Setting up a new neck

[Mostaguen]

Hey guys! I just recieved my neck from warmoth and I have some questions about setting it up before installing it on my guitar.
First of all, here it is :

I have a set of Gotoh vintage tuners that I ordered with it :

I am gessing that I have to push the "ring" in the tuner holes on the front of the neck?
And then I insert the tunner from the back and screw it in the neck. Do I have to drill the holes or do I dirrectly screw it in?
Is there an easy way to make sure that all the tuners are screwed at the right angle?

Next are string retainers :

Same questions do I pre-drill the holes and how do I know where to position them?

Thank you!

 

[TeleMark]

Question...  Is that the "Fatback" profile?  I ended up with one of those off the Showcase and am sending it back...  The thing has no heel!  I've seen fat necks, but that seemed over the top for me.

I don't have much advice on the drilling.  My first W neck was a Jackson-style and I used mini-Schaller lockers.  I imagine I must have drilled the screw holes, but don't remember.  the tuners do have a flat bottom, so it must have been easy to line up so they were straight.

 

[Mostaguen]

Yes it's a fat back. I really wanted to get the real vintage deal!

 

[DavyDave53]

Fatbacks are my favorite.  For these years, I've been struggling with skinny little necks.  No more wizardry for me.

If you use staggered height tuners and Hipshot's UMP you don't need to drill any extra holes in your neck.

 

[swarfrat]

Fatback rocks if you have long fingers.

 

[Mostaguen]

Just installed the "rings" using a pair of vice-grip and some square pieces of coropolast I cutted out to protect the parts from the vice-grip. It went well. I'll install the tuners tomorrow.

 

[AutoBat]

If you don't drill the tuner screws and use some sort of lubricant we'll be seeing your angry post in the "HELP MY SCREWS BROKE OFF IN THE NECK!" thread later.

 

[Mostaguen]

I got everything figured out now. the only thing I still need to know is how to position correctly the string retainers.

 

[Cagey]

The only reason to put string retainers/trees on a headstock is if you're Fender Musical Instrument Co. and have done a sloppy job of cutting the nut. That neck is clearly a Warmoth part with the nut installed and slots cut by them, so you don't need the things. If you must have them, it really doesn't matter where you put them. They'll interfere with your tuning stability and get in your way while stringing regardless of position.

 

[Mostaguen]

Autobat you were right  I drilled smaller than the screws and now I have 2 screws broken in the neck.

Do I have to cut beside them and try to uncrew them with some pliers, do I try to glue a new head on the screw or is there a way to take them out efficiently?

 

[Mostaguen]

I am reading right now that some left hand drill bits might work... Are they worth giving a shot?

 

[Cagey]

I wouldn't expect that to work. What you need is a screw extractor, which is basically a hollow left-handed drill. You use that to remove the broken screw, then plug the hole and drill a new one.

 

[anorakDan]

Never, ever screw any screw into your guitar for the first time without using wax to lubricate the threads of that screw. Also, don't try to just twist the screw into place. Screw it in, then back it out a little. Keep doing this until you drive the screw home and then stop. There's no need for one last half to full turn of the screw to hold it into place. Once the screw's home, no more than a quarter turn.

 

[Mostaguen]

Thank you Cagey. I guess it's part of learning from mistakes as it is my first build... :sad: Even if the tool you suggested me will probably do the job fine as a perfectionist it kind of bums me out. Oh well the guitar will have an history behind it.  :-\

 

[alterbridgefan]

The tuners will hide the imperfection. Don't give it another thought.

 

[Cagey]

No problem. Just keep in mind what AnorakDan said - never try and screw anything into neck wood without wax. They're made of very hard woods, all but non-compressible. Also, make sure your pilot holes are appropriately-sized. And don't feel too bad - guys twist the heads off tuner screws all the time. It's almost a rite of passage.

 

[anorakDan]

You don't really even need the screws. It's the nut that holds the tuner in place. You could even super glue the twisted off heads into the tuner holes and no one but us would know.

I think the link to this video series should be stickied here. Anyone even thinking about undertaking a Warmoth project should watch this series over and over again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqLfllURlo8&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Sure, Jason pays close attention to detail and it might get a little ... intimidating that there are so many parts to the series. But you can't cut corners on a project and expect results you can be proud of. Watch the videos. You'll be glad you did.

Also, you might find this interesting for tuner alignment...

http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=392

Good luck, keep us posted on the progress and welcome to the board. There's a great Brain Trust collected here in regards to building your own guitars. Don't be afraid to ask anything here. You'll get great answers. And interesting threadjacking too!

 

[Cagey]

You don't really even need the screws. It's the nut that holds the tuner in place. You could even super glue the twisted off heads into the tuner holes and no one but us would know.

Problem is he's using copies of obsolete tuners and they do need the screws.

 

[Mostaguen]

So I bringed it to my dad who does woodworking as a hobby. When I picked it up coming back from work this is how it ended up :

Some pretty good job! I basically explained to him the concept of the stewmac screw recovery that cagey showed me and he just went no problem I can do that.

Here it is with the tuners :

Now I just have to wait for the new screws to arrive. By the way the screws that came with the gotoh tuners are horrible. I didn't even force them. The first one broke while it was going in the drilled hole and the second one broke when I was unscrewing it and it was only halfway in. I ordered some official fender tuner screw that are threaded all the way. The gotoh ones had a weird part at the top that was bigger than the threading.

 

[alterbridgefan]

Hmm... Don't Dads become irrelevant at the age of 15?

How old are you anyway? :laughing7: