Contoured Heel Question...?

[WchoyCustomGuitars]

Hey! Last Christmas, I was able to score a mahogany Switchback offset V body in the Screamin' Deals section of the Warmoth website. The body has the contoured heel option, where the heel attachment area of the body is kind of angled & sloped and not perpendicular to the neck pocket surface. I'm planning on ordering a Warmoth neck soon and had a (stupid?) question: Should I order a neck with standard 4 mounting holes already drilled, or the $15 option to have the neck holes undrilled (to be drilled myself after clamping the neck onto the body)? Are the contoured heel mounting holes 90 degree perpendicular to the neck pocket mounting surface? Are the body's drilled mounting holes slightly angled? I took a look at the holes on the body, and I'm not 100% certain that they are squared to the neck pocket surface plane. Thank you for your help - I appreciate it. Looking forward to the build.

 

[Spud]

Hey! Last Christmas, I was able to score a mahogany Switchback offset V body in the Screamin' Deals section of the Warmoth website. The body has the contoured heel option, where the heel attachment area of the body is kind of angled & sloped and not perpendicular to the neck pocket surface. I'm planning on ordering a Warmoth neck soon and had a (stupid?) question: Should I order a neck with standard 4 mounting holes already drilled, or the $15 option to have the neck holes undrilled (to be drilled myself after clamping the neck onto the body)? Are the contoured heel mounting holes 90 degree perpendicular to the neck pocket mounting surface? Are the body's drilled mounting holes slightly angled? I took a look at the holes on the body, and I'm not 100% certain that they are squared to the neck pocket surface plane. Thank you for your help - I appreciate it. Looking forward to the build.

Just get std pre drilled holes in neck (they are 90 degrees). Be sure to use two shorter screws for the end though.

 

[stratamania]

As @Spud said just get the normal neck holes and the shorter screws for the front two holes.

Screws

https://warmoth.com/s-neckcontour

I use a neck plate and pad. You can see one of my close-up photos in this post.

Metallic Black Cherry Floyd Rose Non-Fine Tuner

That's a good plug set. I know eventually I'll need such an item. Until then, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed. The really odd thing is I nearly used a new bit which I ended up using to do the other holes. A stitch in time saves nine or something like that but like guitar strings, they...

unofficialwarmoth.com

 

[teleme01]

@Spud said just get the normal neck holes and the shorter screws for the front two holes

Good information there, it can be confusing to whether it was the 2 side holes are the front end. Now I know.

 

[stratamania]

@Spud said just get the normal neck holes and the shorter screws for the front two holes

Good information there, it can be confusing to whether it was the 2 side holes are the front end. Now I know.

You can see more information and photos here, scroll to bottom of page.

https://warmoth.com/guitar-body-contours

 

[teleme01]

 

[somebodyelseuk]

View attachment 61986

Just needs to be said...
Be careful the first time you screw the short screws in their holes. I had to cut a couple of mm off the end of one of mine - the heel was contoured in both plains, meaning the 'furthest neck-side' screw bottomed out in the hole.
Other than that, pre-drilled neck is the way to go.

 

[aarontunes]

The consequence of not paying attention:

 

[WchoyCustomGuitars]

Thank you for the help everyone! Yeah, I saw the warning about the shorter screw length needed for the top 2 holes - just curious if the screw holes were angled 90 degrees from the contoured surface - seems that it is not, and that the body's neck holes are pre-drilled before the angle contour is added. So glad that the forum exists to help out - Thank You!

Looks pretty easy if you want to DIY as well :

 

[Jack_H]

As @Spud said just get the normal neck holes and the shorter screws for the front two holes.

Screws

https://warmoth.com/s-neckcontour

I use a neck plate and pad. You can see one of my close-up photos in this post.

Metallic Black Cherry Floyd Rose Non-Fine Tuner

That's a good plug set. I know eventually I'll need such an item. Until then, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed. The really odd thing is I nearly used a new bit which I ended up using to do the other holes. A stitch in time saves nine or something like that but like guitar strings, they...

unofficialwarmoth.com

Were the screw heads level with the neck plate?

 

[aarontunes]

Were the screw heads level with the neck plate?

No, the screw heads are not perfectly level with the Warmoth contoured heel, but the difference is small enough that most people don't ever notice or care.

 

[stratamania]

Were the screw heads level with the neck plate?

You can see them in a photo in the thread I linked to. They are not protruding if that is what you mean.

 

[Jack_H]

I meant the screw heads not so much protruding as not sitting flush with the neck plate, but from the look in the photos it's not noticeable like Aaron said.

 

[stratamania]

I meant the screw heads not so much protruding as not sitting flush with the neck plate, but from the look in the photos it's not noticeable like Aaron said.

Yes, not really noticeable.

 

[NedRyerson]

No, the screw heads are not perfectly level with the Warmoth contoured heel, but the difference is small enough that most people don't ever notice or care.

Unless they're the genuine paper-in-oil neck screws.....