Repair And Restoration
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How to treat warped neck
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How to treat warped neck
Hi everyone! I’m looking for advice about heat treatments for a warped neck, I know they are a thing but I’ve never actually done one. I have an Epiphone Les Paul in the shop that originally I was only going to do a level/crown/polish and a setup on, but when I tried to adjust the truss rod and checked the fingerboard with a straight edge I noticed there was about .030″ of relief in most of the middle section, which was pretty consistent even as I cranked the truss rod tighter. If I sight down both the neck at both ends there is a visible warp too, it’s not severe but it’s noticeable. I already tried to do a bit of leveling just to see which frets would be hit and I’ve already taken the first fret down to about 0.35″ of height without being able to touch the others. So, I’d like some advice on how to go about treating the warp, if anyone can help! What tools do you like to use, do you use jigs, or a tension block of some sort? Heat blankets? How much moisture if any should I apply? Also what do I watch out for? How do I prevent damage to the finish? Also, how should I clamp it while it’s under heat to keep the fretboard tight on the neck when the glue softens?
Thanks so much for any tips y’all can give me! This guitar is vintage, it’s left handed, and it belongs to my dad, so I really want to do a good job. 🙂
thanks again!
-Blixx
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3 Replies
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Hey!
I actually just had one of these but inverse on a 70s strat.
In my case there was a backbow that I needed to get under control.
I used 2x 250 watt Heat lamps about 7 inches away from the fingerboard.
For my purpose I tried it with string tension for 20 minutes first, And it didn’t do much. So I busted out the towing straps and adding pressure in the center around where I wanted it to bow.
You would do the same, but in the opposite direction.
As for protecting the finish;
I use reflective Windshield blinders cut up to shape to reflect the heat off the guitar body and headstock.
Works like a charm. I touched the neck plate every 5 minutes or so to check, and it was icecold.
Good luck! Hope everything goes well
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I would suggest checking out Ted Woodford’s YouTube page. He has a couple videos doing this exact repair.
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Thanks so much, you guys! I appreciate the help. Sorry I haven’t replied, got caught up in things 🙂
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