Guild mortise/tenon neck reset

[jeff henry]

Hello all,

I'm the luthier for Maple Street Guitars in Atlanta and have been stealing Frank's web info for years. ( I think it's time to make a donation.) Anyway, I recently got into a 1965 Guild M20 for a neck reset. I've done lots of neck resets on Guilds and other guitars, so I figured it was another dovetail joint. Wrong!

Turned out to be a motise/tenon joint that I have been unable to remove via steam and neck removal jig. I tried accessing the joint from the top ( I took a chance and removed the fretboard tongue to find the joint, which is how I know what it is) and through the heelcap. All to no avail. Suggestion? Advice?

[jeff henry]

Thanks for the photo Mike. I'm nervous about heating the finish on the heel that much. I somehow thought you had heated the joint from the top of the guitar. (Not that that approach would be any better.) I'm worried about getting into a neck refin and well as a reset.
I don't think I have any easy solutions here, but I greatly appreciate your input.

[Jeffrey L. Suits]

You might want to consider a saw-off, at this point--look in frets.com, for, "impossible reset". In lieu of a bonesaw or multimaster, this *can* be done with a thin kerf Japanese
saw. I have some photos of a couple of saw jobs, if you're interested.

[jeff henry]

Thanks for your responses. I considered sawing the neck, but discussed it with the owner of the Guild and he wasn't interested in pursuing it. I'm trying to do the neck reset while still maintaining the structural integrity of the instrument. I do however like your ideas about approaching this difficult process.

[Greg Mirken]

Jeff, could you share a picture of the neck joint, please? Having never seen or even heard of a Guild guitar that's not a dovetail joint, I am quite dumbfounded. Also, a mortise and tenon joint would come apart as easily (or more so) than a dovetail with steam, unless it was pinned or otherwise mechanically fastened.