Neck removal on Martin 12 string

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Dave Gentner
Posts: 63
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 12:25 pm

Neck removal on Martin 12 string

Post by Dave Gentner »

I was given a Martin GPC12PA4 to work on. The heel doesn't fit flush with the body. After removing the serial number block from the neck block I found that the bolt that attaches the neck to the body was missing. I replaced the bolt and tightened it but the heel still did not pull in flush. So now I want to remove the neck so that it can be properly fit to the body. I've been out of the repair business for several years, but as I remember the only other thing holding the neck in place is the fretboard extension glued to the top. Is this correct?
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Tom Owen
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Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 2:56 pm
Location: Kauai, Hawaii USA

Re: Neck removal on Martin 12 string

Post by Tom Owen »

No...the neck tenon is glued in the mortise. The neck bolt is basically a clamping device. You still need to steam the neck off.
Michael Lewis
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Re: Neck removal on Martin 12 string

Post by Michael Lewis »

Be aware of all the places steam can escape with those neck blocks. They have openings for the popcicle brace and the truss rod. You will need some paper towels inside for any water that happens, and I used a shop-vac hose in the sound hole to help suck the escaping steam to keep it from soaking the entire inside of the sound box. Some of those straight tenons take more time to soften the glue, as they have a lot more gluing surface involved. It might help to have an extra pair of hands once in a while. Good luck.
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Frank Dryer III
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Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2021 8:51 am
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Re: Neck removal on Martin 12 string

Post by Frank Dryer III »

Tom Owen wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:20 pm No...the neck tenon is glued in the mortise. The neck bolt is basically a clamping device. You still need to steam the neck off.
What kind of glue is more suitable for such reparing? The reason I'm asking is that I need to replace neck on my squier and I want to buy Fender's neck (I think it has more quality)
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