!