When Do You Route Out Your Neck Pocket?

[guitarded]

i have decided to join you folks and try my hand at building an electric guitar. i have been doing online research and reading books on the subject for the last two months. i have come across many techniques when it comes to "when" the neck pocket should be routed. i have read that many like to do it before the blank is cut so that the router has more support. i have also noticed that many prefer to route it after the blank has be cut so that they can dry fit the neck and ensure a good fit. so this is kind of a poll... when do you like to route out your neck pocket and why?

[unclej]

i draw my body out on the blank, establish my center line and then route the neck pocket..for me it does give more support for the router and there's less chance of it rocking off of one of the sides.

[n8rofwyo]

I have come to prefer routing the neck pocket before I even cut the body. I do it for the same reasons that unclej said. I glue up the body and then use the glue joint as a center line. I then decide how tall I want the bouts to be and then route the neck pocket. I do however buy body blanks that are at least 30 inches long, that gives me a little room to play. The reason I route the neck pocket before cutting the silhouette of the blank is because I feel the neck joint is the most important joint in the instrument, and as such I try to treat it with respect. I don't want that router getting a mind of its own and tipping off the edge of the body. I know that this is not the way some of the builders here do it, but it falls within my own personal "safe zone" - know what Im saying?

As far as dry fitting the neck, templates are the way to go. If you you are building your own neck then you can do anything you want to - within reason.

If you are putting a premade neck on the body, then just be carefull with your measurements. Measure the neck and apply those numbers to the pocket only slightly smaller, this gives you room to fine fit the neck to the pocket.

Well, I hope this has been helpfull, and as always, anyone with better info feel free to chime in. Good luck guitarded.

Nate Robinson.

[javacody]

You could also use a neck jig like some others here do. That should give you plenty of stability on an already cut body.

[guitarded]

ok, so for those that route the neck pocket prior to cutting the blank, do you sand the blank down first so that the depth will be accurate? btw, sorry for the stupid questions, it is just part of my research before building.

[Mattia]

After. Definitley after. The reason's simple: I don't do any designs like flying V's, where it might be a tad difficult to get the support (although even then, I'd do it after), but I shape my body with a router and a template, and that's easier to do if the body's nothing more than a slab. The centreline's the first thing you draw anyway, before marking anything else on the blank, and aligning a nice, big, oversided template with more than enough support for any router is a piece of cake.

I know some people feel doing neck pockets, sometimes pickups, trem routes is easier before doing the body outline, but I've never ever had trouble doing it after the fact. Also, see various neck pocket/angling routing jigs people have designed for inspiration (search the boards, they're out there). Making an accurate template is half the battle, and you better check it on scrap first. After that, it's simply a question of lining up templates and making the cuts.

[Mickguard]

I don't see any real difficulty doing it either way. When I was preparing the blank for one of the projects I'm starting work on, I first cut out the shape with a jigsaw. I saved the scrap which came out as three or four pieces--which obviously fit the shape of the guitar. I used these to provide support for the router as I used a template to route the body shape. Those same pieces will provide support for the router when I go to do the neck pocket and the rest.

But I also plan on preparing large templates with enough room around the pocket to provide support for the router anyway. Or you can use a jig.

All that said, there's one big advantage to routing your neck pocket first --you can make sure it's perfect before moving on to the rest of the guitar!

Because like the man said, the neck pocket's probably the most important part of your guitar...so you can screw up after 2 hours into the project or you can screw up after 20 hours into the project.

For the second project I'm starting--both share the same body shape--I'll be doing the neck pocket first. I only did the body shape first on the other because it's the minor project and I needed to prototype the shape first.

Your choice.

[Marzocchi705]

For the guitar im doing right now, i did it befor, the next guitar i will do it after, using Myka's neck pocket jig.

[Drak]

This is the way I almost always do my guitars. Maybe more information than you asked for. I couldn't imagine doing it any other way (for me anyway) this way, for me, makes the most logical sense, there is an order to all the steps which I almost always follow.

1. Establish centerline of guitar

2. Route body to final shape

3. Route neck pocket

4. Route rear control cavity

5. Route rear neck access

6. Route bridge pkp (sometimes all pkp cavities)

7. Drill pot holes

8. Cut 5-way slot

9. Drill pkp connector hole thru neck pocket to bridge pkp

10. Drill connector hole from bridge pkp to control cavity

11. Cut rear contour into back

12. Mark strap button holes and output jack hole

13. Route roundover onto body (unless it's going to get binding)

14. Drill output jack hole w/ 7/8 Forstner bit

15. Final sanding of sides and top/back before finishing starts

[Jehle]

This is the way I almost always do my guitars. Maybe more information than you asked for. I couldn't imagine doing it any other way (for me anyway) this way, for me, makes the most logical sense, there is an order to all the steps which I almost always follow.

1.  Establish centerline of guitar

2.  Route body to final shape

3.  Route neck pocket

4.  Route rear control cavity

5.  Route rear neck access

6.  Route bridge pkp (sometimes all pkp cavities)

7.  Drill pot holes

8.  Cut 5-way slot

9.  Drill pkp connector hole thru neck pocket to bridge pkp

10. Drill connector hole from bridge pkp to control cavity

11. Cut rear contour into back

12. Mark strap button holes and output jack hole

13. Route roundover onto body (unless it's going to get binding)

14. Drill output jack hole w/ 7/8 Forstner bit

15. Final sanding of sides and top/back before finishing starts

←

16. Feed W.O.D.

Sorry, couldn't resist that.

[Mickguard]

I'd go with Drak's list...nice.

Except, I'd add a preamble --practice.

That is, practice all of your moves on scrap wood before you commit to your body blank.

Especially when you're getting ready to do something you've never tried before. Practicing first has spared me a lot of major mistakes.

So every time I'm going to do something potentially damaging, I try it on scrap wood a couple times first. Because I always screw up the first couple of tries.