Gibson A2 neck reset

[jeff henry]

I've had a customer bring me a Gibson A2 mandolin that's roughly eighty years old. It could use a neck reset. I've done lots of guitar neck resets but never attempted a mandolin. Any advice is appreciated.

[Tim Mace]

What are the signs that it needs a reset? Any Pics?

[jeff henry]

Thanks for responding. Neck is pulling up. Other than that the mandolin is in good condition. I don't have pics at present.

[Ned Knepp]

I haven't done a neck reset on a Gibson but I have to ask; Is the neck pulled up or is the face sinking? Is the cross brace, just inside the sound hole, solidly attached and in good condition?

Ned

[jeff henry]

As far as I can tell the box is structurally sound. The neck joint appears to have come loose at some point and been reglued in the distant past. I dont' want to remove the fretboard to access the joint for obvious reasons. The neck has pulled up, other than that the mandolin looks good.

[Jim Bancroft]

I have never reset one either, but, It's simliar to a guitar. Not sure if the end of the dovetail joint falls below a fret or not? I guess if I was going to do one I'd just remove the complete fingerboard, to get access to the joint.

Jim

[jeff henry]

Thanks for feedback. I 'll have to consider my options, and of course, what my customer wants.

[Ned Knepp]

One possibility is to approach this from the back, that is from under the heel cap. Unfortunately, the heel cap is part of the back and not a separate part so you probably need to pull the back. If it's an earlier A2 there may not be back binding to get into the way but, if I remember correctly, some of this is fairly narrow and it may be possible to remove it intact with the back. ( I could be very wrong about this. ) You will still need to free the finger board extension from the top of the body. The joint is very small at the base of the heel... well, compared to a guitar, the dove tail is very small anyway you look at it.

All in all, it may be easier to remove the fingerboard completely and work from the front while keeping the body intact.

Ned

[Tim Mace]

If the neck has pulled forward you should probably remove the fretboard to shim or somehow increase the neck angle to acheive what it sounds like you desire.for better action?

[Jim Bancroft]

Ned,
On the this mandolin I'm sure the back is not also the heel cap. The neck should be seperate from the body. When they came out with the A-50's in the late 30's sometime, they were as you described.

Jim

[Ned Knepp]

Jim,
On my '24 the heel cap is carved into the back plate. It's all one piece of wood. I think a lot of this depends upon the year. If I remember correctly, the first couple of years of A2 production didn't include back binding but I just assumed that the back plate was the same as mine. I repaired a separated/distorted rim around the tail block on an A50 from the "50s a few years ago but I don't remember the heel cap.

Actually, the more I think about this the more convinced I am that pulling the neck from the top is the way I would choose to approach this. The finger board extension will need to be separated from the body no matter which way it is handled and that's practically half of the fingerboard anyway. I know that going from the back was my idea but, now, I'm thinking it wasn't such a good one.

Ned

[jeff henry]

I'm away from the shop today so I'll have to wait til Monday to see what's going on with the heel cap, but I really appreciate all the advice. I'll let y'all know then what's up.

[Tim Mace]

That just sounds like you need to glue the fretboard to the top(may never have been)unless you can tell the neck joint is loose? Tiltiing up is better than down usually! This one is more of a flattop,right?