sirspens Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 Well, I'm a noob at this, too. But, yes, the heel would be tapered, too. You can't "slip it in" from the side. It has to come in from the top. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 I just find that really strange because all of my guitars I've ever had I've been able to slip it in from the side. I'm guessing because most everything I've ever owned that was bolt on necks were ibanez all access neck joints and there's not much wood on the treble side of the cavity.  Well alright then I'll route the cavity out with the taper and slide it in from the top side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirspens Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 4 minutes ago, 2.5itim said: ....and there's not much wood on the treble side of the cavity.  That's probably the key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 Yes, the neck is usually tapered all the way from nut to heel. You need to be careful slipping the neck in and out of the pocket horizontally (ie, in the direction of the neck) rather than vertically (ie, bearing down on the fretboard). There's every possibility that the taper of the heel will pinch the treble side of the pocket and split it out as it slides past. By removing the neck that way you're effectively driving a wedge into the body at that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 Dang, I guess I've just always gotten lucky that I didn't split them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 I'm having a really hard time coming up with a headstock for this thing, I definitely want a 4x2 and this is the best I've been able to come up with so far. So, how do y'all feel about this design? Give me some insight please!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Looks pretty good to me  .  Suits the overall look and has nice straight string runs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Sure, looks good to me too. Just remember to offset the centrepoints by the radius of the string posts....plus half the gauge of the string if you're working to super-accurate tolerances/accuracies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 3 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: Looks pretty good to me  .  Suits the overall look and has nice straight string runs... That's one thing that has always bothered me with some other guitars I've owned is when the strings don't run straight from the nut to the tuner so I made sure they did by measuring out a nut, drew my lines straight and then drew the headstock to suit.  1 hour ago, Prostheta said: Sure, looks good to me too. Just remember to offset the centrepoints by the radius of the string posts....plus half the gauge of the string if you're working to super-accurate tolerances/accuracies. Ohhh thank you for that, I wasn't even thinking about the string not lining up in the middle of the post! I may actually need to make the headstock a little wider so I can measure that out and move them over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Also, my fretboard template should be here sometime today so I should be able to get my fretboard slotted, tapered and glued up sometime over the next few days depending on how my work schedule goes with the second job. One question I do have regarding my truss rod, my route is exactly .377 deep all the way down but my truss rod protrudes the top of the slot by about .01 in the middle, both ends are below the top. I made sure that there is no bow in my truss rod, so should I route my slot deeper there in the middle or should I just let the fretboard push the rod in when I clamp it up for gluing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Glad it was caught in time! When I draw out a CAD plan, I actually draw out the hardware in full in addition to screwhole points, etc. on separable layers. That way I have physical proofing, and can turn cosmetic layers off when printing out drilling location plans for templates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Same as you can engrave lines on the underside of your acrylic templates instead of cutting to provide centreline locating, etc. I bet that'll get you start thinking about making the templates in mirror image to do this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Only a compression rod should be installed with a bend. Other rods don't make use of preload since they are not physically coupled to the neck as part of the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 32 minutes ago, Prostheta said: Only a compression rod should be installed with a bend. Other rods don't make use of preload since they are not physically coupled to the neck as part of the system. Unfortunately I am computer illiterate, I'm probably the only person under 30 that has never even owned a computer lol. The only reason that I have any use for them is for work on the cnc's so the extent of my knowledge ends at g&m code. That said I could probably have my engineer here at work draw them up for me in cad but I was just planning on doing the ole pencil paper technique. So with what you said about the truss rod my route should be fine and the fretboard should get everything in there straight? Im gonna put a clamp on the rod today and see if it takes very much pressure to get it down level with the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Agh, that was me getting confused again. I noticed @sirspens' name at the top of the thread and ended up crossing wires in my brain! If the rod is fully seated underneath then that's fine. If there's a slight gap on top then you can always adding a small fillet, however that's not necessary. I wouldn't bend a rod that doesn't need it in the first place, although it shouldn't alter its function. I'd have to thinking about that. Sometimes pre-made rods need a bit of widening or deepening of the slot either end where the blocks or adjusters are. The main thing is that the whole unit seat flat along its whole length. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Yeah that's where I'm getting confused, there's only about 4 inches that sits slightly above the neck and the rest sits flush. Honestly my tight tolerance mindset is probably set into my head and this probably even a big deal but I just wanted to make sure! Maybe my rod is bowed just slightly and I can't tell from looking down it. The way I think about it is if the slot is the exact same measurement all the way down the board then the rod should fit in exactly level across the length of the board and if it doesn't then the pressure from gluing on the fretboard should push the rod down level In the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Is it totally loosened? Any minor bowing is no big deal. The amount of force required to push it straight is not going to cause any issues with your neck, unless that same force could deflect the neck itself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 I mean I guess .01 inches really isn't much, (.254mm for folks across the pond, about the same thickness as 3 pieces of notebook paper) but when I'm use to holding +/- .0005" it just seems like a mile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 I get you on that one. If it's not proud of the surface when you push it with your finger or run a straightedge over it, you're good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Agreed, and to answer a question you posed over the weekend, I always glue the fretboard to the neck bland and cut the taper to both at the same time. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 3 hours ago, ScottR said: Agreed, and to answer a question you posed over the weekend, I always glue the fretboard to the neck bland and cut the taper to both at the same time. SR Dang, I wish I would have saw this an hour ago! I cut the taper in the fret board and now can't figure out how I'm gonna make sure I keep it where I want it while glueing. There is a beetle hole around the 16th fret that I'm planning on putting a finishing nail thru but I don't know how I'm gonna keep it located on the nut end, I was kind of thinking about putting a finishing nail thru the first fret and then draw black around it before I finish it to make it look like a beetle hole. Does anyone have any suggestions? Maybe @curtisa I know you said you do it this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirspens Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 I've seen a video of an Australian builder use finish nails on the neck, then snip them off just a mm above the board, then press the fretboard into the neck, leaving an indentation where the nail snippets are, then drilling out very small holes in those spots, and thereby giving the fretboard a means by which to remain still during the gluing process. I'll see if I can find the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirspens Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 (edited) Here we go:Â Â Edited February 23, 2016 by sirspens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Sounds fairly similar to what I do. Drill a couple of 1mm holes in the 1st and last fret slots. 1mm is small enough to be hidden under the fret when it gets installed. Position the fret board on the neck and drive a 1mm brad into those holes through the board into the neck a mm or two. The brads should leave a little divot in the neck that can be used to relocate the fret board and prevent it sliding around when glue is added. Lift off the fret board from the neck with the brads still embedded. The ends of the brads should just poke through underneath the fret board enough to locate back on to the neck. Apply glue, refit the fret board to the neck making sure the brads bite into the little divots and clamp. When the glue has dried the brads can be carefully withdrawn from the fret board with a pair of pliers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 1 hour ago, sirspens said: I've seen a video of an Australian builder use finish nails on the neck, then snip them off just a mm above the board, then press the fretboard into the neck, leaving an indentation where the nail snippets are, then drilling out very small holes in those spots, and thereby giving the fretboard a means by which to remain still during the gluing process. I'll see if I can find the video. Dude, you're a life saver! That worked perfectly. I did have a pretty major screw up this evening, I remeasured my truss rod slot and for some reason it was .01 shallow in the middle so I recut it. When I recut it I screwed up and cut my slot wider so the truss rod literally fell in the slot. I thought I was screwed and started thinking about what to do, I remembered I had some .023 walnut veneer so I stuffed it next to the truss rod and now it's super tight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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