older Harmony "00" flattop

[Larry Pederson]

I bought the Harmony "Treble Clef" guitar in the photo for not too much money to try my first neck reset. It's in nice original condition with no cracks and ladder bracing. I decided it was best to take the fingerboard off to take some of the mystery out of the neck reset process. The neck has a non-adjustable steel rod which I've removed. I was considering widening the reinforcement rod channel about 1/16 " and putting in a StewMac Hot Rod truss rod in addition to doing the neck reset. I was going to drill a hole thru the neck block for the adjustment screw to protrude inside the body.

As I was working on the channel I realized the neck is a wide grained soft wood and definitely not mahogany or maple. I'm thinking this neck is doomed to being unstable due to the flexible nature of the wood used.

The best course to get a good playable guitar now seems to be buy a 14 fret mahogany neck from StewMac. The current neck has the same width at the body that the new neck has. I should be able to use the original fretboard. The tuners were crap so I'd get some good new ones.

Am I right to pitch the pine neck or should I stick with it and add the adjustable truss rod? This guitar will never be a collectors item since it was an inexpensive guitar when new. However it was a bright, responsive guitar with cheese cutter action that should be fun to play if it's set up properly.

Another option would be to put it back together the way it was with non-adjustable steel rod and use it for slide guitar. I don't play slide guitar but I could take the opportunity to learn.

Thanks in advance for input!

 

 

 

 

 

[Ned Knepp]

No problem Larry. I think that Mark and I both have been on the receiving end of advice like this too.  We're just ahead of you in the learning curve.  I think I mentioned that I did the first reset I tried 4 or 5 times before I got it tight. I hope you can do it the first time and I can telly you it's a bummer to find the heel coming up again after getting the set up done.  One good thing is that the neck angle was right on but the time I got the joint tight. ;)

Once you get it, you will be hooked. GAS is a real possibility once you start working on them. I still have several instruments waiting for repair so I have to make myself stop looking for now. ( although I'm not really sure how much that reflects my will power since I seem to looking at a lot of tools and parts lately. ) 

[lonnie james barber]

     Larry I love it when others restore old guitars. Usually they are cheapo's. The more expensive ones seem to be better cared for. You can look on ebay for Mahogony blocks of wood that you can carve into a new neck. I bought two pieces  a while back for about thirty bucks plus another 12 for shipping. I've already used one on an old Kay Parlor guitar I'm Redoing. There are deals that will take care of your needs. Just an Idea. I buy lot's from StewMac and I know they are sponsers of the forum but just tossing this out.