Neck pocket repair

[Muttcaster]

Solution:

[mimmo]

leave it in the way it is if the guitar plays cool! i completely agree with fender4life: my broadcaster doesn t have a perfect body neck joint, on the upper side. But it s common to many vintage early guitars, 'cause people working on it were not specialized and the used this way to keep more bodies and necks possible useful... and you know what? My baby plays really well. And when i say really, i mean REALLY.....
Enjoy your baby, pure and simple!
Cheers

[Robert.V]

Originally Posted by Robert.V

@ Rhomco Guitars,
you say its a common mod to route the pocket a little deeper,
what would be the advantages and possible dissadvantages for this?

Rhomco,
If you have the time,
can you explain this ''common mod''?

[Jupiter]

That gap would bug me every time I looked at it, even if I otherwise liked the guitar. I would try not to look at it.

[harold h]

It is probably not the pocket. It is more than likely the neck
is screwed in slightly uneven. The neck pockets are done by
CNC, and there is no variation, all are routed the same.

[tap4154]

Originally Posted by Jupiter

That gap would bug me every time I looked at it, even if I otherwise liked the guitar. I would try not to look at it.

Yes, and try to ignore all the other flaws in yourself, and in life in general

I have some thoughts about why folks obsess over perfection in objects they own, but maybe that's already more than enough to say on the subject?

[WisconsinStrings]

I think Mr. Kirn is onto something as usual. Take the neck off and have a look. I'm guessing that pocket was cut by a cnc router and they didn't sand after. I'm not sure why the depth would vary.

[Telepi]

I agree with Wisconsin. I was hoping to see a post
this morning that the OP checked what RK suspected
to see if it fixed it. It made sense to me and so easy,
even I could do it.

Even if it wasn't the issue, it deserves a look to at least
eliminate it as a source of the gap. I would want to try
a simple solution first, (which none of us thought of) before
moving on to a more drastic measure of re-routing.

That's just me.

[old goat]

Have you taken off the neck and measured the depth of the pocket? It does look to me like it's the back of the neck that's not flat, and if so it's possible that it's only a small part of the corner that you can see that's off and the rest of the mating surface is flat. If you were to flatten the back of the neck wouldn't you also have to adjust the neck angle as well? Ron--am I right? I would avoid sawdust as glue--it will look worse. That much I can tell you from my vast experience in trying to correct my woodworking mistakes.

[Rhomco Guitars]

Originally Posted by Robert.V

Rhomco,
If you have the time,
can you explain this ''common mod''?

Some players prefer the fretboard to sit lower on the body thus reducing the gap from the strings to the pickguard. I think some players get used to the "feel" of the almost flat playing surface and want it added as a preference thing. This allows the pickups to sit lower in the routs and the bridge saddles to be lower as well. Speaking as a player/builder...... I see no advantage or disadvantage in doing this mod but some just want it. It was a fad back in the 80's with the spandex generation.
Rob

[Robert.V]

I know it looks like there is something under the neck, but with the guitar in hand,
its easy to see that it really is just the corner of the pocket thats rounded of a little bit.
only goes in like a quarter inch or so..

I cant take the neck off right now, got guitar lessons tomorrow and the nearest store to buy strings is a 80 km trip.

[Doug 54]

Gap dont need to be there.

My repairman used his experience and wood shaving tool to get a cheap Chinese T totally flat


,

[tap4154]

Originally Posted by Robert.V

I know it looks like there is something under the neck, but with the guitar in hand,
its easy to see that it really is just the corner of the pocket thats rounded of a little bit.
only goes in like a quarter inch or so..

I cant take the neck off right now, got guitar lessons tomorrow and the nearest store to buy strings is a 80 km trip.

You don't have to get new strings to remove and check the neck pocket. Just put a capo on the first fret then loosen the strings, pulling/lifting them from the body side of the capo to keep them wrapped on the tuner posts, then remove the neck.

[Robert.V]

Ill see if i can borrow a capo from my guitar teacher tomorrow.

[Ricky D.]

While the neck is off, run an 11/64" drill bit through the neck screw holes in the body. That will ensure that the neck will draw down tight in the pocket. A lot of Tele's come from the factory with those holes a little small, and the screws bind.

[BackNtheSaddle]

Originally Posted by Robert.V

I know it looks like there is something under the neck, but with the guitar in hand,
its easy to see that it really is just the corner of the pocket thats rounded of a little bit.
only goes in like a quarter inch or so..

I cant take the neck off right now, got guitar lessons tomorrow and the nearest store to buy strings is a 80 km trip.

It's obvious (to my untrained eyes, anyway) that the pocket was sanded low on one side.

Take a close look at the pix in the OP... it should be quite clear. IMHO. Excuse my poor annotation, but can't you see the dip on the right?

[Robert.V]

Yes.
Thats what ive been saying from post one.

Thats why i asked if the pocket can be routed out.060, so it will be perfectly flat

[tap4154]

IMHO it's an optical illusion. The neck is raised up on that corner, which tricks your eye to think it's the neck pocket that's off.

I took the pic, made it more horizontal, the selected just the end of the neck pocket without the neck (you can see a bit of the orange pick in the upper right corner). It looks pretty dang straight to me:

[Ronkirn]

Ill see if i can borrow a capo from my guitar teacher tomorrow.

Just use some painter's tape....that blue stuff... or a rubber band, string....the cat's collar.... an Ace Bandage.... your sister's hair thingy they use for pony tails.... or just take the strings off the tuners...

rk

[Robert.V]

I'll do that tonight then,
probably needs a full setup when you take thhe neck off?