broken heel advice ...

[Adrian Levi]

Arnold , Ken , thanks for the replies .

I think that Ken is right , that break is too clean to be caused by force !

One more question , what would the best method be to remove the left over heel piece , bearing in mind that it is glued onto the mortise sides and button but not onto the neck block itself and with white Gorilla type wood glue ?

[Arnold Schnitzer]

You need to patiently work a sharp seam-opening knife into the seams until it all comes loose. Dripping in a little grain alcohol may help. If the glue is really tough, heating the knife may be necessary. (You might want to be careful using a hot knife around alcohol.) You could also try injecting steam if all else fails. If none of this works, chisel out the remaining piece bit by bit, and then clean out all the glue, and any wood/glue left on the button. Then you can make a new piece to add onto the neck.

[Adrian Levi]

Great advice everyone thanks / Wayne the 'hook' type tool idea is an interesting one ! I'll start the work in a weeks time and maybe post on the progress !!

[Adrian Levi]

Wayne I will definitely consider these options and fully research them and ask plenty questions and then decide .
My first task is to remove the heel piece very carefully and then re glue it to the neck and then reinforce the heel
( Oak dowel or lag screw hidden under the button , hmm )

[Matthew Tucker]

I have just been setting up a half size student bass with what looks like a clean varnish crack right around the heel in exactly the same position, but the whole heel is still well glued into the mortise. It is not broken yet and not worth pulling the neck out of this bass, but as a preventative measure I fitted a 12mm hardwood dowel through the back of the button right through and into the thicker parts of the heel.

I think these neck blocks must be built up out of multiple timbers, probably not dry enough.