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I've recently bought a 1971 Framus Caravelle which is a nice guitar that needs a bit of attention. The frets buzz quite badly and I've discovered that the top fret (which acts as the nut) is badly worn. The neck also has some dips in it that have been beyond the scope of the local guitar shops to fix (I live in Hong Kong where everyone's in a hurry and this probably says more about the guitar shops than the guitar) . I really want to have a go at reconditioning the neck myself (this way I'll have no one to blame but myself) and wanted to replace the frets and straighten the neck myself. Since the dips in the neck seem to be beyond the truss rod to fix, what is the best way of straightening out the neck? The back of the neck has been rather brutally sanded at some stage (I can only assume to make for a faster fingerboard) taking it right back to the wood. It has then been played extensively and the wood is thick with ingrained grime and hand sweat. What would be the best way of treating this before sealing up the wood again? The neck, especially in this humid environment, feels very spongy and the sound can sometimes be a bit dead. What would anyone recommend for sealing the wood on the neck? Any advice on how to go about this job would be gratefully received. Peter

sorry for this nothing reply. I dont have a fix for you problem, but i just think is crazy that my name is Shad Peters, and yours is Peter Shadbolt.

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~shad peters

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You probably won't like this, but here goes.
It would be almost impossible to say what might work to fix or straighten out the neck on a guitar forum, never having even seen the neck. And even if you posted pics, it would still be kinda hard. It's a lot easier to gauge what can be done when something is in your hot little hands. Even then, on things like a neck in the condition you describe, it can still be kind of difficult.
Also, if the back of the neck has been bare for a very long time in such a humid climate(sounds like it from your post), there's no telling how much damage has been done to the untreated wood. You may not be able to save it.
I "googled Framus Caravelle". All the pics i came across show an instrument with a bolt on neck. Assuming this is the case with the guitar you have, my best advice would be to remove the neck(put it away if there is any special value to this guitar, just in case) and make a duplicate neck to replace it. IMHO, that's the quickest, easiest, and safest route to go in this situation.
There is a member here(can't recall who, but I'll do a quick look) that is local to Hong Kong, and if I recall, does some work on guitars there. Don't know if he'd be willing to have a look or not, but I'll look him up and direct him to this thread. He can chime in or not. His choice.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Thanks Mike. I've been having the same thoughts myself and keep scouring ebay for battered versions of Caravelles. Unfortunately they seem quite rare and I'm not sure if Framus had a one-neck-fits-all policy so I'm not game to buy other old Framus makes for parts. I'm willing to have a go at renovating the neck on the grounds there'll probably be nothing lost if it doesn't work out. If you have the name of that person in Hong Kong that would be very useful. He may, at least, be able to tell me what my options are. Peter

I've been searching since my last post, but cannot find him. I know he's on here, but I cannot remember his username. Getting tired. It's almost 2 a.m. here, so I need to get to bed. But I will look some more tomorrow. Meanwhile, maybe he'll see your thread and chime in on his own. Good luck, and i'll do my best.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

1)remove frets
2)re-radius fretboard with appropriate(and long) radius block, and be prepared to remove a lot of wood
3)refret
...simple huh?

i did my 1st ever refret/re-radius on my pride and joy american strat i have owned since i was a teenager some 25 years ago, and it is fine, so if i can do it so can you. that first fret that acts as a nut is known as a "zero fret".

Thanks, that's very encouraging. Will the re-radiusing fix my dips? How much wood is too much wood?

"too much wood"=burning all the way through the fingerboard, and into the neck material....but that would be extreme! i can't imagine having to remove more than 2-3mm of fingerboard at the high spots, if the truss rod is at all functional. if you do end up pulling all the frets, it might be a good idea to wait a week or so and see if the neck geometry changes after all those metal shims(fret tangs) are removed, before doing any leveling with a radius block....
the radius block is just a long straight sanding beam, which happens to have a cross radius profile....so, yes, it will indeed level the dips. 12" long or better in your case i'd say. longer the better(straighter/less error)
also keep in mind if you end up sanding very deep you might lose your fret marker inlays, if present.

....i guess it would be best to get the bare wood on the back of the neck sealed with nitrocellulose laquer or shellac first, before trying to address the fretboard....but if i was going to commit, i would remove frets 1st to relieve possible stress, then attack the back of the neck, then return to the fretboard. i don't know lots about finish; i would say use a solvent such as a paint thinner to remove grime, then sand, then laquer/shellac. it will probably not look cosmetically clean unless you remove a lot of wood, which i personally wouldn't worry about....function over form here, always!

Thanks, this is fantastic advice. I'm really trying to get an idea of where to start and this helps a lot. The neck is made of laminated wood and feels very light. I'm sure you could take off more than you need with vigorous sanding but, like you, I'm not really so much concerned with the cosmetics as I am with the acoustics of this thing. I'm sure that if I do a good job on the neck it will sound a lot better. Did your strat show a big improvement after the fret job?