Larivee L03 dovetail size ?

[Len Biglin]

Hi Im just about to do a reset on a Larivee L03 , does anyone know the depth of the dovetail ? 11/16 is my guess , will remove 15th and inject steam .

[nathan clark]

You can't get to the gap at the end of the tenon through the fret slot. Do yourself a favor and drill a 1/2" or so hole through the fretboard off center at the 15th fret slot. That will reveal the gap and give you access for your needle. Disassemble and reset as usual. Make your own plug wih the forstner bit and a disc sander. Check out my pics 7-10 here:

http://fingerlakesguitarrepair.com/fender-strat-body-crack-at-trem-...

[Len Biglin]

Hi Nathan , thanks for your quick reply , I think I may have confused you , I WAS drilling a hole for needle , just wanted to know which way to tilt the drill .Anyway the female side is 1/2" as shown in my pic .

[nathan clark]

I think we are mis-communicating. The first Larrivae I did, contrary to the assurances from Larrivae customer service, had a tenon that fell far short of the 15th fret slot. I tried various angles and locations for the 3/32" needle hole with no luck. On that job I ultimately removed the binding and cut through the 12th fret slot in order to pull the end of the fretboard so I could find the end of the tenon.

The next Larrivae reset I did went much easier. I pulled the 15th fret and drilled a large hole (1/2" or perhaps larger) with a forstner bit all the way through the fretboard. This large hole revealed the small gap between the end of the tenon and the back of the mortise. I inserted my needle and reset as usual.

Judging from your photo, it appears as though you drilled more or less straight down through the 15th fret slot and into the neck block which is, in my opinion, the result of a design flaw.

For their part, the factory doesn't seem to think resets on their guitars need be a common repair. They are built with thick bridges and a steep neck angle with the notion that repair guys will avoid a reset and shave the bridge or instal a factory made lower profile bridge.

[Robbie Collins]

Nathan:  Very nice job!  Question: Does the smoothing plane scratch the adjacent finish?

[nathan clark]

Judging from the photo (I did this job years ago), I took some of the top coat off on the treble side by the trem cavity. With a well set up plane and a stupid sharp blade it's no problem to trim a plug flush with little or none of the finish coming off. A chisel also works great but none of my good ones are crank necked or have blades long enough to reach the middle of a guitar for trimming flush.

Really old and brittle lacquer will fracture instead of come up as little curly shavings with the surrounding wood.

[Len Biglin]

Yes you're right Nathan , My drill missed the gap but the steam still got in and the neck came off routinely , but now we know its 1/2 "  . Also for the record this guitar has a regular height bridge and had a low spot at 14th where the neck had lifted and the toungue stayed put .