JohnnyHardtail
Senior Member
- Messages
- 501
Honestly I wouldn't recommend taking a router to the neck pocket, as IMO its not the right tool for small adjustments.
The first thing to check is if the neck pocket is completely flat. If there is any wood fragment sticking up, the high spot may prevent the neck for sitting flat and level. In my case I normally run the edge of a hand chisel on the neck pocket on a new body. Just to pick off anything that is obviously high. I also have a few small off-cuts of metal bar to check for flatness and also use like a sanding block to level the neck pocket. The Warmoth logo stamp will still be visible so I'm probably only removing around 0.1 or 0.2mm. Removing a small amount of material at either the front or back of the neck pocket will change the angle of the neck, so it can be fine tuned to suit the bridge. Removing 0.2mm at the back of the neck pocket will require the saddle height to lower by around 0.6mm because the effect multiplied due to the neck angle. You obviously need to be careful removing small amounts of wood with the chisel and check with a flat object to make sure the neck pocket remains flat. Probably I have this issue because I am installing hardtail bridges on every guitar. If using a tremolo is set for floating the alignment might be better (most of the time).
Another important thing is to check the relief of the neck before doing any kind of adjustment. If the neck has back-bow or not quite enough relief, it will force you to set the saddles high, when you actually should be adjusting the truss rod to solve the problem. IMO the most sensible approach is to string up the guitar and set everything under tension for at least a week, then disassemble the guitar and have a second attempt at fine tuning the neck angle. If you have gone too far, you may end up needing to fit a shim. The cautious approach is best if you are a perfectionist.
The first thing to check is if the neck pocket is completely flat. If there is any wood fragment sticking up, the high spot may prevent the neck for sitting flat and level. In my case I normally run the edge of a hand chisel on the neck pocket on a new body. Just to pick off anything that is obviously high. I also have a few small off-cuts of metal bar to check for flatness and also use like a sanding block to level the neck pocket. The Warmoth logo stamp will still be visible so I'm probably only removing around 0.1 or 0.2mm. Removing a small amount of material at either the front or back of the neck pocket will change the angle of the neck, so it can be fine tuned to suit the bridge. Removing 0.2mm at the back of the neck pocket will require the saddle height to lower by around 0.6mm because the effect multiplied due to the neck angle. You obviously need to be careful removing small amounts of wood with the chisel and check with a flat object to make sure the neck pocket remains flat. Probably I have this issue because I am installing hardtail bridges on every guitar. If using a tremolo is set for floating the alignment might be better (most of the time).
Another important thing is to check the relief of the neck before doing any kind of adjustment. If the neck has back-bow or not quite enough relief, it will force you to set the saddles high, when you actually should be adjusting the truss rod to solve the problem. IMO the most sensible approach is to string up the guitar and set everything under tension for at least a week, then disassemble the guitar and have a second attempt at fine tuning the neck angle. If you have gone too far, you may end up needing to fit a shim. The cautious approach is best if you are a perfectionist.
