Neck Pockets Too Small: What do I resize? Neck Pocket? or Neck?

I have two partscaster projects in the making (one Tele, one Strat style). The necks I've chosen for them are both too wide to fit in their appropriate neck pocket.

With the Tele it's simply a matter of the neck being a bit too wide (which will make this the easier of the two to fix).

On the Strat body, I'm using a non-Strat (Washburn) neck that is both too wide for the pocket and has a different taper than Strat necks. Put another way, part of the neck fits in the pocket. But at the end of the neck (the heel itself) it's wider than a Strat neck by around 2mm. It's a 22 fret neck and "fits" up to about the 17th fret. From there to the end it's too wide. (I also know in advance that I may need to shim under the neck to get the right angle. But that isn't a problem).

My question (and it's probably been asked many times before) is: Should I shape the neck pockets to fit the necks? Or vice versa? Or could it be a combination of both?

I've read and/or heard that it's best to "make it fit" by removing wood from the neck pocket. But this is the first time I'll actually be doing this. Therefore, I seek input or any tips anyone may have.

Thanks in advance!

 

Quick replies!
Thanks!

What I didn't mention in the OP is that the body is from a Carvin Bolt Kit guitar (Strat style). I've had no interest in the guitar for quite some time and decided to refinish it and put it to good use. I didn't like the Carvin neck = why I'm installing the Washburn.

I haven't actually looked at these necks very closely till today. But at least I have a pair of Stew Mac calipers which will keep me messing up. Like, not taking too much off one side.

I'll carefully examine & will likely shape the pockets to fit the necks.

The Tele neck, btw, is a Mighty Mite. (It actually fits snugly into one Tele body I have, but I may use it on another body that isn't a fit, as of now).

 

Yep. Relatively sure I read the same thing here @ TDPRI, maybe 15 years ago. Thanks.

 

Thanks. I kinda already replied, but this thread is related to another one I have on "Carvin Bolt Kit: Converting to 24.75" Gibson scale". Since I need to rout out some of the neck heel to get to the right scale length...I think it will be easier to get good fit by then. (Will use a router or Dremel).

And, as I said to Nick Fanis, a vote for neck pocket reshaping seems to be a winner.

 

Theoretically-speaking, the neck could be shaped to fit the pocket. But since most recommend vice versa, that's probably what I'll do. (It's doubtful I'll ever want to put a Strat type neck back on the guitar. But should that ever happen, I could shim or fill in the gap with veneer or putty. But it won't happen. 99% chance of it not).

Yes, I know the neck holes have to be filled in (body and Washburn neck which has them). I have various sized neck plates, but the original Carvin should work.

Re: bridge location, etc.
There isn't enough room to extend the bridge in that far = the Strat body has been routed as humbucker-compatible = there's no wood for where the bridge could potentially be. I considered adding wood there for that purpose, but felt shortening the scale length from both ends would give the guitar more of a balanced look and feel.

The guitar also has a tremolo (originally a Wilkinson). I'll be using a new one with a smaller string spacing (which is my needed preference). Anyways, the original 2-point bridge/trem holes have been filled in with dowels and where the new bridge will go will be roughly in almost the same place as the original = about 3/32" in toward the pups. Thanks!

 

The guitar is currently unfinished (stripped of previous clear nitro finish over tung oil tint). Thus, no reason to be concerned about paint or finish cracking. The tung oil penetrated enough to make the pocket 'strong'. The body wood is very solid, beside, or on the edges around, the current neck pocket.

I won't have to take any wood off the pocket till about 1.5" in toward the pups. If that doesn't make sense: The neck is wider at its end (where its heel meets the pocket). But more narrow toward the nut. Up to about the half way point, it can slip right in, but remains too wide at the heel. Due to this, the 'more fragile edges' will remain untouched, as they are.

But thanks for your input. I'll keep it in mind before I make a final decision & will post pics. (It may turn out I'll need to "tweek" both the pocket & neck).

 

Aha! You just made me think of something I hadn't considered = the Washburn neck's heel is almost exactly like a Tele's (that is, flat except the corners).

This would make it easier to take wood off the sides of the neck. Using a tri-square would ensure the sides are evenly matched = taking off just the right amount on each side, keeping the neck perpindicular to the body and, thus, the pups and bridge.

NOTE: The heel of the neck doesn't need any wood removed. It's the sides of the neck that are too wide to fit the pocket. That is, with the exception of closer toward the nut, where it appears the neck can slip right in.

Here's a pic of an initial mock up I did which shows how I plan to remove wood from the neck pocket to achieve a 24.75" scale length. (The ruler is under the new bridge to keep it from falling in. It doesn't exactly match the original Carvin bridge. But the bridge will be floating, so an exact match-up isn't necessary). The lines I drew on masking tape are close to where I need to remove wood.



And here's a link to a 'sister thread' (which is actually 'my main objective'). I had mentioned how neck alignment was a concern there, but didn't ask about it. Thanks, Luthi3rz!

https://www.tdpri.com/threads/carvin-bolt-kit-converting-to-24-75-gibson-scale-may-need-help.979935/

 

And an add-on pic of the heels of the original Carvin neck and the 'new' Washburn. The gap between them is due to how the Washburn tapers toward the nut (i.e., to the right in the pic).

And, as mentioned earlier, at the heels, the Washburn is wider than the Strat-styled Carvin neck.

I should also say that issues from 'main objective' OP have been resolved. This OP was a sub-text kind of thing/deal. Thanks!

 

There's no finish to chip, but I think I'll go with reshaping the neck, as per previous posts. Also, I think I can effectively shape it without having to touch the frets. Thanks!

 

UPDATE: Though I haven't actually done anything. Due to other commitments, it might be a while before I finish this project. But anyways....

I'm thinking it may be best to shape the neck pocket to fit the neck. For one thing, this would give me more neck space when playing higher up the neck. That is, in terms of the width of the neck. I'd hate for the strings to 'not match' the neck width. Or, otherwise, to 'look funny' as the strings go along the neck (wider spacing here/ not wider spacing there). Basically, I'm talking string alignment here.

What has essentially convinced me to go this route was looking at Washburn guitars (that have my same or similar neck).

Also, my trying to shape down the neck where it fits in the pocket -- without touching the frets -- could be too difficult to get right, both cosmetically and how-it-fits.

I'll do the end of the neck pocket routing first with a Dremel. Then possibly barely touch the neck pocket sides with a Dremel and finish off with sanding.

Mock up pic, showing width of neck at neck pocket (which, the neck is sitting on a pickguard).