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Posted

Does anyone have expirience in using these threaded metal inserts for bolt-on necks? I like the concept of having not worry about loosing the contour of the "wooden thread" if you swap necks often, but I wonder if using these metal inserts has a negative influence on the sustain&tone of the guitar.

Posted

thats a damn good idea

when i get round to building my guitar im planning on having that sort of thing for pickgaurds and cavity covers. makes things alot easier if you're changing electronics alot lol

Posted

i've been thinking about those, they weren't available localy so i kinda dropped the idea, but it seems like a good feature to have on a custom guitar that isn't available on mass produced guitars :D

Posted

Why couldn't you use a "t" nut that is available at any hardware store? I thought of using that on my basses and guitars but never got around to it. The "t" nut is just a threaded insert with a star on top thats folded over (tabs) to keep it from spinning when you torque it. I thought if I recessed the area where the star went I would have wood to wood contact between the neck and body, essentially the same as they are doing for about 50 cents a hole. They only take a few minutes to install.

Here's a fancy one but it's basically the same as what you can find at the local hardware store.

StaFast T Nut

Posted

They don't all flare. A typical t-nut presses in and is held in by the tabs sinking into the wood (and if you want, a little wood glue).

Here's a standard one - and check out the price - 14 cents apiece!!

t-nut

Sorry for the confusion by posting the Stafast brand. :D

  • 2 years later...
Posted

I used to work at a guitar repair facility.

We used to install threaded inserts into guitars with bolt on necks. It has a verry profound positive effect on on the way the guitar feels when handeling it, its sustain, and its tone. This inprovement was noticed on every guitar that we did this upgrade to. All of my guitars with bolt on necks have this done to them.

The process that we used in the shop was. 1.to remove the neck from the guitar. 2.place the neck on a jig that held the flat part, that bolts to the body, perpendicular to a drill bit in a drill press. 3.drill out all four holes that were in the neck, from the wood screws, with the corect size drill bit. (practice on a piece of scrap) using a stop that would not let the drill go through the face of the fretboard. 4.tap the hole with the correct threads for the inserts. 5.thread the inserts into the threaded holes until they are just below the surface of the wood. 6.drill the holes in the body out so that the new screws will slide through, where the old screws were,with a small amount of slop. 7.install the neck back on the guitar using stainless steel 10-32 screws.

The guitar will feel different even before re stringing it.

This is a great way to breathe more life into a cheap electric.

A source for the inserts is below. I remember them being ez loc brand.

http://www.mcmaster.com/

Threaded Neck Inserts Part Number: 90248A068 These are a threaded insert that is made for use in metal, with a thick wall. The internal thread is 10-32 and a external thread of 3/8-16. I do not remember if the ones that I installed were these or ones with a 5/16-18 outer thread.

Stainless Steel Neck Screws These Screws are an oval head screw with a phillips head with a thread of 10-32 I think that I used were 1 1/4 long. It just depends on the guitar they are to be used on.

T nuts would work but they would need to be installed in the neck from the fretboard side. this will only work if you are making the neck and can install the t nuts before the fretboard goes on. the other problem with t nuts is that if they get stripped they are installed behind the fretboard.

I strongly recomend the use of these inserts. If you do not feel comfortable doing the work, find someone who does and have them do it. If the angle of the insert is not straight the neck might not bold back on correctly.

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