What Is Your Technique For Gluing Scarf Joints ?

[SawDust_Junkie]

I just did my first scarf joint (for the second time actually) on the project I am working on. It is a LP DC copy that I am building with a set neck. The first time I did the scarf joint on this neck, I discovered that I had cut the joint from the wrong point and the angle of the headstock started abot 2 " further from the heel than I had planned. I didn't catch this until I had already glued the thing together. Oh well, at least the joint was further out rather than closer in to the heel. I was able to re-cut the joint and do it over again.

The thing I had the most trouble with was clamping the joint together. The joint will clamp together great dry, but when you add the glue, it acts as a lubricant and the joint wants to slip as soon as you put clamp pressure on it. The solution I came up with probably wasn't the best, but it worked for me.

I clamped the joint together dry, and since the neck blank is wider than my neck will be, by about 5/8" at the nut, I drilled a hole on each side of where the edge of the neck will be when I cut it down to final shape. I drilled a 3/16" hole all the way through both pieces of the scarf joint and then when I glued it together, I placed a dowell rod through the two holes to keep the joint aligned. The holes will cut away when I cut the neck down and the dowels worked great and held the joint in place while clamping it.

How does everyone here clamp their scarf joints ? I know there has to be a better solution, but mine seemd to work pretty well., but you do have to be careful when drilling the holes !

[KeithHowell]

Your method works as well as any other I think. What I've done is clamp the two pieces vertically to a workboard, with some wax paper underneath to stop the glue ooze sticking to the board and then clamp the joint horizontally.

Keith

[orgmorg]

That's about what I do, except I drill smaller holes to accept 16ga brad nails. That way, it can be done on as narrow a piece as you can use.

[frank falbo]

Once I was doing a scarf joint repair, where the neck had water damage and the scarf joint simply failed. (the board was off too) I just put two locating pins in there and they are still inside the neck. It's the same with fretboards. You put little pins in that lock the board in place. The dowels or brads on the sides is a better idea. You'd have to be careful not to hit the brads with your bandsaw. You'll find that although the glue lubes it up, you really only need a little bite. You could use my pins idea if you had a very narrow neck blank with plans of glueing wings on for the headstock.