Modern Ibanez Glue - I'm a bit stuck

[MrGlyn]

Hi All,
I've just had an Ibanez Steve Vai signature acoustic come into the shop in despirate need for a neck re-set.
Yes I said acoustic! I'd never seen one before and its brand new - I got the job from the importer.
Despite a few unconventional features the neck/body join looks normal enough.
I started warming up the end of the board in preperation for steaming the neck and I've hit a problem. I don't know what the glue is but it's pretty reluctant to soften with heat. I tried injecting a little hot water and warmed it further but it's only just moving. I tried a little alchohol (on the guitar not me) but that didn't work either.
I can see some of the glue squeeze out around the braces inside which is white and crusty - a little like the whitening you get with super glue but not quite. So I assume they've used the same stuff.
Does anyone know what it is and what, if anything, will soften it?
I forgot to take photos and I'm home for the weekend now but I can take some on Monday.
Hope someone can help me out
Cheers
Glyn

[thefishinmusician]

Welcome to the world of what did they use to glue things together..You are lucky to at least not to have spent a week working with your arm buried in a sound hole trying to remove a bridge plate...I wish I could give you some clues on where to go from here.Perhaps.,,,,,protecting the guitar top with a thin metal...AND WATCH YOUR PROGRESS!!!...,,,You could ,with a fine Japanese saw,,,saw the extension offf,but then how do you remove the neck,which probably is the same glue???..It could be a canidate for the dreaded "slip joint "repair from the dark and sex filled 60"s...

[MrGlyn]

Oh yea and I didn't mention the binding, fancy mother-of-plastic inlays, a cutaway and very thin matt finish.
I'm thinking I might have to go down the route of peeling the binding back, cutting off the end of the board and exposing the joint. But I still might not be able to break the glue joint - hmmm
By 'slip joint' do you mean seperating the block from the back etc.? But if its the same glue...

Any more takers?

Glyn

[Jeffrey L. Suits]

I think you're looking at a saw-off/convert to bolt-on, job. You'll have to detach the fingerboard extension by whatever means. There's a job on Frets.com that shows Frank doing one.

I wouldn't slip a back again, ever.

You've just entered the world of Asian Mystery Joints--as if old Yamahas weren't trouble enough! It's very likely that it's epoxied, too. I've actually had to do quite a few saw-off resets lately; I use a Fein Multimaster and a very thin Japanese puulsaw--.008--from the Japan Woodworker, which is actually kind of over/underkill.

If you want to contact me offline, feel free.

[MrGlyn]

Hi Jeffery,
yes I'm familiar with old Yamahas and this one's less co-operative than even one of those. Unfortunately the bolt-on method is not an option cos the guitar is brand new, straight from the importer so I can't leave it with different spec.
You know I'm thinking about just telling them it can't be done and have them get another from Ibanez.
Its a shame but some ya win....

I've slipped a few backs - maybe 5 or 10 and appart from a few tricky binding issues its worked out great every time. I prefere the trad neck re-set these days.

Cheers for you help
Glyn

[Jeffrey L. Suits]

Brand new, and needs a reset? Screw it, customer should get a replacement.

[MrGlyn]

Yea, you're right. I'll call them on Monday.
There's isn't a customer yet - their tech spotted it and sent it to me. I've got enough work on at the moment without taking on jobs like this. Shame in a way cos they've got 2 of them.($)
These are expensive guitars but the build quality is shocking - they're selling them purely on Steve Vai's name. I expect more from Ibanez.
Hey thanks for talking sense, I think I was getting bogged down with one trail of thought instead of standing back and seeing the whole picture. That's the problem with working alone. Viva la Forum !
Glyn

[Greg Mirken]

Glyn, if the importer expects you to be able to reset a neck on one of these, ask them to find out what glue was used and what the joint is like. The neck and body must have been finished separately, right? Older Ibanez guitars looked like the neck was assembled before finishing.

Seems like this would be a 'second' at best- hard to see how this makes much economic sense from their viewpoint.