taking neck off old USA Dinky - any concerns?

[PNWmusic]

I have a ~1988 USA Dinky. It is very well made and has a nice low action around 1mm from low E to high E.

Frets have quite a bit of wear and some grooves. Am considering taking the neck off to ship to an out-of-state luthier (Aperio) for a stainless refret. My other option is to ship the entire guitar at a higher shipping cost both ways...

I have never had the neck off before - any concerns taking a neck off of an old Dinky? i.e. risk that it will do some sort of damage, or be difficult to realign with the exact same low action?

Thanks for any feedback!

[Number Of The Priest]

Absolutely remove the neck for ease and lowered cost of shipping. Your out-of-state luthier is going to remove the neck anyway. It might as well be you who disassembles the guitar. Save money by doing so. And risk less damage, because intuitively it's easier to pack and protect a neck for shipping than a whole guitar, and easier for a package handler to handle a boxed neck (small, maneuverable parcel that can be carried under one arm) than a whole guitar (big, bulky, unwieldy parcel that needs two hands).

Absolutely no concerns removing a neck from a body. Think about how many new necks "survive" before being mated to a body at the factory. Also, think about how many random necks are floating around on the market, ready to buy and make into cool partscaster guitars. Assuming the necks are made well from the beginning, which your Dinky very much would be, and assuming the truss rods are functional, which your Dinky likely has, necks don't really warp just because they have no string tension on them, and any minor bowing can be adjusted via the truss rod.

Your concern about getting the same low action and same string alignment is dependent on your setup skills. If your guitar currently has good action and string alignment and you can competently set up a guitar (or know someone who does), there is no reason those same parameters cannot be achieved again. The video attached below boosted my setup skills and allayed my fears about removing a neck and not being able to realign the strings. As for action, follow the usual setup order of operations with the TRAIN acronym:

Tune the guitar to desired pitch

Relief adjustment, via the truss rod

Action, adjusted at the bridge and saddles (and nut slots if applicable)

Intonation, adjusted at the bridge and saddles

Noodle around on the guitar to test the playability, and repeat TRAIN if required.

[pianoguyy]

I have a guitar that has never had the neck taken off. Come to think of it, I don't even take all 6 strings off at the same time.
I am a little paranoid about it. The thing is so well made/assembled, that I have a Humpty Dumpty Complex about it. If we take it apart, it will never be the same.


*Didn't Steve Stevens feel the same way about his glow guitar.

[metalhobo]

yes it's possible and often likely that when you remove and reattach the neck it will not be aligned the same as it was. but it's also incredibly easy to align the neck in situ by backing off the bolts a turn or two while the instrument is tuned to pitched and moving it by hand. so it's not a big deal.