neck reset on 60's Harmony flatop

[Jeff Berdollt]

Hi gents,

I'm a French beginner amateur luthier and need to reset the neck of a H165 (all mahogany). My problem is that when I drilled the hole ove the 15th fret to inject the steam I sort of got nowhere ; I mean I have the feeling that I just drilled the neck block.
I expected to reach a space in between the dovetail and the neckblock?
What should I do?

I already faced that issue on the same guitar type and it took me a lot of time and steam to pop up the neck, and at the end I had the neck heal with a bow (due to heat and steam)... I don't want to reproduce this.
Thanks for your advice.
Jeff

[Mike Kolb]

Jeff... sometimes we drill "dry holes", and the usual fix is to drill another (on the other side of the fretboard, avoiding the trussrod) and angling the bit slightly toward the head as you go in. Take an old guitar string (a wound 'g' is my favorite) and go fishing-around after you drill the hole to see if you've hit the pocket. Sometimes the gap we're aiming-for is mighty small and I'll admit to having to drill 3 or 4 times to hit the pocket on some guitars. Whether it really matters or not, I'll plug the "dry holes" with toothpicks before steaming, on the off-chance they actually hit the pocket (without me knowing it) and will only serve as valves to let the steam escape. What's fun and interesting is -after the neck's off- to look at the pocket and see where your drill has actually gone during the great adventure. Good luck.

[Jeff Berdollt]

Thanks Mike, by "toward the head" do you mean toward the head of the neck?
Jeff

[Mike Kolb]

Yes, angled toward the headstock.... and maybe slightly in toward the center as well, but not enough to risk hitting the trussrod. I'll start the hole at the 15th fret (or whichever fret occurs past the body line) and "aim" the bit to the middle of the next fret up the neck... if that makes any sense?

[Brian Farrell]

Hi Jeff, out of curiosity, what is the top bracing on that model? ladder or X?
-Brian

[Jeff Berdollt]

Hi Brian, it's a strong ladder bracing. A bit heavy in my opinion compared to the very thin mahogany top.
I don't know yet about the sound as the guitar came in my hands not playable.
Jeff

[Tim Mace]

Let's see it!

[Jeff Berdollt]

Here it is...
I was attracted by the wonderfull Brazilian fingerboard.

[Tim Mace]

Good ol' axe.Put new frets on and a compensated saddle too! Gold frets would look nice.LMII has
them.

[Rob Mercure]

Ooops this was meant for the other Harmonly listing - sorry.

[onewent]

Jeff, another thing to do as you drill the steam hole is:
1. watch the sawdust..if the sawdust ends after a short bit you've hit the pocket .. if it changes color, you've likely hit the end block and may want to try again at a different angle or location
2. as you drill, drill very slowly so you can 'feel' when the bit passes from the fingerboard wood into the pocket .. the resistance goes away.
3. I, too, like to look at the holes once the neck is off, to see where the bit ended up .. I keep notes of the type guitar and which way to angle the bit for future reference.

My notes for a 60's Harmony 12 string say "angle drill slightly toward dovetail", which is what someone suggested to you earlier. It appears that the pocket is just short of the 15th fret.

Let us know where you find the pocket in relation to the 15th fret..I have a Harmony just like that in line for a neck set. Good luck with the project .. Tom

[Jeff Berdollt]

Thanks all for the info!