dave422x

Now I have the guitar back I see the cause of my confusion. Nut to 12th fret is 12 3/4", making a scale length of 25 1/2". Even though the distance between the 12th fret and the harmonic is ~1/4" the total length of the top E string is something like 26 1/4", which is where the repair guy gets his 3/4" from. I can't argue with the measurements, sigh, so I guess I'll stick a 22 fret neck on this body and buy / build another body for the 24 fretter. Which means two new guitars for me. Heh heh. Thanks for your answers, guys! Dave

Hi guys. I bought a pre-routed body and a neck from the same supplier on eBay. The body's routed for a 22 fret neck (not sure of the exact scale length at this time) and the neck has 24 frets. I bolted the neck on, put on some strings and checked the intonation, just to see how close it is. On the high E string the harmonic is about 1/4 of an inch closer to the bridge than the actual physical 12th fret. My initial thought would be to make the neck pocket 1/4" longer so the neck is that much closer to the bridge. Being lazy(!) I dropped off the guitar at the local music store and asked for the work to be done. The repair guy called me last Friday and said that the neck and bridge have to be 3/4" closer to each other in order for the intonation to be correct. Can anybody explain why this is the case? Why not the 1/4" I physically observed? If he's right then fine - I'll put a 22 fret neck on there, but if I'm right I'll route it myself! Many thanks in advance... I can post pics in the next day or so if required - I need to go and pick the guitar up from the shop first! Dave

Problem nailed!!! Thank you so much!!! And THANKS for the offer of a replacement! I've put some strings on, letting them settle for 24+ hours, then going to check bridge height / truss rod etc. Thanks again so much!!! B)

This is really annoying me... I bought a body & neck from eBay, and a Floyd copy trem. The body & neck are attached, tuners installed (need advice on removing a headless screw though, more on that another time). I'm trying to install (initially) two springs so I can put some strings on an see how it plays. I've tried five different springs (some old, some new) and NONE will stay in the block. The body was pre-routed... there's a line where to drilled hole for the pickup wires made it through. Cheap, I know. Could maybe the cavity not be deep enough and so the angle of the springs isn't steep enough for them to stay in place? Many TIA Dave

That's what I thought to do. The pic of the router should show that the bit is huge! It's, hang on I'll measure it... half an inch in diameter and the entire bit is a cutter, measuring an inch and an eighth. From the outside edge of the bit to the outside of the (round) base it's 2 9/16, so I thought to clamp the straight edge(s) 2 3/4 away from my line. Because the base is round I don't need to try and keep the base against the straight edge - all distances from the bit to the edge will be the same. I've read and re-read Melvyn's book a billion times, and I know he talks about using a template to start and then use the shaft of the bit to ride against what you've previously cut, basically using your initial cuts as a deeper template, and believe me I'd have done that in a heartbeat had I had the right kind of bit! Thanks for all your support everyone! I'll keep ya posted!

Thanks Dave, comments like that keep me going And regarding the good hands, well I knew where to come as soon as I was having problems! I've practically memorised most of Brian's articles & tutorials the number of times I've visited projectguitar.com!

the clamps and straight edge plan sounds like the thing to do... thanks everyone... i'll get on it asap

...or maybe even coarse sandpaper on a block...?

Ahh yeah now I understand you! I was thinking of something along those lines myself... maybe a little Dremel would be easier to handle, just to take the pocket a few mms nearer to the bridge? I can probably borrow a Dremel from a friend... the router I have doesn't really have anything to run *against* if I had some spare wood clamped to the face of the guitar, even the round plastic base has cracks and a big piece missing

thanks guys... i'm borrowing a car for half a day tomorrow, so i'll get a sharpening stone and a couple of plastic trash cans (to make the pickguard) if money allows...

there's no EDIT option! ***?!?!?! i meant "no, i didn't have the neck in place when i bandsawed - it's still not joined to the body"

no, the neck was not in place during routing, otherwise i'd have a routed neck too! the bandsaw has only one guide, and that's how thick the material to be cut is... so it was basically useless, and the blade was VERY loose, hence cutting so far from the line.... the sanding i am not afraid of, the ugly neck pocket i *am* unhappy with once the neck is in its final place i will mark the position of the bridge and then the pickups.. i'm not as lucky as you guys as to have templates for everything... locating the neck deeper into the body would not be feasible - the way it sits now the fingerboard is *just* proud of the body top again, templates are NOT an option as i have only the router bit that i showed you... if i used a template with it i'd have no body wood left! lol after that i have (blunt ) chisels and a knife.... thanks for your input! Dave it can't have been this hard before routers & templates were available!

i thought that too... otherwise a little wood filler and the paint will do the rest.....

Hi again guys I finally got some tools to start this new body, but even though I'm feeling good that the neck pocket and basic shape are done, they're pretty darn ugly, so I'd like some advice... bear in mind I have practically no tools, and definitely have no money! Here's the basic shape (bandsawed with lots of room to the pencil line - the blade was very loose :-/ with the neck sitting in its place The neck pocket went pretty nicely, until I had to tidy up the bits I couldn't / wasn't brave enough to tackle with the router. The router is a nice one, it's a Porter-Cable, but as you can see the only bit I got with it (everything borrowed) meant I couldn't use a template: I borrowed some chisels, originally bought from (shudder) Harbor Freight. They'd been used before and I have no way of sharpening them I did as best I could to finish the neck pocket, but as you can see... it's very untidy So, my question is this: Can I / how do I make it look nice for the neck? OR do I put the front pickup right next to the neck join, thereby removing the ugly bits? btw the front pickup wil be a rails type single-coil-sized humbucker and I'd really like at least part of it to be under where the 24th fret would be - I've always had it there on previous bodies and I really feel it has an effect on the sound. Thanks in advance guys, PLEASE don't advise me to scrap the project! I need a lefty guitar and I need it six months ago! Dave PS I know there's some more wood to be taken away around the neck joint, I'm cool with that, and I know I need to sand this mutha these things are the least of my worries at the mo PPS Yes, it's a lefty using a neck I've loved for around 14 years. After the body's done I'm thinking of re-radiusing the fingerboard, but hey - let's walk before running lol

Thanks a ton guys! You saved me a potential nightmare - imagine having to build the guitar you don't even want Y'all rock! Dave