American Standard...Neck falling

I'd take it to Arnold Schnitzer AES basses and have him either rebuild the joint or do a neck graft as he chose.

 

So what's actually giving way? I assume nothing is bending, so something must be moving somewhere, opening a crack somewhere. The block looks OK from here. Maybe you'd be better off filling in the crusty-looking dovetail altogether, both on the neck and block, flattening the sides of the neck root and fitting the neck into a new "italian-style"(?) mortise.

 

This seems to be the big fault with these basses I have owned a dozen or more A/S and King basses and have seen quite a few with the necks doing the same as your is,I had Dustin Williams reset a neck for me in a King once and he did a great job,,But i don't think mine had a block issue ,the heel had been all butcherd up in the one I had. ,, you might give him a call I'm sure he can tell you what he's encountered working on them.I have a A/S right now thats has 3 heel cracks and it moving a bit ,I need to go see him myself,,but I know he's slammed right now,I think he had 4 or 5 A/S basses alone to be repaired/setup,,not including all the others,,,,

 

"The block has no strength on either side of the dovetail."

That's partly from the way the grain is oriented too. I'd be tempted to make a new block with the grain running 90 degrees from the present orientation. Kay blocks are like that and stand up pretty well.

You might do as Matthew suggested and turn it into a mortise and tenon at the same time, giving you a little more wood at the top sides and a better connection with the rest of the block.

Poplar might add a little strength too or mahogany or walnut if you're feeling adventurous.

Doing all three would surely make that joint sufficiently stable.

 

just curious, was the dove tail socket bushed once before? the color variation makes me wonder, also if you flex the rib at the top of the socket does it show horizontal cracks parallel with the bottom of the socket? if so, I think it would be best to replace the block,

good luck

 

CT, I agree with Rick that you should probably replace the neck block. As you are building a complete bass I bet you are totally capable of doing that job. Build a little plywood frame to hold the shape on the top side before you remove the old block, though. Otherwise you will go nuts trying to make the new block to the right shape. Also consider converting the neck to a standard mortise. And consider shortening it a bit and giving it more overstand.

 

I might be wrong, but from here, it doesn't look like you left enough width at the top of the block for the neck to sit on or mortise into. A standard mortised neck block is about 6-8mm wider than the neck root to ensure there is a good thickness of wood at the sides. If the top of your new block is as narrow as it looks, the only way to fit a standard neck into that would be to cut the whole top off the block and sit the neck lower in the block.

Does the top still fit? or is there a bigger overhang now at the top edges?