hendrix2430 Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 Hi, I just finished carving the neck hell of my neck so it fits perfectly in the tele body I made. It was extremely tight (you had to basically push it in with all your strenght) but I decided to sand the edges a little as a small gap was visibly at the bottom of the pocket, as if you'd put a tele neck inside a strat pocket. Once I lightly sanded the heel, the neck would go in much more easily, but too easily? I can slide it in without barely any toughness...I'm worried the neck will not be tight enough in it. To make matters worse, the gap is still there. Since I did both pieces from Scratch, I still need to level the neck pocket completely 100% flush I think. Sorry for rambling there, but I guess my question is, when you fit a neck, do you want the neck to be very hard to put into the pocket? Or is it ok if it slides in without much hassle? There is maybe 1/100" (if not less on each side of the pocket), it's barely noticeable, and the neck will NOT move if I wiggle it left to right. It isn't hard to slide it into the pocket, yet, it does not move. You I worry or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 This is a very loaded question. You'll find bolt-ons with great sustain with a huge gap on one side or the other and you'll find bolt-ons with a tight neck pocket with no sustain. The generally held belief is that the tighter the neck pocket, the better. My USA Custom Guitars Strat body and neck fit together very tightly (this is unfinished mind you) and I could hold the whole thing by the neck with no screws in place. As far as the gap is concerned, can you either take a picture or draw us a diagram of what we're looking at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 For boltons there are a couple schools of thought.. Some believe that wood on wood is the best for tone and sustain, so make the pocket absolutely as tight as you can get it. Then when you're finishing, leave the wood that is touching unfinished. Just mask it off. The other thought is to make the pocket loose enough that after you finish it, it will be tight again because of the thickness the finish added to the neck and pocket. Personally, I dont' think you can get the neck pocket too tight. Yes it's arguable how much it enhances tone on a bolton, as if you have the neck torqued down tight to the heel bed it won't matter.. but if nothing else fit and finish points are gained and lost around the neck pocket. You certainly dont' want it sloppy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 In a bolt on, the mating is done by the screws and the torque they generate. No matter how tight neck fits in it's pocket, it doesn't approach the strength the screws provide. Look at the Petrucci EBMM model. The pocket is practically open on one side. There's no way that pocket could be tight enough to hold without screws. Still, no problem with sustain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendrix2430 Posted March 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 thanks guys I appreciate the help. I don't have a camera so I can't take a pic, but the gap is on each side is about half to 2/3rds of this (the space between the two ls down below) : ll So it really isn't much. I can slide a straight sheet of paper (regular photocopy type paper) through half the depth then it blocks. It's too narrow to slide a business card for instance. I think i will be finishing the sides of the neck pocket, yes, that way the neck will be very tight in the pocket. It's not like its compeltely loose, you know. I could definitely not hold the guitar by the neck without screws. Even my warmoth projects or any other guitar I've owned had that "perfect" a neck joint. It's crazy how important a millimeter is in that kind of situation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 I wouldn't sweat it. I've seen production guitars from big companies with larger gaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 In a bolt on, the mating is done by the screws and the torque they generate. No matter how tight neck fits in it's pocket, it doesn't approach the strength the screws provide. Look at the Petrucci EBMM model. The pocket is practically open on one side. There's no way that pocket could be tight enough to hold without screws. Still, no problem with sustain. ← So in theory you could make a guitar WITHOUT a pocket, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 correct. There are auccually guitars that have no neck pocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted March 17, 2005 Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 It is also possible that the joint is better now than before. If you had to really force the neck in the pocket it may have had a slight taper to it. If that was the case it may be making better contact as the back of the heal and pocket are seating better. Just a thought. Peace, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted March 17, 2005 Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 In my experience, most production guitars dont have more then 15-20mm of wood on the lower part of the neck pocket, which is no way enough to hold it still if you put extreme force on the neck to move it . Generally, neck movements are usually restricted to the bowing of the neck due to string tension. Nothing *SHOULD* make a neck move left and right in the neck pocket unless its forced to, in which case you should hear the tell tale "RIP" sound as the wood splinters and you end up with a two piece guitar. It does make me wonder if neck pockets need to be so small, I mean, on average they are what... 60mm? Surely a longer one would be better. Just like set neck guitars and glue ins which have a tenon running along most of the body. The only problem i can see is with ensuring they are straight. Any deviation along the length of the tenon would cause a problem. Opinions anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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