Desopolis Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 I searched arround a bit, but even the hiscock book is vauge. im at the point where I need to cut my neck pocket and Im looking for the basic dimensions.. I know its 3" long but thats it.. also what the standard distance to the bridge is from the pocket, that way I can figure the fretboard layout and neck size. I have a strat here, but the tele stuff is a bit different.. plus I really dont want to take the strat apart right now.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 I thought it was normal to plan out the bridge location based on the scale length of the instrument. Youd be better off doing that because you will get more accurate results, otherwise you wont be able to intonate the instrument. Measure the neck from the nut to the 12th fret, double this to work out the scale length, then work out the bridge location using that measurement. It sounds backwards I know, but its the only way to be accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted September 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 the scale is 25.5, standard fender. and as long as I havent drilled anything yet I can put the bridge whereever on the body. as long as the fretboard and nut corispond. thats the problem, I dont know how far back to put the bridge and use a standard fender neck. I want to be able to bolt a fender neck to my guitar and have it be correct like any other tele. I hate the fender tele headstock so I never would. But uniform is allways a plus. i could allways get a neck length from pocket to nut, and work backwards from there. but i still need depth and width of the pocket. im just to lazy to go crazy on google and figured someone here had it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 I position the neck on the body, clamp it, then trace round the heel profile as a routing guide. Then I attach straight edges to the traced profile and rout the pocket from there. The standard rout depth is 5/8". Once the neck is attached by clamp, its an easy job to measure down 25.5" from the nut and position the bridge correctly. I would never rout a neck pocket without having the neck clamped onto the body and aligned properly first. Note: QUick andwer: my MIM telecaster: 7.0" from end of neck pocket to mid bridge position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted September 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 sweet thanks.. what was your width of your pocket? I apreciate the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 the scale is 25.5, standard fender. and as long as I havent drilled anything yet I can put the bridge whereever on the body. as long as the fretboard and nut corispond. Well, actually, if the neck is a 25.5" scale length neck, the bridge has to be 25.5" away from the nut. Changing the layout of the fretboard will change the scale length. The one constant is that the 12th fret is ALWAYS the centre point between the nut and the bridge. If you place the bridge first, you will have a whole heap o trouble getting the correct placement of the nut, and the danger is that the neck pocket will be too shallow. Dont try and change the convention because I can guarentee you, it will not work! Neck first, the the bridge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Tell me what pages you were looking at, because as I remember it, that book is quite specific if you read it, all the dimensions are there. Actually, I can tell by your questions that you really haven't read the book in any depth, because anyone who has already would know that there is NO average relationship between the neck pocket and the bridge, and I think you need to read more, because you don't really even understand yet what makes a guitar play in tune, and you should really understand that before trying to build one. Just food for thought. I will gladly answer any question you have if I can tell you actually tried to find it by yourself and are not asking us to spell it all out for you, which I think you are doing here, because if you can't find it in that book (and I do think it's all there, and I do have the book here), it's also been explained here on the forum DOZENS of times if you really bothered to search at all, I myself have spelled the answer to this question out several times, not mentioning the times others have done so as well. You will find out far far more by reading and researching your question than by asking for the answer here. You will incidentally find out the answers to questions you don't even know to ask yet by researching your question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted September 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 ok... I mean, As long as I keep the bridge 25.5" from the nut, I can place it wherever I want. I can have it right at the back of the guitar and join the neck at the 5th fret. or I could do the oposit and have it join at the 24th fret. it would still keep the correct scale length, and the fretboard would still be the same. The neck would be shorter/longer based on the bridge location to keep the correct scale. Obviously because of bowing and the truss rod you would want a balance, so that the body carys some of the bow strength, and the truss rod isnt doing all the work. on page 20 he says fenders standard is to join on the 16th fret. and I can use the chart in the apendex and figure the distance from the 16th to the nut, reverse it and get the number for the bridge. like he points out on page 39 his guitar joins at the 20 so he can reach the 24 frets and not have a long joint. Would a 24 fret be weird long on a tele body? on page 110 he says its 3" long and 5/8 deep. BUT HOW WIDE? do I just use my taper calculation that my bridge is 2 and 1/16" and my nut is.. whatever the hell it is.. plus 1/8 on each side? use the same taper? so the pocket is 3" but how far from the body should I extend the heel? a tele looks like nothing but a strat has a few inches. Do I have to expose the neck in the heel? or can I just leave both sides covered with a thin piece of the body? on a fender, there IS a direct relation to the neck pocket and the bridge location. there doesnt have to be on guitars, but to keep that "standard" it does. as long as the joint is at the 16th fret. Ill just draw it all up, I just figured there might be a image or somthing with tele dimensions the cad file im using shows the fretboard, so the pocket is just a guess. also the depth can vary as well, depending on what size wood/fretboard I use, fender looks like a inch at the apex of the radius to the bottom. you dont HAVE to awnser, I can find it.. but figured someone allready knew.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Fender neck pockets are 55-56mm wide. Cut out a template 76mm x 55mm and use that to rout the neck pocket. You can then sand a little to get a good tight fit. If you cut it too narrow you can always widen it. If you cut it too wide you end up with a floppy neck, and will have to shim it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted September 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 excelent thanks.. how far are you extending your heel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 hmm, not sure about that, i just rout out 3 inches long and fix the neck in. So far my builds have not ventured onto home made necks, they have been ebay replacement fender types. There is no benefit to the heel extending anywhere past the body, is there? -unless the bigger wood mass adds some rigidity to the general join area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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