Newbie here, I've messed around with fiddles and just learning to play mandolin. My first mandolin quickly began pulling at the neck so I set it aside and got a nice used Epiphone and had it set up at the shop to learn on. That freed me to try to repair this mass-produced one. It's called Degas but I've seen many more just like it under a variety of names. I was drawn to the back and sides being maple and not painted over, although I suspect it's laminate.
I watched the videos, read everything I could find, made some mistakes. I got the fingerboard off with my good iron for sewing and the spatulas I use for my job as a cake decorator. And a hammer lol.
The adjustable-heat soldering iron I use on my motorcycles comes apart to make a skinny rod that conducts the heat, so a tiny drill bit got me into the space under the dovetail where lots of steam finally got the GLOBS of glue loose enough to get it apart. There was more glue than wood making contact in this. I think I've got the glue out now.
Beyond the obvious invitation for advice from y'all based on the photos, I'm looking for how to set it back up so the neck is 1) straight side-to-side and 2) puts the fingerboard at the right angle. I'm assuming I will need to use shims to fill the void that allowed the neck to pull in the first place. Without a jig, I'm wondering how to clamp it up at the right angle.
And the glue--what came out was white and rubbery. Will the fish glue I use on my violins be strong enough?
So...glue type and neck angle. Help please?
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