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Acoustic Neck Set Problem **help**


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I am flipping out a little.

So I am at the last few steps of completing this Stewmac 000 kit (mahogany) and yesterday I just glued in the dovetail neck. I did all the measurements and adjustments and the neck seemed to be in all the right places. The only problem was that when I set the neck in the dovetail joint and leaned it back so that the heel was making full contact with the body, the fretboard extension was raised up over the top by about 1/8". I figured that this was because it bowed when I fretted it. If I leaned it the other way and had the fretboard touching the top, the heel was raised up way too far to make sense... so I concluded it was just bowed and could be fixed by clamping the fretboard down when I glued the neck in.

I glued it all up and everything looks so nice... only one problem... a big problem. The fretboard extension glued down nice and flat to the top and if I put a straightedge on the frets from 12 down, it will just graze the top of the bridge, just like it's supposed to. From the 11th fret upwards though is a different story! The neck bends back from the 12th fret creating a slight inverted V shape... you know what I mean? It's like it's angled too far back... Here... I'm gonna put in a picture for ya:

Please help me figure out how to fix this... the guitar was coming along so nicely.. I was so proud of myself for taking my time and not rushing! Plus it was like $425!

Picture will be coming soon... gotta figure out how to do it!

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I am flipping out a little.

So I am at the last few steps of completing this Stewmac 000 kit (mahogany) and yesterday I just glued in the dovetail neck. I did all the measurements and adjustments and the neck seemed to be in all the right places. The only problem was that when I set the neck in the dovetail joint and leaned it back so that the heel was making full contact with the body, the fretboard extension was raised up over the top by about 1/8". I figured that this was because it bowed when I fretted it. If I leaned it the other way and had the fretboard touching the top, the heel was raised up way too far to make sense... so I concluded it was just bowed and could be fixed by clamping the fretboard down when I glued the neck in.

I glued it all up and everything looks so nice... only one problem... a big problem. The fretboard extension glued down nice and flat to the top and if I put a straightedge on the frets from 12 down, it will just graze the top of the bridge, just like it's supposed to. From the 11th fret upwards though is a different story! The neck bends back from the 12th fret creating a slight inverted V shape... you know what I mean? It's like it's angled too far back... Here... I'm gonna put in a picture for ya:

Please help me figure out how to fix this... the guitar was coming along so nicely.. I was so proud of myself for taking my time and not rushing! Plus it was like $425!

So... I can't figure out how to post a picture... any suggestions?

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The way you explained it makes sense, but to upload a picture, first you need to upload it to someplace on the internet (like photobucket), and then link to it. In the meantime, don't panic. :D There are some really smart guys that hang around here, and that sounds like a fixable problem. What did you use to glue down your fretboard?

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I don't know what state those stewmac kits come in. Was the bracing already on the top? If not did you build in the correct radius? There is no reason why when the heel is touching the body that the fingerboard would need to be 1/8" above the top, unless the top was very flat. But if that is the case don't sweat it, it is possible to unglue the fingerboard extension and make a shim to fit under it to get you the right angle. It wouldn't be ideal, but it would fix your problem.

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There are a couple of tricks that I know work for removing a fretboard from a neck. I've never tried it to remove a fretboard from a soundboard, but I'd guess it would be ok, as long as the binding didn't come unglued underneath.

Rather than rigging up a steam system, I know of two proven methods. The first is to use a heat gun, which shouldn't cost much. The second is to put a towel over the top of your fretboard and then just use an iron. You might want to double up the towel, or quadruple it, just depending on what works. If you really want moisture, you could use a wet towel, but since you used Titebond, I really think you just need heat. I wouldn't introduce moisture unless it was absolutely necessary.

The other tool you'll need is a razor blade. As the glue gets hot, you'll slide the razor blade under the fretboard a little bit at a time. It'll be off before you know it.

-Dave

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My first impression looking at the photo is that the angle on the heel is wrong. It seems as if some material needs to come off the heel i.e. from the heel cap you take off 0mm to 1mm at the top of the heel just underneath the fretboard. That should bring the headstock up and the end of the fretboard toward the top.

But before you take anything off measure it yourself.

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My first impression looking at the photo is that the angle on the heel is wrong. It seems as if some material needs to come off the heel i.e. from the heel cap you take off 0mm to 1mm at the top of the heel just underneath the fretboard. That should bring the headstock up and the end of the fretboard toward the top.

But before you take anything off measure it yourself.

You need to go real slow also, when you take it off, you can tear the top pretty easy if you get hasyty. I tried removing backbraces from a back, and the heatgun scortched the back wood (too close) but the braces never budged (Hide Glue). I now have a practice glue up woods with hhg Im working on, just to practice this sort of thing.

Go real slow, like this would take 1 hour minimum.

Then, you might want to figure out how to clean the joint glue without much fuss for the next batch of glue. Not a fun deal to clean, and not easy to take the neck off without a bolt on neck.

Good luck.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It looks like the neck heel is not at the correct angle. This could be due to the actual heel angle, the angle of the neck block in relation to the top and back, or something else altogether. Hard to say from the picks but that angle is dramatic. I am surprised you didn't notice it before you glued the neck in.

This is the danger of building from kits that try to take care of all the hard stuff for you. Thinking things through for yourself makes sure that things like this don't just happen. Do yourself a favor and get this book and build it from scratch next time starting with a full scale drawing. Then you will not have any surprises.

~David

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It looks like the neck heel is not at the correct angle. This could be due to the actual heel angle, the angle of the neck block in relation to the top and back, or something else altogether. Hard to say from the picks but that angle is dramatic. I am surprised you didn't notice it before you glued the neck in.

This is the danger of building from kits that try to take care of all the hard stuff for you. Thinking things through for yourself makes sure that things like this don't just happen. Do yourself a favor and get this book and build it from scratch next time starting with a full scale drawing. Then you will not have any surprises.

~David

Was the neck angle checked with a straight edge going up to the bridge area??

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I think a call to Stewmac is in order as it is obvious that the machining was not was correct on the neck block or neck heel. UNLESS you have changed something? I would think that they would have the correct angle for the neck block to heel, to work?

Just my crazy odd .03cents :D

MK

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I can see that your neck is angled too far down at the body causing you to clamp down the fingerboard to meet the top. Didnt the instructions talk about checking the fit first?

Just as a follow up on your situation for others. If there is a problem don't finish the procedure. Remove the pieces clean up the glue and figure out what went wrong first. Easier then having to do major surgery.

Also you can use a rubber tube and an espresso maker to generate steam, attach the tube to the steam portion of the machine add a metal tube at the working end (ace hardware sells metal tubes and probably rubber hoses).

Another solution is remove the frets and re-sand the fret board until you remove the drop off. A slight drop off at the higher frets is not a problem, we are talking slight. This procedure assumes that the drop off is slight to begin with after the 12th fret and not severe (let us know how much of a drop) and that changing the fretboard angle does not ruin the string height off the bridge. You say it is correct until the 12th fret or body connection so sanding may create more problems.

You can also ignore it and dont play far above the 12th fret since it will not effect the first 12 frets.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Do you really play up there on a non-cutaway acoustic?

If the answer is no, then this "problem" is only cosmetic-do nothing.

If the answer is yes, then there could be many culprits.

Check out Frets.com Frank ford has very good photo essays. His site will show you how to diagnose action issues.

If you want to fix it you will need to remove the neck, and seperate the glue joint between the f/b and the top.

Rather than rigging up a steam system, I know of two proven methods. The first is to use a heat gun, which shouldn't cost much.

While this is true for seperating the fingerboard, you will burn the wood long before you soften the glue in the neckjoint.

The only good way to remove a glued on neckneck is with steam heat.

To fix this do one of two things.

Change the heel angle if the neck angle is wrong.

Shim the fingerboard extension if the neck angle is right.

If your bridge and saddle are the correct hight, your nut has the correct string heights, and 12th fret action is good, then DO NOT change the neck angle, it will fix one problem and cause another (much bigger) problem.

If you change the neck angle and it was correct all along, then your guitar will have horrible action at every fret rather than just the seldom used ones.

Spend some time with either a good library book (I reccomend Dan Erlewine's book) or frank ford's site or both.

If the neck angle is correct, you want to fix this and you are afraid to steam a neck, then you might be able to get by with just removing the fingerboard, inserting a tapered shim, and wicking in some glue.

Most acoustics have the fingerboard actension slope down slightly.

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