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I have a guitar I am going to be shipping out for a christmas present. It is the one that I refer to in the "neck gap" thread. I am going to be removing the neck and redoing the inserts so that the neck joint is tight. The fingerboard is glued on, but the heel and dovetail is not glued. Do i still need to steam the dovetail joint by inserting steam or can I just heat and remove the fingerboard tongue?

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No need to steam the joint if there is no glue in it. Heat the fretboard and carefully remove it.

Then you should be good to go.

Josh

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
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House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
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check out frank ford's info on neck removal. You will want to be careful with the finish and you will want a very thin pallet knife specifically for this task.

Best of Luck!!!

I've tried all the methods for removing the fretboard tongue, and the best IME is with a heat lamp, or a strong (150w) halogen bulb. Make protective sheets out of aluminum covered cardboard to protect the top around the fretboard tongue, and another to cover the edges of the fretboard so the finish doesn't get damaged there. Turn on the heat lamp a few inches over the fretboard, check often to feel how warm the wood gets, check through the soundhole under the top as well. The heat lamp is not as hot as a heating blanket, but the wood gets warmed deeper, and not only on the surface. This is the only method that avoided some finish touch-up for me. When hot enough it's only a matter of slipping a polished putty knife under the fretboard. Put some masking tape 1/16" around the tongue to protect the finish.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Though I didn't sleep well last night, everything went smoothly this morning. One thing that every seemed to forget to mention, which I thankfully figured out to do, was listening to Chopin while doing the neck removal. I don't think it would have worked otherwise.

Thanks for all the help.

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What technique did you use?

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I covered the top with a felt blanket and then cardboard covered with foil. I placed a regular clothes iron on the frets for 15- 20 minutes, checking the inside temperature with my hand every 5 minutes or so. Once I felt that it was nice and warm on the inside of the top, I began working a thin putty knife under the fingerboard tongue- only from the front of the fingerboard. I avoided the sides of the fingerboard so that if any finish damage occured, it wouldn't be as notible. Luckily no damage did show up in the finish. I then cleaned up the glue and reattached the neck.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
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Many methods will work but I agree with Laurent, the heat lamp is the best.

I love a happy ending. What caused the gap in the first place Chris?

I must admit, i thought originally that the insert had come loose, but the home made alan wrench was simply slipping in its handle. So... the whole thing was actually unnecessary. But, it was a good thing to learn and I ended up adding a second insert for extra security. It's all good now.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com