Overall Bolt On Neck Height And Neck Pocket Depth

[guitar2005]

It seems that the overall neck height at the heel is 1". This includes the base of the neck and the fretboard.

By using these standard dimensions and varying the neck pocket depth, one can adjust for different types of bridges.

So the question is, if everyone uses the same basic bolt on neck contruction in terms of height, there must be known neck pocket depths corresponding to different bridge configurations (assuming a flat guitar top):

Non Floating Floyd,

Floating Floyd

Recessed floating Floyd

TOM

Recessed TOM

Hardtail

Fender/Wilkinson style trem

There should be known numbers for a flat neck pocket and for an angled pocket. Some of you will say to draw it out and calculate it out, but I'd like to have some real numbers, from people that have actually done this.

[SwedishLuthier]

Sorry if I make you disappointed, but there is no such thing as a standard measure that everybody uses. OK, most people use roughly the same size used by Fender. But roughly is just that. If the thickness of the neck varies by 1/8”, the action will vary by roughly 1/16” and that is quite a lot. And another thing. Most people use a neck angle instead of different neck pocket depths to adjust a guitar to, for instance, a TOM. And what about a recessed TOM? Well, there are no standards of how deep a recessed TOM actually is recessed. Therefore you will not get an answer that will work for every recessed TOM.

So I know of no other alternative than to do exactly what you are suggesting; draw it out on a piece of paper.

[scott from _actual time_]

but I'd like to have some real numbers, from people that have actually done this.

i routed a neck pocket today. i don't have any universal numbers, but i can tell you what i do.

the bolt-on bodies i'm building lately are copies of the Ibanez Sabre, which is a loosely Strat-sized but contoured body for a 22-fret neck. the neck heel looks very similar to a 22-fret Strat neck, with the rounded heel and the very short fretboard extention over the end of the heel. most of the Sabres (but not all) use the Ibanez floyd-style trem, and it is recessed into the body. the neck pocket is 3/4" deep.

[TeiscosRock]

I've been playing with the idea of using a shallow neck pocket to compensate for a TOM (wanting to get the feel of my Teisco copy - with the strings way up off the body), instead of using a neck angle. I also don't feel like trying to angle a bolt on neck.

[guitar2005]

I've been playing with the idea of using a shallow neck pocket to compensate for a TOM (wanting to get the feel of my Teisco copy - with the strings way up off the body), instead of using a neck angle. I also don't feel like trying to angle a bolt on neck.

Actually, an angled bolt on neck pocket is fairly simple, assuming that you have a router and a neck pocket template to guide the router on.

1) Rout the neck pocket flat. The depth should set the shallowest point in the final neck pocket.

2) Using shims, angle the template at 2 degrees (or whatever angle you desire), lineup the template with the already routed template and route the angle.

[erikbojerik]

It is also easy to do this on the rectangular body blank, before you cut the body outline.