Neck reset 1970's Epiphone FT 565

[Jim Doyle]

Hello all you knowledgeable folks, 

I am planning to reset the neck but have been unable to find any information on how it was installed. This particular model has a single bolt neck, with a stud that goes from the heel through the neck block, with a nut inside, but there is no gap to indicate it is removable as though the guitar was finished after neck installation.  

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,

Jim

[Joel Knadler]

Jim, a couple more questions, how did you get the stud out?  2. how did you re-attach the neck?  I gather that you didn't use the dowels.  Ian said he was going to convert his to a bolt on neck- is that what you did?

Anyone else taking on this project in the future will be way ahead of the game and will be able to estimate the time more accurately, thanks to you for sharing your experience.  

I ended up planing the bridge down on the FT 350 to get the action to a suitable level with the least amount of time involved. It will be playable for several years and the bridges were over built anyway.   It is a good sounding guitar even though it is plywood, and probably worth fixing correctly.  If the owner chooses at some point, converting to a bolt on neck seems the way to go.  

[Jim Doyle]

Joel,

1. After removing the nut and washer I Modified a cutter I had so it fit over the exposed stud and back cut the area inside about 1/8" it was enough to allow me to install the original nut and another to lock it in place, then I backed it out with a 1/4 drive socket.(Time consuming). I would try a different method next time, such as either CA gluing, or epoxying the nut to the stud considering it took very little turning effort to actually remove the stud.  2. Yes bolt conversion. I had to use 2 different insert sizes because the depth of the heel was reduced to get the neck angle correct. McMaster-Carr has them part #90240A006 & 90240A001.

These inserts are designed for metal rather than wood and actually cut the wood instead of expanding it like traditional wood inserts, The heel wood was so hard and the grain so tight I was afraid standard inserts would split the wood creating even more work.

Jim 

[Ian Pender]

It was nice to see this post here, as I'll be doing a bolt on conversion on a 70's FT-350 with the same neck joint in the next few weeks or so.

[Michael Cross]

Hello, Ian - I'm also going to be installing a bolt on conversion to two 70's FT-350 guitars. Do they have the same neck joint as pictured on the FT-565, worked on by Jim Doyle? Thanks for any help or insight you may have. Cheers, Mike