Neck pocket depth. Anybody who had problems with that?

[khal]

but it may have warped after the parts left the plant. as far as how you describe the neck rising like a skijump or whatever that sounds odd. i don't know how you even do that to a finger board. i don't know what warmoths fret board fixtures look like but it would take a real screwup to mess up that badly and then for it to be fretted and the fret guy to not notice seems like gross incompetance and i'm not sure that much would get past QC and the techs who build it. it sounds almost like you have a rising tung. is there any visible line where the fretboard meets the neck?  

Well as I said, I described it in a little exagerated way.
These things are differences of 10th or 100th of millimeters. You don't see it at first sight. You note when you try to get a good action and wonder why you never get there. Than you look at it in the luthiers way (all down the head along the frets) concentrate and  realize what's wrong. These are slight alterations but they make all the difference. But with the fret job the luthier did, it turned out fine.
It is not that the fretboerd is coming off as you might think ("is there any visible line where the fretboard meets the neck"), it is simply a slight warping on the upper register.

On another neck (this was custom made, not from the showcase)  only ONE fret was higher (I think it was the 16th or 17th fret).
So I had to file it down a little bit and recrown it. This I did myself, not the luthier. But it was hell, because these where stainless steel frets. Horrible to finish. The fret seemed to laugh at my file, it is a really difficult material to work with. So if Warmoth had check it before shipping it....

 

[Dan025]

next time try reseating it (if it's just one or two). just some soft taps with a mallet. also you cant go wrong with a diamond coated file. although i don't think it is needed even on stainless

 

[TJD]

Don't get me wrong..I love Warmoth ...my body is from them  but for necks...USA Custom. That's all I have to say.

 

[-CB-]

ya know what... .this last tele I put together for vic...using a Fender bridge, the screws are all the way up on the E's and sunk into the saddles on the rest.

I've not done any real looking into it, but... I will.  Report later.

 

[khal]

ya know what... .this last tele I put together for vic...using a Fender bridge, the screws are all the way up on the E's and sunk into the saddles on the rest.

I've not done any real looking into it, but... I will.   Report later.

Exactly, that was my problem.
Screws all the way up and still a little necessary to have a playable action.
So the only solution was: routing the pocket deeper...

Tell us what you found out...

 

[Wyliee]

I believe that these things can happen. And I also believe that the folks at Warmoth are nice guys and are willing to assume the error.
But once again: Warmoth sells worldwide. And they do it because this way they can sell higher numbers.
But Warmoth has to understand that sending bodies and necks back and forth in and outside the USA is complicated because of customs and shipping costs. Receiving it, sending it back and receiving it again and you have doubled the price of the item. It doesn' make no sense.
So what Warmoth should do is to have a more rigorous end-control unit.
Every body and neck should pass a final controller that inspects all relevant aspects (like Fender does...).
Of course I am aware that this means paying people for doing this, in other words: more expenses, less bargain.

Especially with foreign customers who can't return the items like the average US customer.

Think about it folks.
This is a growing market....

Khal,

I'm gathering you did not contact Warmoth.  Should you have any future issues, I would strongly encourage you (or anyone else) to contact sales@warmoth.com, explain the issue and see if there are any available solutions.  If nothing else, that helps the company keep track of things.

A couple FYI's.
- All orders go through multiple checks before shipping.  Given the thousands of orders that ship, it is inveitable that something would slip through.  It would be nice if this were a perfect world, but it isn't.
- Warmoth generally pays for warranty shipping.  Anything shipping overseas is marked 'Warranty repair.  All duties paid.'  This seems to help avoid any additional duties on the customers part.  It costs extra for Warmoth, but it gives the company a chance to see issues firsthand and resolve them personally.

 

[-CB-]

Well....  This isn't gonna go over too well, but....

Yah, the blue sparkle Tele neck pocket is about .090, or nearly 1/10th inch too shallow, as compared to my Fender 52 reissue, and the two other Warmoth bodies I've got here.

I didn't take an exact measurement, but only compared the relative length, which was the thickness of pickguard material.

Anyway, thats why MY strings are sitting up.  It doesn't hurt anything, just calls for longer screws.  The neck pocket (or at least the neck thats in it) sits parallel to the top of the guitar, so its not an angled pocket problem.  Definitely a shallow pocket.

(more)

Since I hadda take the neck off , or at least loosen the screws to set the truss rod on the blue sparkle... I decided to take the neck wholly off and measure the depth - .545 inches.  The clear finish ash one here, with no neck in it measures .635 deep.  So I was spot on at .090 too shallow.

I'm NOT sending it back.... but would love to hear the depth of any pockets out there to see what they're generally running.

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

The tele I got in the sale is 5/8", pretty spot on with my old eyes and machinists ruler.  Its not yet built up, but good to know its within spec.

 

[-CB-]

I went back and measured the blue sparkle one... its EXACTLY .634 from the bottom of the pocket to the top of the PICKGUARD. 

This is very weird... I'd like to hear what W says

 

[-CB-]

I figured it out.  The whole body is thin by .090 !!!!

I'm wondering how that happened.  Was it scheduled for a lam top?  I thought those were thicker?  Ya know I thought was just a bit odd when I mounted the jack plate.

And that explains.... why the body is extra extra light.

Sigh.

 

[khal]

Khal,

I'm gathering you did not contact Warmoth.  Should you have any future issues, I would strongly encourage you (or anyone else) to contact sales@warmoth.com, explain the issue and see if there are any available solutions.  If nothing else, that helps the company keep track of things.

A couple FYI's.
- All orders go through multiple checks before shipping.  Given the thousands of orders that ship, it is inveitable that something would slip through.  It would be nice if this were a perfect world, but it isn't.
- Warmoth generally pays for warranty shipping.  Anything shipping overseas is marked 'Warranty repair.  All duties paid.'  This seems to help avoid any additional duties on the customers part.  It costs extra for Warmoth, but it gives the company a chance to see issues firsthand and resolve them personally.

Well Thanks.
Good to hear that.
I hope it never happens again, but if it does, I will contact you guys at Warmoth.
Than I will see what happens...

 

[khal]

I figured it out.  The whole body is thin by .090 !!!!

I'm wondering how that happened.  Was it scheduled for a lam top?  I thought those were thicker?  Ya know I thought was just a bit odd when I mounted the jack plate.

And that explains.... why the body is extra extra light.

Sigh.

Very interesting....

 

[-CB-]

Yah.  I didn't meaure the body, to prevent risk of scratching it, but just laying on flat surfaces, you can A/B compare and see... the body itself is thinner than either the 52 or the clear ash one by Warmoth.

I thought about this all day.  The top lams are .125 and .250 for a thinline.  The pocket was definately .090 too shallow, within reasonable variation due to grain.  It was as shallow as the pickguard was thick - and those are .090, and the step ledge on the caliper also proved it so.  The whole thing is just weird.  It DOES play well, and you cant tell there's an issue, unless you look at the jack plate - which looks crowded on the edge of the body, or the saddles, which look all way up in the air.  The pickups themselves, are also high. 

Come to think of it now... this also means the neck screws are not any less into the neck, because the structural change was to the top, not the tongue.  Tongue is full thickness, just "less top" above it, making anything mounted on that top having to be adjusted higher to accommodate being mounted on a lower surface.

 

[khal]

Yah.  I didn't meaure the body, to prevent risk of scratching it, but just laying on flat surfaces, you can A/B compare and see... the body itself is thinner than either the 52 or the clear ash one by Warmoth.

I thought about this all day.  The top lams are .125 and .250 for a thinline.  The pocket was definately .090 too shallow, within reasonable variation due to grain.  It was as shallow as the pickguard was thick - and those are .090, and the step ledge on the caliper also proved it so.  The whole thing is just weird.  It DOES play well, and you cant tell there's an issue, unless you look at the jack plate - which looks crowded on the edge of the body, or the saddles, which look all way up in the air.  The pickups themselves, are also high. 

Come to think of it now... this also means the neck screws are not any less into the neck, because the structural change was to the top, not the tongue.  Tongue is full thickness, just "less top" above it, making anything mounted on that top having to be adjusted higher to accommodate being mounted on a lower surface.

Well thank you, that's very scientific what you do there!
I didn't do all these measurements BEFORE having the pocket routed deeper by my luthier.
But telling by the heighth of the saddles before the routing job, it should have been about 2-3 mm (2.5 mm are 0.0984 inches).
But it has a top on it (mahogany body with quilt maple top) so the possibility that this body was thinner to comfort a future top can be excluded here.
It was just routed too shallow...

 

[-CB-]

Get out a ruler, and measure the thickness of your body.  It should be 1.75 inches.  If its a thin body, expect it to be more like just over 1.65 inches

Interesting.  When I order the neck this week, for another project, I'm gonna ask how it might have happened.

 

[khal]

Interesting.  When I order the neck this week, for another project, I'm gonna ask how it might have happened.

Please keep us informed...

 

[-CB-]

I can tell you - the clear one from Warmoth measured as close as I could tell 1.780, disallowing .006 for the notebook paper I used to protect the finish... that just done.

But when laying them next to each other on a level surface - a hard level surface - it was really easy to tell!  Same with the Les Pauls.  When you hold a Historic, a Standard, and a Studio they all feel a little different.  Well guess what?  The Studio is thinner than the Standard, and they're both thinner than the Historics - by design, to prevent the up market models being made from the low end stuff.  The BFG Les Paul is a full 1/4 inch thinner than the Standard!  The Studio in between, and the Historic about 1/8 inch, or just a little more, thicker than the Standard.