Advice on neck joint

dindudedindude Frets: 8534
edited January 2015 in Making & Modding
Anyone got any tips on the following........

Got all the gubbins for my Esquire parts build to commence this weekend, only problem is that the neck I'm using has been on a few guitars and one in particular had a body that was a mm or so deeper than a regular fender in the neck pocket. Net result is that the neck screws just don't "catch" quite as well as they should into the neck on a normal sized body. It's not severe enough (I think) to warrant drilling, plugin with dowel and re-drilling (not to mention that I don't really have the skilz for this), just needs a little help in the stregth department.

So what are my options? I thought of these but may be well off, as I'm sure you don't fuck with neck joints too much.

Slightly larger screws? But not sure they will sit well in the neck plate very well.

Match stick / tooth pick glued in the holes?

Wood glue and sawdust mix in the holes?


Any advice from the builder types would be appreciated.

Cheers

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Comments

  • MayneheadMaynehead Frets: 1782
    edited January 2015
    Assuming the neck holes line up properly with the pocket holes, the toothpick and wood glue method will be just fine. I have done this on many a guitar and it never fails.

    What I like to do though is split the toothpick into 3 or 4 strips and spread them evenly around the hole. Simply dip a strip in wood glue, place it into the hole so that it sticks to the side of the hole, repeat for each strip. When the glue is dry, chop off the excess toothpick with a Stanley knife so that it is flush with the top of the hole. Now when you screw in the neck screws they should be nice and tight. If not just add more toothpicks!
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  • imaloneimalone Frets: 748
    How snug is the fit without screws? The match-sticks thing is basically dowling it.
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  • dindudedindude Frets: 8534
    Maynehead said:
    Assuming the neck holes line up properly with the pocket holes, the toothpick and wood glue method will be just fine. I have done this on many a guitar and it never fails.

    What I like to do though is split the toothpick into 3 or 4 strips and spread them evenly around the hole. Simply dip a strip in wood glue, place it into the hole so that it sticks to the side of the hole, repeat for each strip. When the glue is dry, chop off the excess toothpick with a Stanley knife so that it is flush with the top of the hole. Now when you screw in the neck screws they should be nice and tight. If not just add more toothpicks!
    Great stuff, makes perfect sense, thanks.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951
    Don't wait for the glue to dry. The best way for maximum strength is to pack the hole with wood glue and tightly with as many toothpicks as will go in, break them off flush with the surface (trim with a knife if you need to), and then reassemble with the glue still wet - no waiting and no drilling.

    The reason is that the fibres of the toothpicks will crush around both the screw and the remains of the thread in the neck, and the compression will form a very hard composite material when the glue dries. Don't worry, wood glue doesn't bond to metal so you'll still be able to get the screws out again. If there's any doubt, just heat them slightly with a soldering iron.

    I once tested various repair methods to destruction on a scrap neck, and this was the strongest. Better than the 'proper' methods of drilling and doweling or waiting for the glue to dry. I tried deliberately stripping the threads using a ratchet handle on the screws, and this one was so strong the screw head snapped off first.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • I used a set of bolts and inserts similar to these before and thought they were excellent. They also mean that taking the neck on and off won't weaken the fixing in future.

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