Stripping a maple neck

[Jr_vw2]

Has anyone successfully taking the poly off a maple neck and then refinished it with danish oil or tru oil? I tried the search but didn't have much luck with anyone actually saying they did it.

Anyway....i have an old Charvel neck (maple neck with maple board) and it has a slight separation of the finger board right by the nut. Not bad but needs to be fixed. This is a spare neck that I have and it doesn't have a home yet so I was thinking about sanding off the finish on the whole neck (yes my arm is already tired just thinking about it). I figure if it doesn't come out perfect then its not that big of a deal since the neck will already be a "repaired" neck anyway. My biggest questions is this.....once I get it all sanded down to bare wood, how will will it accept an oil finish? With the poly still be stuck in the grain essentially "clogging" it and keeping it from absorbing any oil?

 

[Jr_vw2]

Re: Stripping a maple neck

Well now that I have no fingerprints left it's almost ready for oil. Started with 220 grit and worked my way up to 400 then OOOO steel wool. Beveled the fret ends. Now I just need to dress the fret ends and figure out what I'm going to do with the separation by the nut.

 

[Jr_vw2]

Re: Stripping a maple neck

 

[Jr_vw2]

Re: Stripping a maple neck

Someone has tried to glue that area once before so I'm trying st get some of that old dried glue out before I reglue it.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Stripping a maple neck

Franklins Tite bond and a few clamps will take care of that. Just don't clamp on the frets. Looks like you'll need a syringe to really get the glue in there. Shouldn't take much because the clamping will spread it and you don't want any in the truss rod channel if at all possible.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Stripping a maple neck

Forget that sanding crap, use a razor edge and shave it

Quality boxcutter blades (Japanese or UK made) are usually the cheapest and best choice

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Stripping a maple neck

Don't put too much effort into removing the old glue. Get what you can get without damaging the wood, but don't obsess over it. It's not worth potentially creating a larger gap over.

Wood glue in a syringe/needle should work. Make sure you clamp well using cork-lined cauls, or something similar. You will need to custom make the cauls, most likely (as you need to do with most neck repairs). Let it dry for at least 24 hours before releasing the clamps.

You will do a better job if you remove the nut first.

 

[Jr_vw2]

Re: Stripping a maple neck

This is what I ended up using although it doesnt feel exactly like I wanted but it feels pretty good. Got the neck clamped and going to let it dry overnight and then I will probably sand everything down lightly again and maybe apply one more coat.

 

[larryguitar]

Re: Stripping a maple neck

Edited because I failed to quote ItsaBass-this reply was to his posting.

Respectfully, I would disagree. If you have a repair that failed, you have to assume the glue they used was the incorrect type, didn't adhere or was applied improperly. Whichever it was, gluing TO THAT GLUE would likely be a less than perfect repair.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that getting all the old glue out would be my priority in a repair like that, just because I don't know what it was, how it was applied or how the surface was prepped, but I do know that it didn't work.

Again, not arguing, just offering my perspective.

Larry

 

[metalchurch79]

Re: Stripping a maple neck

I agree, you should've cleaned that out real good, or the best you could.
This is a useful tool for that:
https://www.stewmac.com/Materials_a..._Finishing_Papers/Mitchell_Abrasive_Cord.html

You'd want to use a wedge to give you some room as to not remove wood and only the old glue. Or a hot knife or a combination of the such.

 

[Jr_vw2]

Re: Stripping a maple neck

Yes I agree. I glued it with titebond and had it clamped for 2 days. Didnt hold at all. As soon as I released the clamp it came right back loose. I was concerned about using the wood glue over whatever was already in there. So I will get a second chance to do it right.

 

[larryguitar]

Re: Stripping a maple neck

Sorry to hear that. If you can clean out the separation, even if you have to enlarge it a bit to do so, I'm sure you can get it permanently fixed.
I'd try to get some sanding strips down into that crack, and go back and forth to clean both sides. Once you stop getting glue debris, and start getting clean maple dust, you'll know you've gotten to the bare wood.

Larry

 

[Jr_vw2]

Re: Stripping a maple neck

Yup spent the morning sanding out the crack. Now its reglued and clamped again.

Also I didn't care for the feel of the finish I put on there so I sanded that all off and now I am applying several coats of plain boiled linseed oil. The BLO is giving me the raw wood feel that I'm after. The Danish oil had too much of a "finished" feel to me.