Remember reading a story years ago about Eddie Van Halen describing how he installed the neck on his world famous frankenstrat when he first put it together. He said the pocket was too narrow so he took a flat tipped screwdriver and a hammer and chipped out the channel as best he could. He then stated that his drill was broken at the time so he just simply drove a nail in the neck to make the four screw holes, then used whatever screws he could find laying around to fasten the neck to the body. It's really hard to believe that this royally butchered up guitar turned out to be one of the most famous in history and is worth millions of dollars today. Eddie obviously had no idea how to properly build a guitar, but, the guy was pretty resourceful and it certainly paid off for him bigtime. Butchered up or not!
Man, your videos are superb. Not too long, straight to the point, well explained, all with great quality video. I'm getting ready to build my first guitar, and you earned a subscribe from me. Great job.
Thanks so much. Glad to have you on board! I'm also actually in the process of redoing this video, as well as my threaded insert installation video. My new process is much more accurate and I think you'll find it much more helpful. I'm doing my best to get it ready to publish by December 14th. The threaded insert video is done and ready but I just started re-editing this one. Same concept, and I used the method I laid out in this video for years, but the new process is simply a bit more accurate. For wood screws it isn't anywhere near as important to be so precise, as it is with threaded inserts, but still -- excited to get it up and running soon. Thanks again so much for the support!!
0:47 I have a strat style, and I noticed it wasn't spaced evening at the bottom of the fretboard. I even checked a picture of same model on the website and saw it was the same. I guessed there was just some alignment issue with that model, or maybe a reasoning behind it. Then on hearing that advise 'You can adjust this to an extent after installing the neck' made me think. So I pulled it out, loosed each screw by about a 1/4 of a turn, applied some lateral pressure and tightened. Job done. It wasn't really effecting my playing, but it did big me a snitch. Cheers.
@@lesterfalcon1350 So glad it worked for you! I'm currently making an updated version of this video where I'll go over things like this in more detail. On guitars without clearance holes in the neck pocket, for example, you can't align the neck the way you did, as the screws will be immovable. Sometimes sanding the walls of the neck pocket a bit is necessary too to make room for lateral adjustment of the neck. I've been itching to upload it, but I'm taking my time. There are so many things to consider and I'd like the video to be as comprehensive as possible. I'll also address what to do when the neck won't fit into the pocket at all, and more bonuses. Again, so glad this worked for you. And stay tuned. Thanks for the support!
I sure am glad I decided to watch this video. I ordered a roasted maple Fender Vintera mod 70s Stratocaster neck and gonna install it on my 2014 MIM fender HH all black strat. Never even thought to clamp the neck in place and line up the two end strings. Right on, thanks!
Ahhh! wrap the top of that C-clamp with leather, it gouges the finish when you torque the screw, the two surfaces are in direct contact. Great video and tips! I looove your half-circle neck rest. Physics at work!
Watching stuff like this makes me think of just how sloppy it looks when I'm doing it. lol Thus far, I've made a 6-string and a bass. They turned out fine but I'm still figuring out all the tools as well as jigs and so forth. It's just a lot more clunky for me right now. Anyway, these are some good tips. Thank you!
Happy to help! To date, I haven't made any bodies or necks, though I have a lot of experience on the router table and can imagine how it works. I've made hundreds of pickguards and have videos on that as well if you're interested, all under my "Pickguard Making" playlist on my main channel page. I refurbish aftermarket parts and put my own guitars together that way. I do make custom pickguards and I also make my own pickups, and I also re-radius and refret most necks i buy, as well as cut bone nuts for them, but the necks and bodies I use are all pre-fabricated. Occasionally I'll buy a raw body and do a grain fill and finish on it myself, as well as adding any contours, or deepening existing contours. Same for necks. The reason? Tooling is part of it. I've had my eye on some Potvin templates, but for the price I can get necks and bodies for, I haven't been compelled to pull the trigger yet. The tool wormhole is endless. I'd love to expand and to start building necks and bodies, especially reinforced necks for SG style guitars. My next project at some point will be my fretless SG -- I converted it to fretless, but the mahogany neck is flimsy. Would do much better with an Obsidian Ebony fingerboard, and some carbon fiber reinforcements on either side of the truss rod. But even pulling the fingerboard cleanly and making a routing template for a new fingerboard *and* the 1/4" slots on either side of the truss rod would be a lot of work. Might buy a heating blanket from LMI for fingerboard removal -- all that kinda stuff. If you've built a couple guitars, you've probably got a nice array of tools. Keep it up! It's a very deep rabbit hole, but a very fun one. One thing that's especially tough for me is being able to get bodies and necks sometimes cheaper than i could even get the lumber for! So in some sense I'm "cheating," but I do find refurbishing aftermarket parts very rewarding. If I were to build my own guitar, I'd definitely like to come up with my own design. I've redone my 2005 MIM Strat to have two pickups and a totally unique pickguard, as well as jack plate, both of which I made myself, and it's my favorite Strat setup by far. I have a video on that as well here: ua-cam.com/video/ncVOjXyHkeM/v-deo.htmlsi=WUJkoZNHBKh1ExYO
@@guitar_md : For the body, you can use a jig saw to cut out the rough shape or a band saw. I did the 6-string with a jig saw then the band saw came later. After that, I used a Japanese saw rasp and a half-round rasp to start refining the shape then just a relatively inexpensive set of files to start smoothing things off. For the necks, I used the band saw on the neck blank to make a scarf joint at about 13 degrees (or so) then more rasps and files. I didn't use a template for the profile on either I just kinda worked on them until they were guitar necks. They are a bit chunky still but they work and I can always thin them out some day. As for fret boards, I bought a 12 inch radius block and stuck sand paper to it. There's the setting up of a jig involved just to keep the thing pointed in the right orientation. A dovetail saw works fine for the fret slots. Like I said, they feel rather rough to me but hell, at least they work and I have no plans to sell either of these. Anyway, you're absolutely right about the tool wormhole. Lol!
Thanks so much! I'll be in the process of redoing this soon, after my more recent video on installing threaded inserts in a neck. I'm now using a transfer punch chucked in the drill press, and a Woodpecker Mini Square on the neck heel, to verify that the heel of the neck is square to the drill bit before drilling. This is the best way to check for level. I've had great results with the method in this video for many years, but ultimately this will be a more accurate way of doing things. The bubble level only measures level in relation to the center of the earth. You could have a really uneven floor for example, and a bubble level will tell you where you need to shim the table legs to get your tabletop level, so your pencils and other things don't roll off of it when simply placed onto the tabletop. But for this job -- not accurate. I wasn't aware of this at the time and will be redoing and re-uploading many of my videos as a result. That being said, again, I've had plenty of success with this method, which tells me there is some margin for error here. I'll leave this up for now but you'll be one of the few in the know about the updated methods I have for doing these things. Appreciate the support!
Thanks so much for the support! I'm slowly working on an updated version of this video, and the companion EZ LOK threaded insert installation video as well. Excited to keep going on those, I have a lot of updates and a lot of extras to share. Thanks for the support!
Loosening the screws slightly and retightening with the neck under full string tension will improve the fitment. I’m surprised you didn’t mention it.🙏🔑✌️🇮🇱
Yes, this is a good idea! I do this all the time -- but did forget to mention it. I'm working on many new and updated videos and I'd love to include that if I get around to doing a new version of this. Thanks!
@@guitar_md I'm curious if installing the EZ LOK Threaded Inserts (from your other video) would make this string tension loosening/tightening trick ineffective. I'm guessing this trick works by a very slight reseating of the screws in the neck and if there are metal inserts, there would be no play to adjust for the tension of strings on the neck/body connection? After watching your EZ LOK video, I'm interested in installing them on my neck but I would like that extra connection one can get from loosening/tightening screws under string tension. What do you think?
I use black, stretchable thread to align the neck. Tie one end to tuner #1.....down the neck...thru the 1st string bridge hole....up thru 6th string hole....up the neck to tuner #6....tie it off. You now have 2 'E' strings.
In this video, just a drop. The purpose of it is to prevent the screw holes from necking out when threading the screws in. So it's more to saturate the countersink, not the threads themselves. I have put 1 drop of CA glue in the holes themselves in the past, to tighten up slightly stripped neck screw holes. But nowadays I'll just do a threaded insert installation when I find neck holes that are stripped. It's actually easier than plugging and re-drilling, because you just have to bore a wider hole and press the inserts in. 8-32 machine screws. I'm redoing *both* this video *and* my EZ LOK threaded insert installation video, so stay tuned. Huge overhaul and a vastly updated process. These days I exclusively use a drill press vise for mounting the neck for drilling, and I make sure everything is squared up by using a Woodpecker mini square and a transfer punch chucked into the drill press. Basically, you want to make sure the neck heel is square to the chuck when the neck is mounted in a drill press vise. Keeps everything straight. And for the insert installation, my preferred method now is to use a step bit to widen the holes (the step bit goes from 3/16" - 1/4" - drill to 1/4"), then drill to depth with 1/4" twist bit, then ream the holes to .265" with a chucking reamer. *Then* you can use the drill press loaded with the drive tool to drive the inserts in, after filling the holes or dressing the inserts with some glue. Much easier IMO than plugging and re-drilling. And using CA glue to tighten up stripped holes will only help so much. It *is* a quick fix however and in a pinch it'll get you through. Just be sure if you do this to wax the screws very well, as the CA glue really hardens the threads up, and you can crack the neck heel if you're not careful. That's just another reason to me in favor of threaded inserts. Truly bulletproof repair and actually takes far less time than plugging and re-drilling.
Hi! This video is very helpful, but I got a question: i have a 10yo low cost stratocaster and i noticed the neck is too hight... but it's not flat, it's angled so strings still buzz in the nut, but also very high near the body. So, the solution is to sand the neck pocket in order to reach a flat angle?
First, the most important thing is to measure these three points: Relief @ 7th fret Action @ 12th fret Action @ 1st fret An angled neck pocket is not necessarily a bad thing. I may be wrong, but I don't think neck angle has any impact on anything aside from action. That is, adjusting neck angle is not going to affect the action any differently than adjusting the height at the nut or saddles. If the neck pocket is *uneven* due to finish buildup, or being routed too roughly -- then flattening it can be a huge help. If the pocket is flat, but merely angled, this should not be an issue. Check the relief @ 7th, action @ 12th, and action @ 1st. My personal go-to specs on my guitars are: .000" - .002" relief at the 7th fret, around .046" to .050" Low E string, .045" A string, .038" D string, then .030" for the GBE at the 12th fret. And first fret, .015" wound strings, .009" treble strings. Or .018" wound strings, .012" treble strings. That's a good range to keep them within. .020" is OK on the Low E but around .018" is a good standard 'low action.' .015" can be buzzy on the wound strings if you play with more than a light attack. But go by those three specs. Set your neck relief first. Then capo at the 1st fret to take the nut out of the equation. Set the action at the 12th or 17th fret with the capo on the 1st. Then remove the capo at the 1st and file the nut slots down until the desired 1st fret action is reached. You only need to mess with the neck pocket if it's truly *uneven* from a poor job by the manufacturer or builder, or if you're unable to get the setup specs you want, for example, if the saddles run out of adjustment room. There are more tips that go beyond this, but these are the basics. Your neck angle is likely OK if your setup specs are within your desired range. I do recommend clearing the neck pocket holes. But only flatten the pocket if it's absolutely necessary. I'm currently working on designing a neck pocket routing baseplate to attach to a Dremel tool, which is a more advanced version of the one I've used in my videos. But most of the time it's not necessary. I clear the neck pocket holes on 100% of bolt-on neck guitars I work on. I probably only have to rout the neck pocket on maybe 2% of the bolt-on neck guitars that I work on.
@@guitar_md Man, you're a genius, thanks for your help. I'll try your tips, it's kinda difficult to set my nut and action since I'm testing a heavy string gauge (.13), but it's a really good start point. Thanks a lot ^^
@@RuTnVI Sure thing! Let me know what you find. You can also use discarded pieces of clipped strings as feeler gauges to check your action. This can work great in a pinch. Any of the action specs I provided, you can test with a feeler gauge or a clipped string end. Remember: relief first, then capo the 1st fret and set the action at the 12th or 17th, then remove the capo, and set the 1st fret action. You can really fine tune everything after that procedure if you're obsessive like I am. Feel free to ask if you need any advice or help again!
Will reply with multiple comments. Too long to post in a single comment! Here goes: PART 1 I recorded a video back in February showing how to deal with this, but haven't uploaded it yet. It was extremely complicated (to get it perfect). One method people use is to load nails into the neck heel holes, then press the neck into the pocket. And there's your set marks. That *can* work. But the way I did it had to account for additional variables. In my case, if I had used that nail method, the neck plate would have looked really screwed up -- it would have mounted *way too far* to the left side, rather than being centered. This is because it was an aftermarket body and was not routed to standard Fender dimensions. Things were a bit off. How did I do it? In a very complicated way! Check this out for reference: www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas/online-resources/learn-about-building-instruments-and-kits/bolt-on-necks/?srsltid=AfmBOoopnHgPF6RMQZpZSpD-2mJJmdUfjVhO5WkSzuUt62bO86s7kPMJ Basically, as long as the neck pocket is routed to standard dimensions, you can use that diagram to measure and mark everything out in the neck pocket. For guitar, that would mean making a mark 5/8" from the bottom of the pocket. Draw a horizontal line across that mark. That's the centerline of where the center of your bottom two neck heel holes will line up. Then from *that* centerline, make a mark 2" above that. Mark a horizontal line across there as well. That will give you your centerline for the center of your *top two neck heel holes.* The horizontal lines are made most easily with a 4" double square, assuming your neck pocket is Fender style. Fender style neck pockets are flat across on top, which means you can put a double square against it. Extend the ruler of the double square out until you reach that initial mark you made, then trace along the ruler to make your horizontal mark. Keeping the double square against that neck pocket edge will keep that horizontal line parallel. ------------------------------- For the next part, I used a neck plate. I lined it up so those centerlines were right in the middle of the neck plate holes, and got the edges of the neck plate an even distance from the edges of either side of the neck pocket. I did this by eye, then traced around the neck plate, *and* traced circles inside the neck plate holes. Then I measured where the lines were to verify that they were even. There may be a more accurate way to do this, but that worked for me. Additionally, because neck plates are so thin, and tracing circles around the inside of the holes and then marking the *centers of those holes* is a real PITA, I made a 1/2" MDF neck plate template. It makes doing this job easier IMO. You can just line up that template, then use a transfer punch to make the set marks rather than doing a bunch of gymnastics with a pencil and ruler. Neck pockets are tapered, meaning they're wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, which can make measurements difficult. If they were a perfect square, then measuring where to mark the holes would be a lot easier. *ALTERNATIVELY* I didn't think of this until now, but you could also measure the distance between the inside edges of the bottom of the neck pocket -- right where the bottom centerline mark you made would be. Neck pockets taper, meaning they're wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. So I'd just be sure to measure as close to the middle of that centerline as possible, as the neck pocket width changes along its length. Remember how the center-to-center neck heel hole spacing is 1-1/2" on the horizontal plane. So whatever edge-to-edge measurement you get inside the neck pocket -- edge-to-edge, measured horizontally along the centerline that's 5/8" up from the bottom on a guitar, or 1-5/16" up from the bottom on bass -- -- take that number, and subtract 1.5. Then divide by two. So edge-to-edge measurement of the inside of the neck pocket, subtract 1.5, then divide by 2. That will give you *the distance from the edge* for the center-set marks for each of the two bottom neck pocket holes. You can use a machinist ruler, a string action gauge, or digital calipers to measure from the *edge of the neck pocket on either side.* And you measure along that initial centerline you made, indicating the horizontal centerline for your botton two neck pocket holes. Now you make those marks, and you'll have the set marks for your bottom two neck heel holes. Line up a ruler straight up from those holes -- I would use a mini square. The Woodpecker Mini Square is miraculous for guitar work. Put a pencil on the mark you made for one of the bottom two holes. Hold it in place. Now line up your square so the vertical part of the square is touching the pencil. Then line up your square so the horizontal part of the square is perfectly parallel with the *centerline you made indicating the horizontal centerline for the top two neck screw holes.* Then trace along the vertical part of the square. At the end of that vertical line, it'll touch the horizontal centerline for the top two holes, and there's your set mark. Repeat on the other hole, and now you'll have a square drawn with pencil lines that looks like that Stewmac diagram, but without the holes drilled. The center of those marks is where you'll drill your holes.
PART 2 Now, if you're like me, you'll want to drill from the *back* of the neck pocket (the finished side) with a brad point bit. As drilling through the unfinished part of the pocket might cause the finish to chip out on the other side. This is a further complication, and you can probably bypass this by simply putting a good backer under the finished side of the neck pocket. Hold it firmly while you drill and it should be OK....but on this job, it was critical, so I didn't risk it. I decided to use a brad point bit to drill the holes through the finished side of the neck pocket as I needed it to come out perfect. So: If you have a Fender style neck pocket, you can use a double square to help with this. Basically, line up the double square with the top centerline, and lock it in place. You can now simply flip the guitar over, put the double square against the neck pocket edge, and use an ultra fine tip Sharpie to trace a horizontal line along the finish. If it's polyurethane, you can wipe off the Sharpie with rubbing alcohol immediately and easily. It can damage nitrocellulose so you wouldn't want to use this method for nitro finishes. A pencil or China marker might be more appropriate there. Now you can repeat this with the distance from the *edge* of the neck pocket to the *center mark for the holes.* It being the leftmost or rightmost side depends on how you're looking at it. This also requires a Fender style neck pocket, where the top and edge of the neck pocket are, in general, *supposed to be completely flat and square.* Set your double square so the edge of the ruler is perfectly lined up with *that* set mark, then flip the guitar over and mark it. You'll be left with an "L" shaped mark. That "L" is all you need to line up your neck plate, or preferably, 1/2" thick neck plate template. You simply place the edges of the neck plate so they're right against the edges of that "L" mark, clamp it in place (or hold it tightly in place), and make your set marks. With the the 1/2" template, it's much easier. I actually clamped it in place and then used a transfer punch to mark the holes. With a neck plate you'll have to draw circles and find the center of the circles, as they're so thin you can't use a centerpunch or a transfer punch with them. If you hit me up at guitarmdofficial@gmail.com I'd be happy to make you a neck pocket template for a small fee. I don't have any spare transfer punches so you'd have to get your own, but you can also use a Brad point drill bit instead of a transfer punch. Anyway, once you've made the set marks, either after drawing circles and marking center, or using a transfer punch / brad point bit -- -- then you have your set marks, and can use a brad point bit to drill through the finished side of the neck pocket cleanly. I'd recommend putting a backer inside the neck pocket so you don't chip it out. Though the unfinished inside of the neck pocket is a lot less important cosmetically. Whereas on the back, if it chips off a huge piece of finish, it could possibly chip *beyond* the bounds of the neck plate and look really ugly. The inside of the pocket -- I've used wood filler for minor mishaps and it works fine. I don't think it makes any difference. But you always want to work as cleanly as possible and using a backer is standard practice when drilling holes in any flat surface. --------------------------------------- Hope this helps! Tried my best to explain everything. I haven't seen any videos on this and the available methods all seem to be imprecise. I forgot to mention, you'll probably want to fill the neck heel holes when using this method. If the neck goes on fine, then you're done. But if you're having issues mounting it, you may need to plug the neck heel holes, flush cut, then re-mark the holes using your new neck pocket holes as a guide. And then re-drill the neck heel so it's a perfect match for your new neck pocket holes. I think that about covers it. I actually figured some more stuff out while thinking about this and writing this comment and the video I recorded may already be obsolete. Might be time to re-shoot in the future to make this a video. It would be an important one. It took me forever to figure this out because there was nothing online talking about it. Best I could find was people putting nails in the heel of the neck, putting it into the pocket and pressing it down to make set marks. Would not have worked in my case as the neck plate would have looked totally screwed up, and way closer to one edge than the other. So you always have to keep these things in mind. With the method I laid out here you get a much more standardized and professional result, IMO.
Dude I've never subscribed to a channel so fast
Thanks so much!
this!!
Don’t call him dude. Call him sir
Quick, clear, concise, accurate information! No need to fast forward through to find the relevant parts. Subscribed.
Thank you so much. This is what I strive to achieve. Really appreciate the support!
Remember reading a story years ago about Eddie Van Halen describing how he installed the neck on his world famous frankenstrat when he first put it together. He said the pocket was too narrow so he took a flat tipped screwdriver and a hammer and chipped out the channel as best he could. He then stated that his drill was broken at the time so he just simply drove a nail in the neck to make the four screw holes, then used whatever screws he could find laying around to fasten the neck to the body. It's really hard to believe that this royally butchered up guitar turned out to be one of the most famous in history and is worth millions of dollars today. Eddie obviously had no idea how to properly build a guitar, but, the guy was pretty resourceful and it certainly paid off for him bigtime. Butchered up or not!
That’s litterly what I did to my replica and I didn’t even know he did that😂😂😂😂😂
By far the best way to set a new neck …. Another awesome video , you’re my hero Matt 🤓
Man, your videos are superb. Not too long, straight to the point, well explained, all with great quality video. I'm getting ready to build my first guitar, and you earned a subscribe from me. Great job.
Thanks so much. Glad to have you on board! I'm also actually in the process of redoing this video, as well as my threaded insert installation video.
My new process is much more accurate and I think you'll find it much more helpful. I'm doing my best to get it ready to publish by December 14th. The threaded insert video is done and ready but I just started re-editing this one.
Same concept, and I used the method I laid out in this video for years, but the new process is simply a bit more accurate. For wood screws it isn't anywhere near as important to be so precise, as it is with threaded inserts, but still -- excited to get it up and running soon.
Thanks again so much for the support!!
Great tutorial, you deserve a lot more subs, keep going.
Thank you!
As always, a clear and complete guide. Thanks Matt!
I'll be using this method next week when my new Tele neck comes in. Great vid as always. Thanks!
0:47 I have a strat style, and I noticed it wasn't spaced evening at the bottom of the fretboard. I even checked a picture of same model on the website and saw it was the same. I guessed there was just some alignment issue with that model, or maybe a reasoning behind it. Then on hearing that advise 'You can adjust this to an extent after installing the neck' made me think. So I pulled it out, loosed each screw by about a 1/4 of a turn, applied some lateral pressure and tightened. Job done. It wasn't really effecting my playing, but it did big me a snitch. Cheers.
@@lesterfalcon1350 So glad it worked for you! I'm currently making an updated version of this video where I'll go over things like this in more detail.
On guitars without clearance holes in the neck pocket, for example, you can't align the neck the way you did, as the screws will be immovable. Sometimes sanding the walls of the neck pocket a bit is necessary too to make room for lateral adjustment of the neck.
I've been itching to upload it, but I'm taking my time. There are so many things to consider and I'd like the video to be as comprehensive as possible. I'll also address what to do when the neck won't fit into the pocket at all, and more bonuses.
Again, so glad this worked for you. And stay tuned. Thanks for the support!
I sure am glad I decided to watch this video. I ordered a roasted maple Fender Vintera mod 70s Stratocaster neck and gonna install it on my 2014 MIM fender HH all black strat. Never even thought to clamp the neck in place and line up the two end strings. Right on, thanks!
Ahhh! wrap the top of that C-clamp with leather, it gouges the finish when you torque the screw, the two surfaces are in direct contact. Great video and tips! I looove your half-circle neck rest. Physics at work!
Very accommodating sir! Thanks a lot frm your fan in Philippines ❤
Thank you so much for the support! That means the world to me!
This is very useful. Thank you.
Watching stuff like this makes me think of just how sloppy it looks when I'm doing it.
lol
Thus far, I've made a 6-string and a bass. They turned out fine but I'm still figuring out all the tools as well as jigs and so forth. It's just a lot more clunky for me right now.
Anyway, these are some good tips. Thank you!
Same here!! Heh, missing a lot of the tools that would make things a lot easier
Happy to help! To date, I haven't made any bodies or necks, though I have a lot of experience on the router table and can imagine how it works. I've made hundreds of pickguards and have videos on that as well if you're interested, all under my "Pickguard Making" playlist on my main channel page.
I refurbish aftermarket parts and put my own guitars together that way. I do make custom pickguards and I also make my own pickups, and I also re-radius and refret most necks i buy, as well as cut bone nuts for them, but the necks and bodies I use are all pre-fabricated.
Occasionally I'll buy a raw body and do a grain fill and finish on it myself, as well as adding any contours, or deepening existing contours. Same for necks.
The reason? Tooling is part of it. I've had my eye on some Potvin templates, but for the price I can get necks and bodies for, I haven't been compelled to pull the trigger yet.
The tool wormhole is endless. I'd love to expand and to start building necks and bodies, especially reinforced necks for SG style guitars. My next project at some point will be my fretless SG -- I converted it to fretless, but the mahogany neck is flimsy. Would do much better with an Obsidian Ebony fingerboard, and some carbon fiber reinforcements on either side of the truss rod.
But even pulling the fingerboard cleanly and making a routing template for a new fingerboard *and* the 1/4" slots on either side of the truss rod would be a lot of work. Might buy a heating blanket from LMI for fingerboard removal -- all that kinda stuff.
If you've built a couple guitars, you've probably got a nice array of tools. Keep it up! It's a very deep rabbit hole, but a very fun one. One thing that's especially tough for me is being able to get bodies and necks sometimes cheaper than i could even get the lumber for! So in some sense I'm "cheating," but I do find refurbishing aftermarket parts very rewarding.
If I were to build my own guitar, I'd definitely like to come up with my own design. I've redone my 2005 MIM Strat to have two pickups and a totally unique pickguard, as well as jack plate, both of which I made myself, and it's my favorite Strat setup by far. I have a video on that as well here:
ua-cam.com/video/ncVOjXyHkeM/v-deo.htmlsi=WUJkoZNHBKh1ExYO
@@guitar_md : For the body, you can use a jig saw to cut out the rough shape or a band saw. I did the 6-string with a jig saw then the band saw came later.
After that, I used a Japanese saw rasp and a half-round rasp to start refining the shape then just a relatively inexpensive set of files to start smoothing things off.
For the necks, I used the band saw on the neck blank to make a scarf joint at about 13 degrees (or so) then more rasps and files. I didn't use a template for the profile on either I just kinda worked on them until they were guitar necks. They are a bit chunky still but they work and I can always thin them out some day.
As for fret boards, I bought a 12 inch radius block and stuck sand paper to it. There's the setting up of a jig involved just to keep the thing pointed in the right orientation.
A dovetail saw works fine for the fret slots.
Like I said, they feel rather rough to me but hell, at least they work and I have no plans to sell either of these.
Anyway, you're absolutely right about the tool wormhole. Lol!
Thanks. Well taught! Instant subscriber.👍
Thanks, this is the best tutorial I've seen for this
Thanks so much! I'll be in the process of redoing this soon, after my more recent video on installing threaded inserts in a neck.
I'm now using a transfer punch chucked in the drill press, and a Woodpecker Mini Square on the neck heel, to verify that the heel of the neck is square to the drill bit before drilling. This is the best way to check for level. I've had great results with the method in this video for many years, but ultimately this will be a more accurate way of doing things.
The bubble level only measures level in relation to the center of the earth. You could have a really uneven floor for example, and a bubble level will tell you where you need to shim the table legs to get your tabletop level, so your pencils and other things don't roll off of it when simply placed onto the tabletop.
But for this job -- not accurate. I wasn't aware of this at the time and will be redoing and re-uploading many of my videos as a result.
That being said, again, I've had plenty of success with this method, which tells me there is some margin for error here. I'll leave this up for now but you'll be one of the few in the know about the updated methods I have for doing these things.
Appreciate the support!
THIS is how you make an instructional video!! Great job, thank you so much! (insta subbed)
Thanks so much for the support! I'm slowly working on an updated version of this video, and the companion EZ LOK threaded insert installation video as well. Excited to keep going on those, I have a lot of updates and a lot of extras to share.
Thanks for the support!
Useful stuff. Thank you.
Great video. Note, analog calipers will work too.
Loosening the screws slightly and retightening with the neck under full string tension will improve the fitment.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention it.🙏🔑✌️🇮🇱
Yes, this is a good idea! I do this all the time -- but did forget to mention it.
I'm working on many new and updated videos and I'd love to include that if I get around to doing a new version of this. Thanks!
@@guitar_md I'm curious if installing the EZ LOK Threaded Inserts (from your other video) would make this string tension loosening/tightening trick ineffective. I'm guessing this trick works by a very slight reseating of the screws in the neck and if there are metal inserts, there would be no play to adjust for the tension of strings on the neck/body connection?
After watching your EZ LOK video, I'm interested in installing them on my neck but I would like that extra connection one can get from loosening/tightening screws under string tension. What do you think?
Great video, subscribed.
I use black, stretchable thread to align the neck.
Tie one end to tuner #1.....down the neck...thru the 1st string bridge hole....up thru 6th string hole....up the neck to tuner #6....tie it off.
You now have 2 'E' strings.
Wow, excellent job.
Thank you so much!
outstanding video
Thank you!
How much ca glue do you put in the neck holes?
In this video, just a drop. The purpose of it is to prevent the screw holes from necking out when threading the screws in. So it's more to saturate the countersink, not the threads themselves.
I have put 1 drop of CA glue in the holes themselves in the past, to tighten up slightly stripped neck screw holes. But nowadays I'll just do a threaded insert installation when I find neck holes that are stripped. It's actually easier than plugging and re-drilling, because you just have to bore a wider hole and press the inserts in. 8-32 machine screws.
I'm redoing *both* this video *and* my EZ LOK threaded insert installation video, so stay tuned. Huge overhaul and a vastly updated process. These days I exclusively use a drill press vise for mounting the neck for drilling, and I make sure everything is squared up by using a Woodpecker mini square and a transfer punch chucked into the drill press. Basically, you want to make sure the neck heel is square to the chuck when the neck is mounted in a drill press vise. Keeps everything straight.
And for the insert installation, my preferred method now is to use a step bit to widen the holes (the step bit goes from 3/16" - 1/4" - drill to 1/4"), then drill to depth with 1/4" twist bit, then ream the holes to .265" with a chucking reamer. *Then* you can use the drill press loaded with the drive tool to drive the inserts in, after filling the holes or dressing the inserts with some glue.
Much easier IMO than plugging and re-drilling. And using CA glue to tighten up stripped holes will only help so much. It *is* a quick fix however and in a pinch it'll get you through. Just be sure if you do this to wax the screws very well, as the CA glue really hardens the threads up, and you can crack the neck heel if you're not careful. That's just another reason to me in favor of threaded inserts. Truly bulletproof repair and actually takes far less time than plugging and re-drilling.
such a great video!
Thank you!
Hi! This video is very helpful, but I got a question: i have a 10yo low cost stratocaster and i noticed the neck is too hight... but it's not flat, it's angled so strings still buzz in the nut, but also very high near the body. So, the solution is to sand the neck pocket in order to reach a flat angle?
First, the most important thing is to measure these three points:
Relief @ 7th fret
Action @ 12th fret
Action @ 1st fret
An angled neck pocket is not necessarily a bad thing. I may be wrong, but I don't think neck angle has any impact on anything aside from action.
That is, adjusting neck angle is not going to affect the action any differently than adjusting the height at the nut or saddles.
If the neck pocket is *uneven* due to finish buildup, or being routed too roughly -- then flattening it can be a huge help. If the pocket is flat, but merely angled, this should not be an issue.
Check the relief @ 7th, action @ 12th, and action @ 1st.
My personal go-to specs on my guitars are: .000" - .002" relief at the 7th fret, around .046" to .050" Low E string, .045" A string, .038" D string, then .030" for the GBE at the 12th fret.
And first fret, .015" wound strings, .009" treble strings. Or .018" wound strings, .012" treble strings. That's a good range to keep them within. .020" is OK on the Low E but around .018" is a good standard 'low action.' .015" can be buzzy on the wound strings if you play with more than a light attack.
But go by those three specs. Set your neck relief first. Then capo at the 1st fret to take the nut out of the equation. Set the action at the 12th or 17th fret with the capo on the 1st.
Then remove the capo at the 1st and file the nut slots down until the desired 1st fret action is reached.
You only need to mess with the neck pocket if it's truly *uneven* from a poor job by the manufacturer or builder, or if you're unable to get the setup specs you want, for example, if the saddles run out of adjustment room.
There are more tips that go beyond this, but these are the basics. Your neck angle is likely OK if your setup specs are within your desired range.
I do recommend clearing the neck pocket holes. But only flatten the pocket if it's absolutely necessary. I'm currently working on designing a neck pocket routing baseplate to attach to a Dremel tool, which is a more advanced version of the one I've used in my videos.
But most of the time it's not necessary. I clear the neck pocket holes on 100% of bolt-on neck guitars I work on. I probably only have to rout the neck pocket on maybe 2% of the bolt-on neck guitars that I work on.
@@guitar_md Man, you're a genius, thanks for your help. I'll try your tips, it's kinda difficult to set my nut and action since I'm testing a heavy string gauge (.13), but it's a really good start point. Thanks a lot ^^
@@RuTnVI Sure thing! Let me know what you find. You can also use discarded pieces of clipped strings as feeler gauges to check your action. This can work great in a pinch.
Any of the action specs I provided, you can test with a feeler gauge or a clipped string end. Remember: relief first, then capo the 1st fret and set the action at the 12th or 17th, then remove the capo, and set the 1st fret action. You can really fine tune everything after that procedure if you're obsessive like I am.
Feel free to ask if you need any advice or help again!
what if the neck already has holes but the body does not?
Will reply with multiple comments. Too long to post in a single comment! Here goes:
PART 1
I recorded a video back in February showing how to deal with this, but haven't uploaded it yet. It was extremely complicated (to get it perfect).
One method people use is to load nails into the neck heel holes, then press the neck into the pocket. And there's your set marks.
That *can* work. But the way I did it had to account for additional variables. In my case, if I had used that nail method, the neck plate would have looked really screwed up -- it would have mounted *way too far* to the left side, rather than being centered.
This is because it was an aftermarket body and was not routed to standard Fender dimensions. Things were a bit off.
How did I do it? In a very complicated way!
Check this out for reference:
www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas/online-resources/learn-about-building-instruments-and-kits/bolt-on-necks/?srsltid=AfmBOoopnHgPF6RMQZpZSpD-2mJJmdUfjVhO5WkSzuUt62bO86s7kPMJ
Basically, as long as the neck pocket is routed to standard dimensions, you can use that diagram to measure and mark everything out in the neck pocket.
For guitar, that would mean making a mark 5/8" from the bottom of the pocket. Draw a horizontal line across that mark. That's the centerline of where the center of your bottom two neck heel holes will line up.
Then from *that* centerline, make a mark 2" above that. Mark a horizontal line across there as well. That will give you your centerline for the center of your *top two neck heel holes.*
The horizontal lines are made most easily with a 4" double square, assuming your neck pocket is Fender style. Fender style neck pockets are flat across on top, which means you can put a double square against it. Extend the ruler of the double square out until you reach that initial mark you made, then trace along the ruler to make your horizontal mark. Keeping the double square against that neck pocket edge will keep that horizontal line parallel.
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For the next part, I used a neck plate. I lined it up so those centerlines were right in the middle of the neck plate holes, and got the edges of the neck plate an even distance from the edges of either side of the neck pocket.
I did this by eye, then traced around the neck plate, *and* traced circles inside the neck plate holes. Then I measured where the lines were to verify that they were even.
There may be a more accurate way to do this, but that worked for me.
Additionally, because neck plates are so thin, and tracing circles around the inside of the holes and then marking the *centers of those holes* is a real PITA, I made a 1/2" MDF neck plate template.
It makes doing this job easier IMO. You can just line up that template, then use a transfer punch to make the set marks rather than doing a bunch of gymnastics with a pencil and ruler.
Neck pockets are tapered, meaning they're wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, which can make measurements difficult. If they were a perfect square, then measuring where to mark the holes would be a lot easier.
*ALTERNATIVELY*
I didn't think of this until now, but you could also measure the distance between the inside edges of the bottom of the neck pocket -- right where the bottom centerline mark you made would be.
Neck pockets taper, meaning they're wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. So I'd just be sure to measure as close to the middle of that centerline as possible, as the neck pocket width changes along its length.
Remember how the center-to-center neck heel hole spacing is 1-1/2" on the horizontal plane.
So whatever edge-to-edge measurement you get inside the neck pocket -- edge-to-edge, measured horizontally along the centerline that's 5/8" up from the bottom on a guitar, or 1-5/16" up from the bottom on bass --
-- take that number, and subtract 1.5. Then divide by two.
So edge-to-edge measurement of the inside of the neck pocket, subtract 1.5, then divide by 2.
That will give you *the distance from the edge* for the center-set marks for each of the two bottom neck pocket holes.
You can use a machinist ruler, a string action gauge, or digital calipers to measure from the *edge of the neck pocket on either side.*
And you measure along that initial centerline you made, indicating the horizontal centerline for your botton two neck pocket holes.
Now you make those marks, and you'll have the set marks for your bottom two neck heel holes.
Line up a ruler straight up from those holes -- I would use a mini square. The Woodpecker Mini Square is miraculous for guitar work.
Put a pencil on the mark you made for one of the bottom two holes. Hold it in place.
Now line up your square so the vertical part of the square is touching the pencil.
Then line up your square so the horizontal part of the square is perfectly parallel with the *centerline you made indicating the horizontal centerline for the top two neck screw holes.*
Then trace along the vertical part of the square. At the end of that vertical line, it'll touch the horizontal centerline for the top two holes, and there's your set mark.
Repeat on the other hole, and now you'll have a square drawn with pencil lines that looks like that Stewmac diagram, but without the holes drilled.
The center of those marks is where you'll drill your holes.
PART 2
Now, if you're like me, you'll want to drill from the *back* of the neck pocket (the finished side) with a brad point bit. As drilling through the unfinished part of the pocket might cause the finish to chip out on the other side.
This is a further complication, and you can probably bypass this by simply putting a good backer under the finished side of the neck pocket. Hold it firmly while you drill and it should be OK....but on this job, it was critical, so I didn't risk it. I decided to use a brad point bit to drill the holes through the finished side of the neck pocket as I needed it to come out perfect.
So:
If you have a Fender style neck pocket, you can use a double square to help with this.
Basically, line up the double square with the top centerline, and lock it in place. You can now simply flip the guitar over, put the double square against the neck pocket edge, and use an ultra fine tip Sharpie to trace a horizontal line along the finish.
If it's polyurethane, you can wipe off the Sharpie with rubbing alcohol immediately and easily. It can damage nitrocellulose so you wouldn't want to use this method for nitro finishes. A pencil or China marker might be more appropriate there.
Now you can repeat this with the distance from the *edge* of the neck pocket to the *center mark for the holes.* It being the leftmost or rightmost side depends on how you're looking at it.
This also requires a Fender style neck pocket, where the top and edge of the neck pocket are, in general, *supposed to be completely flat and square.*
Set your double square so the edge of the ruler is perfectly lined up with *that* set mark, then flip the guitar over and mark it.
You'll be left with an "L" shaped mark. That "L" is all you need to line up your neck plate, or preferably, 1/2" thick neck plate template.
You simply place the edges of the neck plate so they're right against the edges of that "L" mark, clamp it in place (or hold it tightly in place), and make your set marks.
With the the 1/2" template, it's much easier. I actually clamped it in place and then used a transfer punch to mark the holes. With a neck plate you'll have to draw circles and find the center of the circles, as they're so thin you can't use a centerpunch or a transfer punch with them.
If you hit me up at guitarmdofficial@gmail.com I'd be happy to make you a neck pocket template for a small fee. I don't have any spare transfer punches so you'd have to get your own, but you can also use a Brad point drill bit instead of a transfer punch.
Anyway, once you've made the set marks, either after drawing circles and marking center, or using a transfer punch / brad point bit --
-- then you have your set marks, and can use a brad point bit to drill through the finished side of the neck pocket cleanly.
I'd recommend putting a backer inside the neck pocket so you don't chip it out. Though the unfinished inside of the neck pocket is a lot less important cosmetically. Whereas on the back, if it chips off a huge piece of finish, it could possibly chip *beyond* the bounds of the neck plate and look really ugly.
The inside of the pocket -- I've used wood filler for minor mishaps and it works fine. I don't think it makes any difference. But you always want to work as cleanly as possible and using a backer is standard practice when drilling holes in any flat surface.
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Hope this helps! Tried my best to explain everything. I haven't seen any videos on this and the available methods all seem to be imprecise.
I forgot to mention, you'll probably want to fill the neck heel holes when using this method.
If the neck goes on fine, then you're done. But if you're having issues mounting it, you may need to plug the neck heel holes, flush cut, then re-mark the holes using your new neck pocket holes as a guide. And then re-drill the neck heel so it's a perfect match for your new neck pocket holes.
I think that about covers it. I actually figured some more stuff out while thinking about this and writing this comment and the video I recorded may already be obsolete. Might be time to re-shoot in the future to make this a video.
It would be an important one. It took me forever to figure this out because there was nothing online talking about it. Best I could find was people putting nails in the heel of the neck, putting it into the pocket and pressing it down to make set marks.
Would not have worked in my case as the neck plate would have looked totally screwed up, and way closer to one edge than the other. So you always have to keep these things in mind.
With the method I laid out here you get a much more standardized and professional result, IMO.
Screw wax! Surprised name wasn’t already taken 😂😂
I know, right? I almost thought it was a joke when I saw it. I was like....no way. Apparently it was up for grabs!
Sex wax was already taken!😂