Neck Joint on a Goya G312 TS Korean made model

[John Yungbluth]

Me again, non-professional, hobbyist, with another learning project.

I'm hoping someone has run across one of these Korean made Goya's form the mid 80's either as a repair or an autopsy.  When made the body and neck were joined together before the finish was applied. 

From the picture you can see a previous owner "home repaired"  a crack in the heel with what looks like Elmer's glue.  But they did not clamp break together.  The joint is tight at the top and widens as it goes down to the break.  They back filled the exposed heel/body joint with glue and filled in the non-closed area with plastic wood.  The neck now  ramps up as it leaves the body making the action over close to 1/4 inch.  The upper portion of the heel had to separate from the body a bit because it is now filled with glue.  The fingerboard was not loosened from the top because it still had the finish along the outer edges that I had to cut through to loosen the extension.

I have drilled 4 holes and don't know if I have hit a dovetail cavity.  I get steam coming out from under the extension and into the body.  Not getting any movement after 2 sessions of 8 to 10 minutes each.  I then hand removed about 1/16 " of glue from the outside and it still looks like a solid mass of glue down deeper.

Would/could a loose dowel joint flex up like this above a break?  A dovetail would have had to be pretty loose to flex out along that length, or have broken wings on the heel to create a gap, correct?

The lower portion of the heel is solid to the body still.

Tomorrow I'm going to work a warm blade and hot water in from the out side and try to remove some more of the glue.

Any insight would be appreciated.

John

[Andrew]

I think either a dowel joint or a dovetail could move like this, especially if poorly fit in the first place. Remember the neck is very long compared to the heel so unless the joint is very well fit, leverage will win out.

Unfortunately I cant tell you anything about the type of neck joint. Perhaps a very thin flush cutting saw could help you remove some of that glue more efficiently. Maybe work your way in a quarter inch at a time while performing the neck removal routine. Of course since you cant tell what type of joint it is youd want to stop before where the dovetail or dowel could be.

Is there any indication of dowels in the neck block?

[John Yungbluth]

It came apart with hot water in the partially excavated seam and a very thin blade working the water in.   A little work from both sides and some gentle wiggling.  Now to remove the added screw and start to work out the base piece.

Thanks for your reply Andrew.

[Andrew]

I dont envy you the task of cleaning up and refitting that broken heel piece lol. Hopefully the glue will soften enough with some water and heat that you can clean it off without disturbing too much broken wood fibre.