frank1985 Posted August 22, 2021 Report Share Posted August 22, 2021 Hey guys, i was just wondering, on a tele style neck, when gluing on the fingerboard, how much overhang do you leave after the nut? The bit that's carved into a slope after the headstock has been thinned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 It depends on a couple of things....it's obvious to say "as much as possible!" however that doesn't always help out. I get/make my boards with an extra inch of material there, but I think with a standard nut and spacing behind it you're looking about half and inch or so. It's worthwhile drawing this out, especially since it depends on what radius you're adding into the slope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 This is how I planned out my Frankenstrat's headstock. The diameter of the drum I used to sand the slope was smaller (55mm?) so half an inch would have been more than enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schrodinger Posted August 25, 2021 Report Share Posted August 25, 2021 Ok so I carved the slope but it didn’t go as planned...in my never ending quest to correct any imbalances I ended up overcarving/sanding, resulting in a dip at the base. It won’t interfere with the guitar’s function, but it bothers me. Is there anything i can do to hide this other than sand more off? Feeling a bit deflated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 26, 2021 Report Share Posted August 26, 2021 Ouch! It looks good otherwise. How thick is the neck at that dip? If it's thick enough to support a tuner, flatten the face of the headstock. Otherwise the only other option is to flatten it anyway and add a veneer to the back of the headstock to bring the thickness back up. This will increase the break angle over the nut. I mean, that looks like it should be thick enough for the tuners. I did this exact same thing on the second neck I ever built and repaired by flattening and adding a 2mm Ebony backstrap to the headstock. Using a matching Maple veneer (both colour and grain) it can be made invisible, or you can go full decorative if you're not aiming for the looks of an original. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 26, 2021 Report Share Posted August 26, 2021 Ouch indeed! That looks familiar... As @Prostheta said, you'll have to flatten the headstock no matter what. The biggest question is, how thick is the continuous straight grain there will be in the weakest point after you've carved the neck. My '84 Strat has about 8 mm (5/16") there so you don't need much. The red line shows the carving, the blue shows the continuous grain area: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 26, 2021 Report Share Posted August 26, 2021 It should be plenty. When the truss rod cavity and short grain are present in combination, that's when it becomes a deeper consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted August 30, 2021 Report Share Posted August 30, 2021 On 8/26/2021 at 3:11 AM, schrodinger said: Ok so I carved the slope but it didn’t go as planned...It won’t interfere with the guitar’s function....but it bothers me I've been in the same situation so many times! I would give the same advice as the other guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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