Neck Pocket

[URIIADDIVME]

Hi this be my 1st post here.

I only get online a couple hours a week.

I have a nearly completed almost mahogany like, tele-like body and a neck. The neck pocket is maybe 1/8" -3/16" narrower than the neck. Any good usefull tips on resizing before I fire up the router? The neck fits Fender bodies.

[verhoevenc]

Clamp the neck on EXACTLY where you want it to be, centered up, etc. Maybe get the pencil and ruler out and even mark things up (I know that might sounds like a band idea with the finish, but you wanna make sure you re-route it NICE and straight!). Then take some double stick tape and 1/2" mdf strips (with STRAIGHT sides, can get and cut at homedepot for cheap) and stick them on both sides of the neck up close to the neck as you can. Then take away the neck and put another one where you want the pocket to END if you're elongating it... but I doubt you are. Then go ahead and fire up the router with a bearing following template bit and juse use those straight MDF strips to follow and route. You should get a nice tight pocket (if you wanna make it a SET neck, put a strip of duct tape on the sides of the MDF that the router will be following, this will make the pocket ever slightly tighter than the MDF strips and therefore tight enough to a good glue joint.

Chris

[Mickguard]

I use long square metal rails and a lot of clamps --I use the double sided tape for most things, but for this kind of thing I don't trust it enough. The tape still gives a little bit, at least for me it does.

I also use a laser level to line the neck up exactly along the center line...that laser thing was the best 9 euros I've spent in a long time.

My bearing bit tends to give me a slightly undersized pocket anyway, so I don't bother lining it.

[verhoevenc]

yeah, i'm about to attach two necks, i really should get me one of those lasers.

Chris

[Mattia]

Good doublestick tape (thinner is better, I like the clear stuff with fibreglass embedded in it) is pressure-sensitive; I quite literally use a cam clamp to fix the template in place before using it, although it does make it a bit of a pain to remove them later. If I can, though, I'll screw them down as well as use a minimal amount of tape (ie, screw where the pickup routes will be.)

[verhoevenc]

yup, the thin clear fiberglass stuff is what i use, it doesn't stick so good right away, but push it down for a couple secs and it's HARD to get off sometimes. that's the ONLY issue i'd have with putting it on a finished guitar like i think he's talking about. it COULD pull off finish????? (that's a question).

Chris

[URIIADDIVME]

Thanks-

I'll let you know how it comes out, but not till it stops raining, (she chased me outside).