OMG! What a difference........(in re: Neck Pocket finish Build Up)

[BigSteve22]

I read this group a lot more often that i post to it. That's usually because what I read is a lot more useful than what I would have to say on a particular subject. This is mostly an admonition to new builders, and a thanks to which ever member posted this information.

My recently built Warmoth Strat is the first Strat I have ever owned, but certainly not the first I had played.  Everything went together rather well, I did nearly all the work myself except for the nut cutting. Played beautifully, with a nice low action. I was very pleased.

Recently I read a post by one of you fine gentlemen, or ladies, about the buildup of finish in the neck pocket. I hadn't considered that this was the case on my Strat, as it played and felt so well.

Well today, as I prepared for a string change, I decided to check the neck pocket, if only to assure myself that I didn't miss something that could effect my setup. Upon removing the neck, I discovered an ever so slight amount of finish encroaching at the distal end of the pocket. The little bump was miniscule, perhaps .005" at most, but it was definitely there. So I grabbed a small block of wood and a piece of 220 grit, and flat sanded the entire area until it was dead flat. I didn't expect much of a difference, but hey, it was maybe 5 minutes work.

I reassembled, and strung up. After coarse tuning with a Snark, just to get everything in range so the strings could stretch out before final tuning with my Peterson, I checked the intonation as I always do. EVERY string was slightly off! WTF, what was going on, I thought to myself. So I got out my action gauge and checked: The action had been lowered about .010" across the board at the 12th fret! Without buzz.

I reset the intonation, final tuned, and plugged in. As the title of this thread says: OMG! If the action was wonderful before, it is AMAZING now. My Strat plays better, IMHO, than any Fender I have ever played, and that includes a few +$3000 Custom Shop axes.

So Thank You very much to whoever posted the tip about the finish in the neck pocket. Just another reason to read this group every day!

 

[stratamania]

Ive talked before indirectly about removing finish in the neck pocket in a build thread. I don't think I've put it forward as a tip or trick or if someone else did. But wherever you got the idea if it works well that's the main thing.

Either way it sounds like having the neck pocket and neck bonded as it were has given you a nice result. Well done.

 

[BigSteve22]

Ive talked before indirectly about removing finish in the neck pocket in a build thread.

I'm not sure who the poster was or where the information was, but I tend to read your posts with interest, so I'm sure you are at least partially responsible.

Thanks for posting your build experiences!

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Awesome! It's one thing to fix a problem, and another thing entirely to improve upon something that was already great! A bit of finish on the lip of the pocket will act just like a shim in the back of the pocket, only driving the headstock the other way. And, as with the shim, a little bit goes a long way! I would add a "safety tip" to sanding in the neck pocket, which is to use only inward strokes (or downward/latteral strokes if sanding on the wall). Outward strokes stand the chance of catching the edge of the finish and that would not make you very happy. I'm glad to hear your Strat is playing better than ever!

 

[BigSteve22]

Thanks Verne. I used 220 and started with inward strokes until I was sure there was no rough edge to catch. The side wall were fine, but I did scrape the bottom corners with an Exacto blade just to be sure.

 

[stratamania]

Cool.

I agree also with Verne, anyone doing something like this needs to be careful and at their own risk etc. It does require some finesse and a steady hand.

 

[dmraco]

Good habit is to always tape the pocket before finish.    Was this a warmoth paint job?

 

[BigSteve22]

Yep, Warmoth finish, right out the Showcase. I put a couple of small chips in the finish when I first started the build, fortunately they are covered by the jack plate. I was real careful with the sanding.

When I refinished my Hagstrom, I did tape off the neck pocket.  I figured Warmoth would have done the same, (and I think the did, it was pretty clean under there), probably why I didn't really check the edge that well when I first assembled the Strat. Next one gets the 220 treatment BEFORE assembly.

 

[Bob Hoover Ross]

Question: If I have a raw unfinished body that I'm planning to finish myself, would it behoove me to avoid these sort of issues by simply not finishing the inside of the neck pocket?

Or do the perils of having an unfinished section of the wood body outweigh the need to be meticulous when sanding the finish in that section?

 

[bagman67]

Generally one does not finish the neck pocket anyway.  The issues described here are the result of finish buildup because masking peeled away, or was not applied when it should have been.  You may very well see lots of part out there, including those from major manufacturers, that have paint in the pocket.  But since you'll have the neck bolted tightly into the pocket you really need not worry about there being no finish there.  What's more likely to protect it:  .003" of polyurethane or nitro film, or an inch of solid maple and the fingerboard of your choice?