Neck And Body Don't Bolt Together Properly

[guitarman3242000]

I recently bought a new stratocaster neck for my strat body. I new I was taking a risk in the first place because there was no way of knowing whether the neck would fit the body. Sure enough the 4 points where the screws connect the neck to the body don't line up properly and the end result leaves my neck slightly crooked so my high E-string almost hangs on the edge of the fretboard.

I am looking for easy advice or solutions to end this problem. Last resort (if nothing else works) is to buy a body that will fit the neck.

The neck is Stratocaster and so is the body.

[killemall8]

take off the neck, plug the existing holes on the neck with wood dowls and glue. sand flush, and then drill holes that fit and match your body. its that easy.

[MiKro]

take off the neck, plug the existing holes on the neck with wood dowls and glue. sand flush, and then drill holes that fit and match your body. its that easy.

Killemall,

Wooden dowels in the suggested use, expose end grain to the screws, not much strength, whereas maple plugs, set properly with the grain and glued will be much more secure. Just my .02cents!!!

MK

[Mickguard]

Before you go any further, make sure the new neck matches the scale too--- assuming the neck and body are both 25.5" scale, measure from the nut to the saddle of the high-e string, with the neck in place.

Because if the original neck was a 21-fretter and the new neck has 22 frets or vice versa, the neck won't work.

Once you've established that the neck will work, then you can plug.

But just to be clear, when killemall says to sand, he means only the dowels, NOT the heel. Don't sand the heel at all.

You're better off cutting the plugs a little short, so you won't have to worry about sanding. If the plugs are long, use a razor blade to shave them down level with the heel.

When the glue's dry, clamp the neck into the pocket (use one of those pump-action clamps, so you don't damage the fretboard or finish, or better yet, just get someone to hold the neck in place for you), then you can mark the new hole positions before drilling into the heel.

[mammoth guitars]

take off the neck, plug the existing holes on the neck with wood dowls and glue. sand flush, and then drill holes that fit and match your body. its that easy.

Killemall,

Wooden dowels in the suggested use, expose end grain to the screws, not much strength, whereas maple plugs, set properly with the grain and glued will be much more secure. Just my .02cents!!!

MK

The holes in the body are through holes that do not require strength for the screw to connect, the screws bolt to the neck not the body.

[MiKro]

take off the neck, plug the existing holes on the neck with wood dowls and glue. sand flush, and then drill holes that fit and match your body. its that easy.

Killemall,

Wooden dowels in the suggested use, expose end grain to the screws, not much strength, whereas maple plugs, set properly with the grain and glued will be much more secure. Just my .02cents!!!

MK

The holes in the body are through holes that do not require strength for the screw to connect, the screws bolt to the neck not the body.

I understand the holes in the body are through holes. Killmall suggested plugging the neck holes. Even then I would go for plugging the body vs. plugging the neck and I would still use plugs instead of dowels.

MK

Edited September 13, 2007 by MiKro

[Bainzy]

Because if the original neck was a 21-fretter and the new neck has 22 frets or vice versa, the neck won't work.

Pretty much 99.9% of Strat necks that have the extra 22nd fret are 25.5" scale length just like the 21 fret necks - it's just a fretboard extension in most cases and doesn't alter the scale length at all.

[Mickguard]

Because if the original neck was a 21-fretter and the new neck has 22 frets or vice versa, the neck won't work.

Pretty much 99.9% of Strat necks that have the extra 22nd fret are 25.5" scale length just like the 21 fret necks - it's just a fretboard extension in most cases and doesn't alter the scale length at all.

I'm not talking about the scale of the neck itself, since as you say, most of them are the correct scale (although not all--I have a Jackson-like here that is Gibson scale). I'm talking about matching the scale of the neck to the neck pocket/bridge placement of the body.

I've seen a lot of aftermarket necks --especially those pulled off of Chinese-built guitars--that have 22 frets with no extension. And since many of these Chinese built guitars have 22-fret necks with no extensions, a lot of the bodies you'll find (on ebay that is, since they're parted from the same bodies as the necks) won't work with a 21-fret neck, or with a 22-fret neck with an extension.

Since I don't know what kind of neck he has, nor what the original neck for this body was like, I'm suggesting that he make certain he has the proper neck before he starts in plugging holes etc.

[GregP]

Bainzy didn't mean scale, he just meant the location of the heel. For 22-fret necks, it's often just a fingerboard extension and therefore the heel is in the right spot for aftermarket retrofit.

However, we don't know that this is the case-- so Mick's advice to measure it up of course still stands.

[brian d]

I'm no expert on Strats, but I'm concerned about the description in the original post that "the end result leaves my neck slightly crooked so my high E-string almost hangs on the edge of the fretboard". Wherever the screw holes are, I would have thought that the heel can't be placed in the pocket at any other position than where it should be....maybe the screw holes won't line up, but I don't see how the neck can be in the pocket and still have the the neck crooked. Maybe there's a lot of slop in the pocket that allows this?

Guitarman, maybe you could post a photo?

Brian.

[Mickguard]

Maybe there's a lot of slop in the pocket that allows this?

Guitarman, maybe you could post a photo?

From what I've seen, the only bolt on neck pockets that are so snug that the neck can't move are the ones you build yourself.

But yeah, photos and more information will help a lot.