Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey there,

I'm by no means a 'luthier' but I'm having fun putting together guitars.

For my fourth project, I decided to start with a body blank and go from there.

So far so good. I was going to try and build a neck for it also, but my budget won't stretch for the tools needed, so I went with a Chinese set-in neck.

The heel has a 4º slant and I'd like the neck to be at that 4º angle.

Do I:

Shave the area of the top where the neck pocket is going to be at 4º?
Make a 4º angled template to route the pocket at 4º?
Other?

Thanks in advance!

Hey David,
Cut the neck pocket at 0 degrees and shave the top of the body to 4 degrees.
Dan

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I shave the top to four degrees, then route the neck pocket so it is parallel to the top. Make several small cuts gradually bringing the pocket down unit the neck sits correctly in it. Keep checking that the fretboard plane is where you want it at the bridge area (I make a little dummy bridge and tape it in place).

Remember that you can floss the cheeks of the heel to get that fit perfect after you have the neck angle where you want it.

edit to add, I'm making the neck and body more or less together so that I can change one to fit the other.

Thanks guys. I shaved the top to the 4º and everything went kinda well. Got it a touch wonky so I'm going to have to rotate it a degree. Either that or move the bridge to the left a little

Having fun with it, it's just so scary the first time around!

You can either shim the pocket or, like you say, move the bridge, tailpiece and pups. Either way there are advantages and pitfalls.

Also, for the record, my Les Paul plans show the neck angle at 3.5 degrees, not 4, and that is about what mine have come out. I think I remember LP Jr's being a little less, something like 2 degrees, but their f/b extensions stand proud of the flat top. The important thing is the string plane relative to the bridge - you want to be within the adjustment range of your bridge.

Looking good, carry on and have fun

Good luck and have fun.

Looking good, David!
I like the grain lines on the body.

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