about 2 years ago I did this method on a 12-string hummingbird and it saved me a neck reset... so far so good!!!

I'm 73 and have had but one job in my life, guitar repair. I can't say this won't work as I've never tried it, but I will. Yes a neck reset is $400 or more but doing it this way won't be free as you do need a way to steam the neck with very hot dry steam. I have a few old Yamaha guitars with dovetail necks that I'll try it on as soon as I have time between client work. I have an idea of what is happening here but need to do it myself to prove it.

Thank you John for sharing your many years of experience with us. That's brilliant! Much appreciated. Keep 'em coming.

I guess this would work. I don't know if I would want to try it on a high end instrument? I learned how to do it the traditional way. Teach an old dog new tricks? Moving wood (necks) with heat and clamps I have done before. I don't do guitar repair any more, but if it works good for you.

Would love to see a before and after. This is really quite a compelling process. We have a handful of old Yamaha in my family from The 70s that are NOT worth the cost of the reset but have some sentimental value. This seems ideal for such.

Thank you sir jon for sharing

Very interesting tecnique, subscribed👍 Got an old german parlor guitar, probably 1900-1920 with a little relief in the neck (1 mm relief on 8th fret when letting string rest on first and last fret) and 3.2 mm action on 12th, not touching strings. That is for the thickest string..

Thanks John for that, Don here from Hamilton NZ on my Wife's tablet-SUSAN, Iv'e got an old fashioned dreadnought acoustic here to do so I'll see how it goes 😊

Hi John. I just found your channel. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I’ve got an old Yiari 12 string that could use a neck and bridge reset but my local luthier said it wasn’t worth it. It’s still a great sounding guitar but the action could be better, when it’s time I’m going to try your method. I subbed also. I hope you are doing well. Thanks again from Kentucky USA.

Thanks for sharing

Loved the demo but a video showing you actually doing a neck reset with this process would be nice too. That way we can actually see the process in work.

As a guitar fixer with limited woodworking skills and equipment, I am always keen to learn these alternative methods. My only concern would be that maybe 4 years isn't quite long enough to be able to compare to the longevity of the traditional neck reset ? If I paid $700 to have my 40yr old Martin re-set then I'd expect another 10yrs of life. but what this technique does do is make possible the rescue of all those cheaper guitars that it's not cost-effective to spend $700 on - which is literally everything I work on - as I cater to students, kids, the unwaged and street buskers - so most of my repairs i do for free.

I recently acquired a 1969 Yamaha FG-150 (Nippon Gakki red label). Beautiful guitar - but badly in need of a neck reset. The upper bout was sinking into the sound-hole driving the neck skywards. A straight edge placed on the fretboard ran into the sound board about 30mm in front of the bridge. The saddle had been shaved down to about a 1mm clearance & the break angle back across the saddle was practically non-existent. The instrument was virtually unplayable. I wasn’t looking forward to putting this in front of a luthier, as these old Yammies are well known for being built with unpredictable neck joints - mortise & tenons, compound dovetails as well as a weird Spanish style foot with a dowel system - in other words, you don’t know what you’re dealing with until you well down the track of inserting drill bits, steam electrodes etc through the fretboard & into the pocket; & once you’ve instigated this process you have no choice but to keep on until you’ve got the neck off - even if that means resorting to a hacksaw. Purely by chance I stumbled on a youtube video of Johns ‘free’ neck re-set method. The logic seemed sound; but to me it was like one of those videos where they tell you they have a cancer cure recipe that you can whip together using everyday products from the pantry. If it’s that easy & effective - why isn’t everyone doing it? As it happens John lives about 20mins away from me, so I paid him a visit with my guitar. John assured me he could deliver the goods, so I enlisted his services (somewhat skeptically - but hey, the process is non-evasive, so I figured the instrument wasn’t going to come out the end in any worse condition than it went in). The result: Nothing short of a miracle! The top of the guitar is now flat - so the fret board from the 14th up is on the same plane as the rest of the neck (straight & in line with the body). The replacement saddle now sits around 4mm clear of the bridge and the action is almost factory spec. I was absolutely blown away and it was hard to believe that this result was achieved without resorting to the conventional butchery of the set-neck separation. Bravo John - if you’re not a bona fide genius, you will do until one comes along!

Hey John, I have a 1905 Washburn 00 sized guitar that has ladder bracing. Would your steam reset method be okay being ladder braced and the older thin top? thanks

Excellent video John. You mentioned steaming it up to 3 times, every few days and then letting it sit for 3 weeks. Does it need to continue to be steamed during those 3 weeks?

Hi John. Genius idea. Do you tighten the clamp at the headstock end whenever you do the steaming?

Imo it's a risky business I am tempted to try on my 500$ guitar. But would not do it on a D28😁

Could you do the same thing but use an iron on the neck extension to heat the wood instead of using steam? Great idea by the way. I have been struggling with how to reset the neck or reflatten a warped top(collapsed at sound hole or belly bulge) without taking the guitar apart and reglueing. I thought about a bridge doctor type of setup for the collapsed top at the neck but figured there would be too much pressure on the back of the guitar and cause more damage. Some people have suggested loosening the back of guitar by the neck heal and the Block then clamping the guitar as you did in your jig and reglueing block and back with the new neck position.

Great idea, John. How many guitars would you have treated with this method?

What size are the clamps?

I would suggest not doing this. All this did to my $2500 guitar is bubble up the finish up by the neck joint back and sides about 6 inch spots where I was spraying the steam. I did this method about 6 times throughout 2 months. And then the last time I did it, I figured I must not be doing it for long enough, so steamed the neck joint for about 1 minute each side which just bubbled up the finish and now it's a junk guitar. And worst of all it didn't work

He has no idea what he is doing he destroyed my 1952 Gibson .and keep t the $ 650 would not give it back.

don't go. doesn't work don't let him touch your guitar.