al heeley Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 I'm half way thru an ebay partscaster project, the neck was way high of the body so I got the pocket routed a little deeper. Now it's gone a bit too much the other way and the saddles are right down on the deck to try and get a reasonable action. I need a neck shim, probably 2mm at the bridge end to 1.5mm-1.0mm at the neck end to bring the height back up again and give a tiny bit of back-tilt. Am I best off trying to shave a thin wedge of wood to fit into the entire neck pocket, or do something with some strips of metal sheeting? I'm worried if its not all snug and tight the tone will be dull and lifeless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 I'm half way thru an ebay partscaster project, the neck was way high of the body so I got the pocket routed a little deeper. Now it's gone a bit too much the other way and the saddles are right down on the deck to try and get a reasonable action. I need a neck shim, probably 2mm at the bridge end to 1.5mm-1.0mm at the neck end to bring the height back up again and give a tiny bit of back-tilt. Am I best off trying to shave a thin wedge of wood to fit into the entire neck pocket, or do something with some strips of metal sheeting? I'm worried if its not all snug and tight the tone will be dull and lifeless. i generally use two different types of material for neck shims..coke cans and veneer...whichever i have on hand. in my head it seems like the can is better because it won't compress. it cuts easily with scissors and you can stack a couple of pieces to get the height that you want. i can't honestly say that i've ever noticed a tone difference between a shimmed neck and a non-shimmed neck. that being said i would imagine that producing a "thin wedge of wood to fit into the entire neck pocket" would be a pretty tedious task. what you might consider is a piece of veneer to cover the entire pocket and then a seperate shim at the heel. maintain your sanity don't cha know? good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted April 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 what you might consider is a piece of veneer to cover the entire pocket and then a seperate shim at the heel Now that is a darned good idea, thanks unclej! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 Heh, we should have traded necks... I tried fitted an MIM neck in a telecaster clone body --the pocket was way too deep for the MIM neck. So I cut a steel plate (it came from the bottom of an office chair) and shaped that to fit, drilled it through. Works okay, except it still wasn't tall enough. I've decided to go ahead and build an entirely new body for the neck, it'll be easier in the long run than making this work. And I decided I'll never again attempt a parts guitar again. It's just too much work trying to get everything to fit together. Here's a thumbnail of the plate (click on it for the full size image): I can say that the sound was not significantly different --perhaps a tad brighter? Very hard to judge that kind of thing. But the sustain was there and there was nothing dull and lifeless about it. So I wouldn't worry about that part. Makes you wonder why there's so much fuss about getting a tight neck pocket, eh? I mean, hell, if you can slip a piece of cutup coke can in there and still make it play... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 what you might consider is a piece of veneer to cover the entire pocket and then a seperate shim at the heel Now that is a darned good idea, thanks unclej! you're more than welcome..hope it works for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 I use a router to make tapered wood shims. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v398/soa...ckshim12051.jpg This one goes from about zero on one end, to around .036" thickness at the bridge side of the pocket. (wasn't done drilling the holes when I snapped the photo) When the shims are this thin (around zero at the one end), it's hard to tell the guitar even has a neck shim. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v398/soa...eckinserts6.jpg But since they are tapered, they still raise the neck quite a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 Nice pics Soap - that's exactly how I'd do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted April 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 Well that worked out far better than I could have hoped. I found a couple of small sections of old wooden window blind slats, about 2mm thick, and together with a couple of thin strips of pepsi can it seems to have brought the neck beautifully into line. A quick saddle height adjust and the action is really, really nice, not bas at all for a £24 ebay Encore neck! Nearly finished now: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanb Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 A full-length tapered shim is the best way to do it, since it doesn't leave any air space. The gaps, among other things, can sometimes lead to developing a hump at the end of the neck over time. Making the shim is actually pretty easy. Rough cut out a wood blank (on a bandsaw or similar). Double-stick tape it to another wood block, belt-sand it to the proper thickness and taper, and pop it back off of the backer block. Works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.