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Gap at neck Joint HELP!
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Author:  tl507362 [ Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:58 pm ]
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Hi Everyone,
Wondering if you can give me some suggestions for eliminating a 1mm gap at the neck body joint. This is for my bouzouki project. I'm doing a butt jointed neck with bolts, and so far I haven't installed the bolt inserts yet. I've only cut the neck angle and clamped the fretboard to the neck blank. I'm trying to fit it now because if I have to cut more of the angle I don't want to remove the bolts.

Anywho, when I place my neck against the body, the fretboard extension touches just below the soundhole causing a small 1mm gap at the neck body joint. I'm thinking that I need more angle and it will eliminate this, but I'm not so sure. Has anyone else had this problem, and how did you resolve it? TIA!
Here are some pics(sorry there not very good)
Tracy



Author:  John How [ Tue Apr 11, 2006 2:05 pm ]
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Yes your neck angle is wrong. It should place the neck so that the top of the guitar is flat with the neck and the shape of the sides at the neck joint should give you the correct height. This should be part of your design so it appears you just need a little more neck angle.
Author:  Serge Poirier [ Tue Apr 11, 2006 3:07 pm ]
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Good luck in fixin' this Tracy!

Serge
Author:  tl507362 [ Tue Apr 11, 2006 3:14 pm ]
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Thanks guys! John, I think you are right on. I shaved a little more off the bottom of the heel and it is almost there. So what you mean by "a little more neck angle" is that I should shave more off of the bottom side of the heel to increase the angle right?
Tracy
Author:  John How [ Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:18 pm ]
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Thats right, till if fits well and the line of the top and the neck shaft are the same. Then you can adjust slightly for the right hieght at the bridge.
Author:  Todd Rose [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 12:56 am ]
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Another way to eliminate that gap is to remove some material from the underside of the fretboard tongue, so that it is somewhat tapered. It all depends on what you want your neck angle to be and how you can best adjust the fit of the joint to achieve the neck angle you want. You might not necessarily want the top of the neck shaft and the guitar top (in the fretboard tongue area) to be in the same line, depending on how much doming you've got in your top. The ultimate goal is to have the neck angle match up to the optimum height of the bridge/saddle which you've already decided ahead of time. Before messing too much with the joint, I'd lay a straight edge down the middle of the fretboard, extending over the bridge area, and see what you've got now. However, this won't be accurate till you've radiused your fretboard, which it doesn't look like you have done yet. Todd Rose38819.4144791667
Author:  Todd Rose [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:30 pm ]
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That last statement I made could be a bit confusing. What I really meant was if your fretboard is not down to its final thickness along its centerline, that will (obviously) throw off your measurement of the space between the straightedge and the guitar top.
Author:  Joe Beaver [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:09 pm ]
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It also looks like you will end up with a better fit if you taper the butt of the heal in, toward the center line of the neck. About 2 degrees ought to do it. Fitting a butt joint is a slow process. You have to get a good tight fit against the sides, the correct neck up/down angle and the correct centerline down the neck and guitar top. It usually takes me about an hour of careful work to get it just right. Just remember to remove wood very gradually and go slowly. If you go to fast you may end up with a 13 1/2 fret guitar with a very small heal.
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