Tight fitting neck....

[g2]

Hello....

I have a Warmoth body and a neck from somewhere else....

When I first got the neck and went to place it onto the body I thought it wasn't going to fit at all because it didn't just drop in to place.
The neck is sliiiiightly wider than the pocket.

I was able to get it into the pocket without too much force, but...some was needed to get it in there.

I'm thinking I should sand the sides of the neck pocket so the neck drops in easier....but, after reading a post on another forum I realized I could possibly mess with neck alignment by doing this.....
Will I??? Is it OK if there's a tight fit??
Is it safe to sand the sides of the neck pocket a little?

Any suggestions?

 

[Soloshchenko]

Its unlikely you will mess up the neck alignment if you use a sanding block to sand both sides down and sand evenly between the 2 sides, ie. don't just sand one side down too much.

I have had this problem, its really common and you would be surprised how little sanding will get the neck to fit. Keep trying to fit the neck in til it goes in easy.

 

[g2]

Its unlikely you will mess up the neck alignment if you use a sanding block to sand both sides down and sand evenly between the 2 sides, ie. don't just sand one side down too much.

I have had this problem, its really common and you would be surprised how little sanding will get the neck to fit. Keep trying to fit the neck in til it goes in easy.

Great...thanks!!

 

[jackthehack]

"I was able to get it into the pocket without too much force, but...some was needed to get it in there."

That sounds perfect, don't mess with it. As long as you're sure that it's fully/completely seating I wouldn't be sanding on it.

 

[-CB-]

Tighter is better - just so long as it fits

 

[Tonar8352]

I’m with Jack and CB. I always cross my fingers for a tight fit at the neck pocket.

 

[ibob74]

Tight good. Loose bad.

 

[g2]

Ok, thanks guys for your responses.....

I poted the same question on ReRanch and one guy said:
"SAND it now! if you leave it in, the wood around the heel will crack!
if you have to FORCE the neck in, that's a bad sign!"

Any thoughts on that??

Im not having to bang the neck in with any tools or anything.....just gotta lean into it a bit

 

[ibob74]

Sounds like a perfect fit to me.

 

[nathan a]

Use your best judgment. It could be fine as is. If you think you had to put in a tad too much force, then maybe sand just one or two passes on each side of the neck pocket. Definitely no more.

 

[g2]

Use your best judgment. It could be fine as is. If you think you had to put in a tad too much force, then maybe sand just one or two passes on each side of the neck pocket. Definitely no more.

yea, thats what i was thinking.....a couple of passes on each side....

 

[-CB-]

Judgment should be the key word.

If the neck needs a little squeeze to slip into the body - and they go straight down from the top, not in from the end.....

.... if thats the case, you're fine. 

If you're whacking it in with a rubber mallet... thats too tight and it might just split (rare, but happens).

The part that splits is the body (usually).

Its like drivin' the plug into a bung hole.  There is a danger when you compress wood.

If you're going to sand it - just sand the sides and the best way is to wrap a flat file or piece of metal with paper, then use it on the whole edge at once, keeping the edge nice and square and sharp.  Don't use yer fingers.

And don't sand the neck.  Only the body... 220 grit should do fine for this... probably only take a very little bit.

I forget if your neck is finished or not - but remember the finish add some size to the neck and that must be accounted for too.  So it you think its really tight now, it will be tighter if the neck is unfinished and gets something put on it.

 

[simple]

Tight good. Loose bad.

(Just a quick comment)

I've had loose fitting pockets and experienced great sustain and great tone from such guitars. I think a lot of people buy and play bolt on guitars, preassembled, off the rack that have no idea they have a loose fitting pocket and their owners are not compelled to pull apart the guitar to find out what's wrong with the tone.

I think it's a neat part of "fit and finish" to have a snug pocket but for me, it's never a show stopper. I think the force of the four screws holding the neck to the floor of the pocket is far more critical to the resonant transfer than the sides so I believe there simply is no performance difference. And, you cannot see a loose pocket with the naked eye unless it's an extreme case so again, no issue IMO.

I have cracked a body from a neck pocket being too tight. If I had to choose between a cracked body or a loose neck pocket, I'll take the loose neck pocket any day.

 

[g2]

Thanks again everyone for your feedback....

I feel like I wont have to do anything at all...at most...MAYBE one or two swipes with sandpaper on either side of the neck pocket.

I will be finishing the neck with Tung Oil and staining the body and Tung Oil finish on that as well.....

Here's a short video of me putting the neck into the pocket.....it's actually a little easier to get it in there after doing it the first time.

http://gersh.ws/neckbody.AVI

Thanks and Happy Holidays!!!

 

[nathan a]

I watched your video a few times, I think it looks perfect. BUT I haven't done this nearly as many times as some of the other guys here, let them chime in too.

 

[ibob74]

Looks like a perfect fit.