Can't remove neck on old Harmony

Hey all, I hope this is the correct place to post this. Anyhow, I am working on my old, what I believe it probably an old Harmony uke


This suffered some dryness and I need to remove the top and back to re-glue it. The neck isn't attached properly to the uke and I need to remove it to glue it properly. Problem is, the only thing thing on the uke that hasn't dried up and become worthless is the dowel that holds the neck in the block.

I tried heating it...

but nothing. The uke got good and hot, but no budge.

I tried steaming it...

but just got the block good, hot and soggy, but still no good.

Does anyone else have any ideas how I can get the neck off?

Thanks,
Dan

Why do you need to take the neck off if it's so strongly attached?

You could saw it off with a very think kerf Japanese pull saw.

That looks like glue dowel? you could cut it flush. Then with a brad point bit of the same size or a slightly larger size that you could buy a dowel of, drill it out being as careful as possible to and do so right in the center of that dowel. You would have a lot better chance of getting the neck off with the glue dowel gone. Dowel gone you will be able to run heat from inside and outside. Then after you have made your fix replace the dowel with a new one.

Why do you want to take the neck off? Is the neck angle off? Know that the back is off, you can "slip" the heel, which is a way that spanish heel instruments get "neck re-sets." http://www.delcamp.us/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=59143

You may need higher heat, like a heat gun or bending blanket that can get hotter than steam.

Michael, that's a good idea. Why the heck didn't I think of that? I think this is the route I will go.

All, the reason I want to remove the neck is because the ONLY thing holding the neck on IS the dowel. The rest of the glue in the joint isn't doing its job. I can twist the neck a couple of degrees either way. I know it just uses nylon strings, but I want to make it right, so I want to remove the neck to glue it on properly.

Dan

This is the perfect kind of instrument on which to learn repair work...it's worth very little in it's as acquired condition, and so you're not going to screw up a valuable piece learning the tricks of the trade.

As a learning tool, this does give you the opportunity to really learn correct restoration techniques, even with the doweled neck. I'd seriously consider doing all future repair work on this using hot hide glue. Take your time setting up your operations, practice clamping without glue, and then work quickly and you'll learn a lot.

Thanks Rick. Yes, I know this uke isn't worth much, but I have a soft spot for USA-made Harmony instruments, and I would like to fix this one up as my keeper. Also, whenever I work on a Harmony, or most other instruments,

I pretty much always use hot hide glue, especially for neck joints, breaks and cracks, and bridges. Since this uke was built using all hide glue, that's all it will ever see. I do tend to use titebond glue on the cheaper instruments that I work on, especially if that's how they are constructed, except, like I said, bridges or crack repairs.

Thank you all for your advice. I shall post back when this guy is up and playing again.

Dan