Hello my friend,
Chances are good you can handle that if you're a bit handy. Sounds like the neckstick cracked/split, allowing the neck to pull forward. Here's what you do...
- Unstring the guitar to get all tension off of the neck/stick.
- Unscrew the two screws that go thru the pan the cone sits on and into the neckstick.
- Remove the two neckstick supports that sit between the neck and the body which hold it tight to the bottom of the pan. (pan is the ledge the cone sits on)
Once this is undone, you'll notice that there is some "play" in the neckstick up and down as it sits flat on its back. Keep in mind the neckstick and the neck itself are like a teeter- tawter (spelling?).
The crack allowed in effect the neckstick to drop downward, which allowed the neck to rise upward, hence the heel now off the body. It will now be attached only to the body at the fingerboard flap.
- Not seeing the split, but what you want to do is use a little wedge (small flatblade screwdriver?) to "open up the crack just enough to be able to seep wood glue inside the crack from both sides of it.
You can put the guitar on it's side, seep one side, then the other side, seep into the crack from the opposite side. Once you get enough in there, use one or preferably 2 small C clamps to clamp the neckstick tight together. If you have some you can use a little maple strip between the stick and the clamp so it doesn't dig into the stick and leave an impression. Not a big deal though. The wood on these imported necksticks is usually a bit softer than a typical maple stick. Once you clamp it together, glue will seep out both sides of the stick. Use a rag or paper towel w just a touch of dampness/water to clean off both sides. Let sit overnight. If you want it to look nice, you can lightly sand the remaining glue residue off the sides of the stick where the crack shows.
At this point, it's putting it back together. Screw in the stick to the bottom of the pan first from above, then reposition the two neckstick supports under the stick. A little touch of glue on top of each, not sure if those models put a nail thru the top into the support like Vintage National guitars did. If so, you'll need to be sure to reposition the support so the original hole lines up with the nail from above.
Or, if the support ends up being slightly off, you can drill a new pilot hole from above thru the necksticks original nail hole and down into the support. If you don't, it'll probably split when the nail drives in from above. If there's no nail and it's just pushed under, do the same w a bit of wood glue on top of the support.
You're now pretty much done. Pop in the cone, add coverplate, restring. More than likely it's be the same as new. Let us know how it comes out. Glad to help. Done this type of thing a gazillion times, not a big deal. Feel free to email me if you have added questions, I'll look for a progress report.
Cheers to all, Lenny
http://www.nationalguitar.com/