Routing The Neck Angle

[avengers63]

I did a search and came up blank. So...

The standard thickness dot a neck pocket is 5/8". When you're routing the neck angle, do you shoot for the depth on the body side or on the end of the pocket? My gut says on the body side, but I want to make sure.

[WezV]

drawing everything out in side profile with your chosen bridge will tell you all you need to know!!!

[avengers63]

It didn't confirm my gut, but it DID confirm that 3-degrees is right. So... I'll go with my gut. It LOOKS like the depth mark should be on the body side of the pocket, so that's where it's going.

[Drak]

Wez is correct, you're going to have to figure it out for yourself, but I think I know what you're asking.

And my answer is, I always like the neck to be 'buried' into the pocket right up to the edge of the fretboard, as deep as possible.

The standard 5/8" is for typical Fender guitars, but they always have a pickguard, and I never use pickguards, so I like to bury my necks deeper, but in doing so, I have to make a slight angle to compensate for doing that.

Dig what I'm sayin'?

You can make it either way, the 5/8" at either end will work, but you -will- have to either draw it out or find a way to mock it up or you can wind up in trouble.

If you use the 5/8" at the end of the pocket, and using an angle, to me, the neck would stick up too proud of the body for my tastes.

[erikbojerik]

If you use the 5/8" at the end of the pocket, and using an angle, to me, the neck would stick up too proud of the body for my tastes.

And you might find it hard to get your pickups close enough to the strings if they are really high off the deck.....

[SJE-Guitars]

Agree with Drax here.

As I like to use spokewheel truss rods my necks always have a 5mm fretboard over hang at the back to make things cleaner looking. I always make sure that the fretboard overhang sits flush with the top of the body regardless of what neck angle is being used. In general now I only use a 1.5 degree angle and recess the T-o-M - as for 5/8" the heel on my necks is usual 20mm (which is just over 25/32" for you imperial folk).

[Muzz]

Nothing like direct measurement in addition to the plan, you can do the following technique to ensure the angle will work, put your bridge on the body, measure how many millimitres you need the strings to rise. On a flat top this should be equal to the height of the bridge, minus the thickness of the binding on the neck (from the bottom of the binding to the top of the fret).

If you use a neck pocket routing template that reaches back to the bridge position, put a paddlepop stick under your neck pocket template in between the pickup positions to get the angle, adjust the paddlepop stick back and forward until the rise at the bridge is perfect. Fix the template in place.

Route the neck pocket, the strings should just rest on the fretboard when the bridge is fully lowered, so minimal raising of the bridge is needed to get the desired action.

Edited March 27, 2009 by Muzz