olyen Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Gentleman i made this bolt on guitar and ended up with a huge gap in the neck pocket ,i would like to have ideas of how to fill this out or really i shouldnt worry,i made 4 set necks guitars and this is my fifth guitar you wouldthink i learned by now but i didnt and theres always something that goes wrong in my buildings but anyways i know i am learning, i would appreciate any thoughts on this, and if someone could tell me how can i post a picture? or am I not allowed ,i dont know i am very new to all this, thank you guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Set up an account with Photobucket, then add the links to the photos into your post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyen Posted November 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 i ll try that thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyen Posted November 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 i ll try that thanks. i didnt think i would have room for the tuners,i luckily did http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d47/olyen/Picture048.jpg i ll never unveil the mistery making the recessed knobs they are always terrible http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d47/olyen/Picture049.jpg there s the gap i was talking about http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d47/olyen/Picture045.jpg http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d47/olyen/Picture044.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 olyen, its not that bad from what I can tell. Production bolt ons have come with much worse gaps than that. I think it looks like a pretty good guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyen Posted November 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 olyen, its not that bad from what I can tell. Production bolt ons have come with much worse gaps than that. I think it looks like a pretty good guitar. ← thanks, i think i looks good eventhough i am aware of the many things i d like to change or do better i would just like to improve that area in the pocket , i ve been thinking of maybe a dark wood veneer glued to the sides of the pocket, i dont know yet,any other opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 I know how you can fill the gap but that is all that will be accomplished. The area will still be noticeable, that is, won't blend with the finish. But it will still prevent the neck from moving. Tape all faces on the butt of the neck with 3M blue masking tape, that includes the bottom. Fire up a candle and smear the melted wax all over the blue masking tape. Make sure there is a good layer of wax on the sides/butt of the neck. Also tape up the top of the guitar surrounding the neck pocket to cover and protect the finish. Mask the bottom face of the neck pocket as well. Make up a batch of 5 minute, 2-part epoxy and layer it onto the inside surfaces of the neck pocket that you want to build up. Try to avoid getting any on the bottom. Its ok, its covered in tape but you still don't want to alter the way the neck fits. Insert the neck and tighten it in until the epoxy squeezes out. Clean up the mess and wait for the epoxy to set. When set the waxed areas will not bond to the epoxy so the neck should just pop out. But be careful just the same. Then you can trim, sand or whatever the epoxied edge smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyen Posted November 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 i have this question,do you guys think this wil improve or otherwise affect the sustain on the guitar or it really it s not that big a deal ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 How does it sound?That is the real issue. Plug and play to find out for yourself. Some guitars (basses especially) have virtually no "pocket" they are just bolted on, the most important contact areas are the bottom of the neck pocket and the heel of the neck. If those are solid then it should be ok, that is not to say that a tight neck pocket is not desireable. You may have problems with the neck twisting within the pocket if it is not secured tight enough, I have seen this problem in a couple of Fenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyen Posted November 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 How does it sound?That is the real issue. Plug and play to find out for yourself. Some guitars (basses especially) have virtually no "pocket" they are just bolted on, the most important contact areas are the bottom of the neck pocket and the heel of the neck. If those are solid then it should be ok, that is not to say that a tight neck pocket is not desireable. You may have problems with the neck twisting within the pocket if it is not secured tight enough, I have seen this problem in a couple of Fenders. ← true ,but you also want it to look right ,specially cause you are always gonna know its there and be thinking that is a sloopy job, i ve been checking the strats in the store and they all look pretty tight to me ,but then again ,i have many more guitars to come ,it is a disease already started 10 months ago now i cant stop it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 Olyen, that's why they invented pickguards...if you look under the hood of a lot of pickguards, you'll find similar issues. But it seems I'm one of the few around here who think pickguards are part of a guitar's structural design! But you have that truss rod cavity, so I'm assuming you'll be using some kind of guard? Just make sure it goes all the way up the side of the neck then. Anyway, the gap doesn't look bad at all. Maybe you didn't seat the neck perfectly? Looks like it shifted over a little it was being bolted down --in the first photo, at least, it doesn't look like the neck is perfectly centered to the center line on the body. But it's just a photo, in real life maybe it is. I can't believe it'll have any effect on tone/sustain at all, or very minimal (basically inaudible) if any. I gather the true transfer happens on the bottom of the joint, where the heel presses against the body. If that's tight, it's all you need (look at a lot of Danelectros, they have virtually no neck pocket to speak of) And I built a METAL SHIM for my telecaster--and it sounds great. So look at problems like this with a little creativity --for example, you could easily craft a hidden shim from your maple scrap --slip that down the side of the neck. No one will see it, but it'll completely tighten down the neck against the side. You could also craft the shim to come all the way up-- stain it to match the rest of the guitar. It'll barely be visible (from within 3 feet--more than that, it'll be basically invisible). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian d Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 Nice guitar, man. What's the fingerboard wood? Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 Olyen, that's why they invented pickguards...← Olyen, how thick is that "gauge" you're using? If it's as thin as it looks (thinner than a business card), I wouldn't worry about the gap. As far as sustain, there's another thread containing words like "opinion" and "theory" and "voodoo." We won't rehash that here. If the guitar sounds good to you, that's all that matters (unless you have a paying customer, but that's another thread entirely ). It looks great to me. I hope mine comes out that good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyen Posted November 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 Olyen, that's why they invented pickguards...← Olyen, how thick is that "gauge" you're using? If it's as thin as it looks (thinner than a business card), I wouldn't worry about the gap. As far as sustain, there's another thread containing words like "opinion" and "theory" and "voodoo." We won't rehash that here. If the guitar sounds good to you, that's all that matters (unless you have a paying customer, but that's another thread entirely ). It looks great to me. I hope mine comes out that good. ← thank you all gentlemen for your replies i dont think i wanna put a pickguard on this guitar but it is a good point, also the fingerboard i was told buy my wood supplier it is bolivian rosewood,the i have seen pictures of black limba that looks like that too ,but i dont know ,the gap is as thick as a business card but i am not gonna worry anymore i ll put a maple shim on it and get done with it ,i will put the guitar together the next week when i am ready to buff it and all, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cletus Blackwater Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 That's a beautiful guitar. I love the fretboard. I wouldn't worry too much about the gap, it doesn't look bad in the pictures. Looking forward to seeing it finished. -CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted November 6, 2005 Report Share Posted November 6, 2005 Olyen, that's why they invented pickguards...← Not another pickguard suggestion, LOL, you and your pickguards!!! the gap is as thick as a business card but i am not gonna worry anymore i ll put a maple shim on it and get done with it ,i will put the guitar together the next week when i am ready to buff it and all, ← The idea of a venner like you mentioned above is pretty common! But the size of the space left to be filled is not thick enough for a venner. I had a gap similar to that on my blue strat and it was from factory, and what I did was to cover just the bottom of the neck pocket while refinishing, so that the clear will "build up" a bit more thickness in the area, and it worked great! Did you made this neck? Or the engraved name is from the person that made it? Very nice top also, how thick it is 1" anyway, post more pics once you are done, great job so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyen Posted November 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2005 Did you made this neck? Or the engraved name is from the person that made it? Very nice top also, how thick it is 1" anyway, post more pics once you are done, great job so far! ← yes that is my name and i built the neck from scratch ,it is my sixth or seventh, the first i do with flame maple cause iwas told it was like super hard to do and it is harder than mahogany but not imposible,the top is very close to 1 inch , i love it and i wish i could do more justice to this wood ,but my finishing skills are just not there yet, i only have nine months since i got into this whole new world for me ,i played since i was twelve but i ve never known anything about a guitar except for tuning it ,anyways i will post more pics when i finish it,thank for your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakeish Posted November 6, 2005 Report Share Posted November 6, 2005 I'm not an experienced builder by any means, but I did have a similar problem with my neck pocket, as I routed it too large by FAR to fit my warmoth neck before it arrived in the mail....oh well, a lesson in patience. I also dont think my suggestion is rather pertinent, as you seemed to already finish the guitar, but uhm, what I did with my larger pocket was just shim up and glue in some more maple and then painstakingly reroute the pocket and sand till it fit snugly....sure, my maple is a little lighter than I used in the pocket, but oh well, it'sa 1st guitar, and I'm willing to make sacrifices in asthetics.... here's a picture where you can see what I'm talking about.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 yes that is my name and i built the neck from scratch ,it is my sixth or seventh, the first i do with flame maple cause iwas told it was like super hard to do and it is harder than mahogany Yes it is a bit harder than mahogany, but not as hard to dig in as birds eye maple or ebony. It turned out very nice so far! My first figured wood guitar was also almost 1" (15/16 to be exact) and it turned out great. Here is a pic, this is also my fist stain job! finishing figured wood have been disscussed to death here so just do a search for stain jobs or go to the tutorial section and learn a bit more for your next one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyen Posted November 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 maiden i really like your blue guitar,man u did an awesome job, i dont know how u could pull that off in ur first try, i ve read a lot about it , but i guess you gotta have the touch or do it a few times too till you get it nece ,wich is what i do for the most part ,i just keep trying and i is getting better everytime ,i am waiting for my pickups for this guitar and i guess another week of drying time cause that is something ive been doing in the past just waiting for about 3 or 4 days and buffing the guitar ,and it hasnt been a good idea to my experience anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted November 12, 2005 Report Share Posted November 12, 2005 Thanks Daniel, yes this was my first!!! All I did was practice on scrap that was left from the actual top. Once I got close to what I wanted I went to the guitar itself. Were are you located? I can tell english is not your 1st language (or you got strong symptoms of computer player talking ) Any way, yes it is a good idea to wait, and I think that I will start waiting atleast 2-3 weeks from now on, since the last 2 I have done I polished after a few days and after a month or so the paint recessed a little bit and I had to wet sand and polish again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyen Posted November 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2005 Yes ,I am from the distant lands of Peru,english is not spoken in my country,currently living in PA for the last two years ,so yeah i have problems with my english still ,but also i never learned to type the right way,so I do what i can, anyways I am gonna wait and today i decided i d put a darker color in the back just to hide a couple of things i didnt like, and man i hate runs ,with all my heart,i really hate them ,i was careful ,because i happened to me before a number of times ,do you know if it is that the mc fadden laquer is thinner than the behlen and more likely to run ? cause it s been happening to me more with this brand since i got it just recently,thanks for any comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted November 13, 2005 Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 I can't answer on that, since so far all I haved used is spray can paint. But there will be some one here that might be able to answer! Just wait a bit. There are a few spanish speaking people here, so don't feel bad about your english. I still got problems and I have been in the states for about 7 yrs now! Well later, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyen Posted November 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 [well, i finally did the final sanding and the buffing today and i started to put it together,i took my time with the sanding and iam really happy with the way it turned out, my best finish so far ,i haven done the back i am gonna wait for one more week,anyways here is some pics http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d47/olyen/Picture229.jpg http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d47/olyen/Picture224.jpg http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d47/olyen/Picture240.jpg http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d47/olyen/Picture232.jpg http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d47/olyen/Picture235.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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