Double Bass BROKEN NECK

[Cody Sisk]

The heel ht. looks low, and not able to handle the stress from the strings.

I agree, but I'm not sure if he'll be able to do better. If the joinery is good with a solid epoxy joint, it should hold.

 

[rhinceros]

West Systems can be had in the UK: Invalid Link Removed

Thanks a lot for finding that - purchasing now!

 

[Eric Hochberg]

Luthiers, with all the past problems with that heel, couldn't that be a sign of just "bad" wood that nothing is going to be a lasting fix on?

 

[rhinceros]

Struggling to find a drill bit that can do what needs to be done.

The break is about 90mm from the front (beneath the fingerboard) and I've got 3mm dowel. I need to go at least 20mm the other side of the break I guess so I need a drill bit with 110mm of length with only a 3mm diameter... can't find anything nearly this long for such a small diameter. Any suggestions?

 

[rhinceros]

Finally found this beast:
http://www.tooltrolley.co.uk/drill-....html?osCsid=f9f46e4acd232d1bbd8716b72353b0db

Do I need to go for a 3.5mm to squeeze in a 3mm dowel?
http://www.tooltrolley.co.uk/drill-....html?osCsid=f9f46e4acd232d1bbd8716b72353b0db

 

[vejesse]

You're going to use a 3 mm dowel to reinforce this break? I can't bear to watch.

 

[rhinceros]

You're going to use a 3 mm dowel to reinforce this break? I can't bear to watch.

About five 3-4mm dowels seems to be the general consensus... what would you suggest?

 

[vejesse]

3 mm is less than 1/8 of an inch. I would suggest a maple, oak or hickory spline as wide as the neck will comfortably allow before running into the rounded corners of the neck heel. 3/4" wide, 7/8" wide. Take the fingerboard off and run the spline all the way through the neck heel. Even if everything's rock solid at first, glue lines do sink and wood moves. At this point I still say that installing a new neck is probably a better solution. That neck heel is a mess.

 

[Cody Sisk]

You're going to use a 3 mm dowel to reinforce this break? I can't bear to watch.

This leaves as much of the original wood intact as possible while only helping to keep the epoxy joint from creeping. If the proper epoxy is used, it should hold without any sort of doweling. The problem with a big phat hardwood dowel is getting the wood to mate perfectly. If you leave gaps at either end, it will further weaken the heel. Depending on the application, I've used bamboo dowels as thick as 10mm. I just prefer three to six 3mm dowels evenly-spaced to just help keep everything in the right place and let the epoxy do its job..

 

[Cody Sisk]

At this point I still say that installing a new neck is probably a better solution. That neck heel is a mess.

Agreed for sure! Even a heel graft onto the original scroll would be a better solution.