Dugz Ink Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Okay, for my first project guitar, I bought a "Fender style" bolt-on guitar neck. The top of the body has a cool angle, and I'm thinking about mimicking that angle on the base of the fretboard/neck. The big question is this: How much can be cut off before I don't have enough to bolt the neck on securely? The lower side (high E string) would have about 3" of contact area, but the other side (low E string) would only have 2" of contact area. Will this give me enough width and length to adequately secure the neck against the pull of six guitar strings? All opinons are welcome, and experienced advice is extremely appreciated. D~s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 OK, you completely lost me there Nashville ( ). What does the angle of the top of the body have to do with you nipping off the end of your neck? Something doesn't sound right there, please describe it in a little more detail. I 'think' I can guess what you're trying to do, but before I go making assumptions, I figured I'd just ask you for more info first. Pics too if you got 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dugz Ink Posted October 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 (edited) Here's a quick example of my design: EDIT: I hope I'm not in trouble for breaking the "1 pic per post" rule. Edited October 14, 2004 by Dugz Ink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirapop Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 That looks scary. String tension is trying to pry the the neck off the body. The bolt nearest the headstock are in tension. The neck is pivoting around those forward bolts and the base of the neck is getting jammed down into the neck pocket. You're reducing the distance between the bolt and the end of the neck, reducing it's leverage... that increases the tension load on the bolt and the bearing load on the base of the neck/pocket to react the string tension... on the bass side of the guitar where the string tensions are higher. If you actually trim the end of the neck with that angle, the string tension will try to twist the neck. Think about making a fingerboard extension that overhangs the body and has the trim you want without compromising on the neck joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dugz Ink Posted October 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 String tension is trying to pry the the neck off the body. Yep... that's why I'm asking before I do any cutting. Think about making a fingerboard extension... I don't know anything about that kind of thing. Educate me. D~s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren wilson Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 First of all, set the neck deeper into the body. Assuming you're going with a Fender-style heel (as opposed to an Ibanez All-Access type neck joint), make your fretboard longer than the neck, so it hangs over the body. Fender-style necks with 22 or more frets have fretboards that extend beyond the butt end of the neck. (see this page for more detail) With the fretboard extended past the end of the neck, you can then cut the fretboard on the angle you want without reducing the contact area of your neck heel in the pocket, thus allowing you to keep a strong neck joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Well, being a pre-made Strat style neck, I'm not sure how much control you'll have over setting it into the body deeper, because you could run out of flat surface on the neck. If you haven't made your body yet, I would suggest putting the angle into the fretboard but NOT the actual neck part. Sort of like what Darren said, but where the fretboard would actually be cut away "post neck" on the treble side but "pre-neck" on the bass side. Then, if your guitar is going to have a top laminated, you could cover that part, and have a sort of "tenon" feeding underneath the top. The fretboard would show your profile but the neck would retain its traditional heel. You'd need a shorter screw for that hole, though. Even without a top, you could still remove that part of the board, but paint the exposed neck heel to match the body, the way that many basses do. Many basses attatch post-fretboard and have the neck extension painted to match the body. Then you could to the end of the fretboard with a cove bit so it blends into the neck heel smoothly. Sort of like a scalloped fretboard edge. Either way I think you can achieve the look you want without sacrificing structural integrity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dugz Ink Posted October 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 I would suggest putting the angle into the fretboard but NOT the actual neck part. I can do that. The body is being made out of 3 pieces; a 3/4" face, an 1/8" core, and a 3/4" back. The neck pocket will be cut out of the first and second pieces, and the neck will bolt onto the third piece. So I could cut an angle off of the fretboard (on this pre-fab neck) but not cut too deep into the neck. Then inlet the neck pocket to match. Yeah... I can do that. Thanks for that idea! D~s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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