Neck install questions (pic added :) )

Hey guys,

Looking for some guidance here.

Getting close to finishing up my first build (well sort of) and this weekend I plan on installing my neck.

The body is finished (curing, awaiting wet sanding and buffing) - I know I probably should've fit all my parts before finishing the body, however I had someone else finish my neck and it took about 6 weeks. Damn nitro cure time...

I've got my bridge plate with saddles fastened down and I think the neck seems to align fairly well - I'll confirm this once I get a spare set of strings (or at least a high and low E).

I'm concerned that my neck pocket may not be quite deep enough. It's just under 5/8". Maybe 9/16" or just slightly deeper, say 19/32". I think I should be able to fix this.

My first question is how much above the face of the guitar body should the fretboard sit? It's difficult to tell right now (without strings) but I suspect that the saddles will need to be raised quite high for sufficient clearance.

I'd think that truss rod adjustment prior to neck install would also play a part here. Should I adjust so the neck is perfectly straight?

Thanks guys, I'll be sure to post pictures of this thing once I get a little closer to completion.

Adam

Most necks are 1" thick at the thickest part of the heel. If the fretboard has a radius to it, it will be slightly thinner at the sides. My neck pocket is, for all intents and purposes, exactly 5/8" and I still had to run the bridge saddles up pretty high (I used a MIM Fender neck). The D/G saddle is the highest at 1/2" off the bridge plate, and there is still a tiny bit of buzz at the highest frets with those two strings. It's higher than I like, but it's necessary.

Just do a little math. Measure the thickness of the bridge plate, and the thickness of the saddles adjusted all the way down. Add the two measurements together. If the neck is proud of the body just a tad more than 1/16" or even close to 1/8" of that measurement, you are right in the ballpark. If the neck (including the frets) is more than say, 3/16 to 1/4" taller than the bridge/saddle measurement, you might want to take some meat off the bottom of the neck pocket, but not much. You don't want the neck to be lower than the lowest adjustment of your saddles. Having the saddles lowered onto the bridge plate be dead even with the top of your frets is pretty much the ideal setting, IMO

Just put it together and see what you have. Sure will cut out a lot of math and guessing I know it’s a simple approach but its fool proof

Thanks guys!

I guess maybe there is no point in touching the truss rod quite yet. I guess it won't do it's job properly anyway until there is string tension on the neck?

Adam

Here is a (really poor quality) photo to give a rough idea of what it will look like. I know you guys like pictures! Really looking forward to getting the body wet sanded and polished. :grin:

Looks great!

Just do a little math. Measure the thickness of the bridge plate, and the thickness of the saddles adjusted all the way down. Add the two measurements together. If the neck is proud of the body just a tad more than 1/16" or even close to 1/8" of that measurement, you are right in the ballpark. If the neck (including the frets) is more than say, 3/16 to 1/4" taller than the bridge/saddle measurement, you might want to take some meat off the bottom of the neck pocket, but not much. You don't want the neck to be lower than the lowest adjustment of your saddles. Having the saddles lowered onto the bridge plate be dead even with the top of your frets is pretty much the ideal setting, IMO

Matthew, I lowered my saddles right down to the bridge plate and put a straight across the high point of the neck (frets). Looks like that point is about 1/8" (maybe slightly more) above the saddles. Sounds like I should shave about 1/16" (?) off the neck pocket which would put me right around 5/8" deep for the neck pocket, or slightly deeper.

This is of course with no shims in the neck pocket. I suppose I could always shim the back of the neck to get that dimension down a little bit.

Does it sound like I"m on the right track?

Thanks again. And thanks for the comments on the guitar. I'm sort of going for a '55 look with my own twist.

Adam