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Neck pocket to big...

9/16/1999 2:33 PM
pHiL	Neck pocket to big... Looking for suggestions on repair or modifying the neck pocket on a Strat body for tighter fit. There's a bit of a gap on the lower (short) side of the pocket. This is a project guitar that I got for cheap but would like to fix it up for a good back up guitar / slide / or maybe one of my kids might end up with it. I was thinking of glueing in a thin shim of wood and sanding it to fit. I don't really have a proper router or jig though... closest thing I've got in the shop is a dremel. Any suggestions? Thanks, pHiL

9/16/1999 2:33 PM

pHiL

Neck pocket to big...

Looking for suggestions on repair or modifying the neck pocket on a Strat body for tighter fit. There's a bit of a gap on the lower (short) side of the pocket. This is a project guitar that I got for cheap but would like to fix it up for a good back up guitar / slide / or maybe one of my kids might end up with it.

I was thinking of glueing in a thin shim of wood and sanding it to fit. I don't really have a proper router or jig though... closest thing I've got in the shop is a dremel.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

pHiL

9/16/1999 3:32 PM
Joe Fuzz	Luckily, I've never had this problem. However, I've heard that it's best (if possible) to pull the neck to one side or the other so that at least one side of the neck makes contact with the body, then shim the opposite site. I guess it depends on how loose the fit is. As far as gluing the shim to the body...I don't know about that. Would be concerned about the dampening effect that the glue might have on energy transfer. May be just better to wedge the shim in there really, really tightly. (One of the experts will pipe up about this, I hope.)

9/16/1999 3:32 PM

Joe Fuzz

Luckily, I've never had this problem. However, I've heard that it's best (if possible) to pull the neck to one side or the other so that at least one side of the neck makes contact with the body, then shim the opposite site. I guess it depends on how loose the fit is.

As far as gluing the shim to the body...I don't know about that. Would be concerned about the dampening effect that the glue might have on energy transfer. May be just better to wedge the shim in there really, really tightly. (One of the experts will pipe up about this, I hope.)

9/16/1999 3:39 PM
Doc	I would go about it just as you were planning. If you've determined that the string geometry is correct with the heel of the neck placed tight to the upper horn side of the pocket, then put in a wood shim to fill the gap along the other side. You can buy wood strips in both balsa and basswood at a hobby shop. They're used to build model airplanes, etc. Go with the basswood. The thinnest I've seen is 1/16". Of course, you can make the shim out of some other wood or veneer you happen to have around the house. Cut it to the basic size & shape. Even if it's a little oversize or slightly thicker than you need, that should be ok. Make sure the finish is cleared away off the surface you wish to attach the shim to. It's a good idea to mask off the area around the pocket just beyond the glue line and around the outside of the neck pocket so the finished areas remain unmarred. I use scrapers & flat mill files and short, deliberate strokes. Use regular carpenters glue and clamp the glued joint overnight. Wipe off all the excess that squeezed out while it's still wet.) Those Stanley adjustable clamps with the yellow vinyl pads work greay for me. The next day, just carefully trim the shim edges and pocket contours with a fine flat file sand paper, Dremel (on slow speed!), whatever works. After the job is completed, it's a good idea to spray or brush on a coat of some kind of paint (flat black, clear, your guitar body color, etc.) over the exposed bare wood, to prevent moisture pickup. The vibration coupling is between the flat surface of the neck heel and the mating surface in the neck pocket of the body. The width of the pocket and it's fit to the neck keep the neck in alignment, and maintain the proper string geometry and tuning. Is yours a late '70s model 3-bolt strat with a sloppy neck pocket?

9/16/1999 3:39 PM

Doc

I would go about it just as you were planning. If you've determined that the string geometry is correct with the heel of the neck placed tight to the upper horn side of the pocket, then put in a wood shim to fill the gap along the other side.

You can buy wood strips in both balsa and basswood at a hobby shop. They're used to build model airplanes, etc. Go with the basswood. The thinnest I've seen is 1/16". Of course, you can make the shim out of some other wood or veneer you happen to have around the house. Cut it to the basic size & shape. Even if it's a little oversize or slightly thicker than you need, that should be ok. Make sure the finish is cleared away off the surface you wish to attach the shim to. It's a good idea to mask off the area around the pocket just beyond the glue line and around the outside of the neck pocket so the finished areas remain unmarred. I use scrapers & flat mill files and short, deliberate strokes. Use regular carpenters glue and clamp the glued joint overnight. Wipe off all the excess that squeezed out while it's still wet.) Those Stanley adjustable clamps with the yellow vinyl pads work greay for me. The next day, just carefully trim the shim edges and pocket contours with a fine flat file sand paper, Dremel (on slow speed!), whatever works. After the job is completed, it's a good idea to spray or brush on a coat of some kind of paint (flat black, clear, your guitar body color, etc.) over the exposed bare wood, to prevent moisture pickup.

The vibration coupling is between the flat surface of the neck heel and the mating surface in the neck pocket of the body. The width of the pocket and it's fit to the neck keep the neck in alignment, and maintain the proper string geometry and tuning. Is yours a late '70s model 3-bolt strat with a sloppy neck pocket?

9/16/1999 4:22 PM
pHiL	Re: Neck pocket too big... Thanks for the info Doc. It's an early to mid 80's Squire. Really not a bad guitar except for the neck pocket. The neck itself has a nice shape and feel to it. And yes, the alignment is good... it's a 4-bolt arrangement. I thought about putting some double-sided tape between the neck and neck pocket since my main concern is that it'll shift if bumped or torqued while playing. Anyway, I'll go for the clamps and glue technique that you mentioned. BTW, do you happen to know of a good source for small scraps of dark rosewood? I have another Japanese Strat neck that has a locking type nut and I would like to rebuild the thing to accomodate a standard fender style nut. Don't need much. Thanks again, pHiL

9/16/1999 4:22 PM

pHiL

Re: Neck pocket too big...

Thanks for the info Doc.

It's an early to mid 80's Squire. Really not a bad guitar except for the neck pocket. The neck itself has a nice shape and feel to it. And yes, the alignment is good... it's a 4-bolt arrangement. I thought about putting some double-sided tape between the neck and neck pocket since my main concern is that it'll shift if bumped or torqued while playing. Anyway, I'll go for the clamps and glue technique that you mentioned.

BTW, do you happen to know of a good source for small scraps of dark rosewood? I have another Japanese Strat neck that has a locking type nut and I would like to rebuild the thing to accomodate a standard fender style nut. Don't need much.

Thanks again,

pHiL

9/16/1999 4:51 PM
Doc	Funny you should mention that! I have a big-head squier strat neck from the '80s that had a locking nut installed. Luckily, it too had a rosewood fingerboard, which is easier to repair than a maple FB. I recently succeeded in retrning the end of the fingerboard to stock look. I couldn't easily locate any rosewood scraps (I didn't bother begging any luthiers), and StewMac said they didn't have any. You could conceiveably use an old acoustic guitar bridge, but you need to at least match the direction of the fingerboard's grain, if not the exact color. So I bit the bullet and bought a rosewood slab fingerboard blank from their catalog. I cut off a piece, and carefully grafted it to the prepared void on the neck. I rationalized the expense of the piece of rosewood as a lifetime supply for general patchwork that I'm sure to encounter as the years go on. By the way, the fingerboard repair turned out nicely and it was done using common hand tools. One trick is to find a piece of round stock (wood or metal) of the correct curvature for use as a sanding block to match the "scoop" at the end where it blends down to the headstock. Another detail was to form the "hole" for the truss rod bullet. I took my time and made up my method as I went along. Anyone can do the same. Now all I have to do is refret the neck, which is a much bigger step for me.

9/16/1999 4:51 PM

Doc

Funny you should mention that! I have a big-head squier strat neck from the '80s that had a locking nut installed. Luckily, it too had a rosewood fingerboard, which is easier to repair than a maple FB. I recently succeeded in retrning the end of the fingerboard to stock look.

I couldn't easily locate any rosewood scraps (I didn't bother begging any luthiers), and StewMac said they didn't have any. You could conceiveably use an old acoustic guitar bridge, but you need to at least match the direction of the fingerboard's grain, if not the exact color. So I bit the bullet and bought a rosewood slab fingerboard blank from their catalog. I cut off a piece, and carefully grafted it to the prepared void on the neck. I rationalized the expense of the piece of rosewood as a lifetime supply for general patchwork that I'm sure to encounter as the years go on.

By the way, the fingerboard repair turned out nicely and it was done using common hand tools. One trick is to find a piece of round stock (wood or metal) of the correct curvature for use as a sanding block to match the "scoop" at the end where it blends down to the headstock. Another detail was to form the "hole" for the truss rod bullet. I took my time and made up my method as I went along. Anyone can do the same. Now all I have to do is refret the neck, which is a much bigger step for me.

9/16/1999 9:44 PM
pHiL	Yeah, I went down the same path for finding rosewood and will likely buy the blank from StewMac too. Fortunately, the lock nut is a fairly rare Kahler type that didn't require drilling through the neck. I love the neck on this thing and really want to salvage it if I can. And like yourself, I'll be looking to refret it too which will definitely be a challange. Thanks again for the advice. Regards, pHiL

9/16/1999 9:44 PM

pHiL

Yeah, I went down the same path for finding rosewood and will likely buy the blank from StewMac too. Fortunately, the lock nut is a fairly rare Kahler type that didn't require drilling through the neck. I love the neck on this thing and really want to salvage it if I can. And like yourself, I'll be looking to refret it too which will definitely be a challange. Thanks again for the advice.

Regards,

pHiL

9/17/1999 2:43 PM
Doc	The frets on my neck are groove-worn so badly, they're totally unusable. As you noticed, the neck's overall feel is too nice to waste as a dedicated high action slide guitar. So my plan is to rebuild it. I wonder if the metal used on these necks was quite a bit softer than the preferred 18% nickel bronze, or the owners of these guitars were frequent users of amphetamines. When I saw this guitar I thought, "How the hell can anybody grind frets down so far while playing?"

9/17/1999 2:43 PM

Doc

The frets on my neck are groove-worn so badly, they're totally unusable. As you noticed, the neck's overall feel is too nice to waste as a dedicated high action slide guitar. So my plan is to rebuild it. I wonder if the metal used on these necks was quite a bit softer than the preferred 18% nickel bronze, or the owners of these guitars were frequent users of amphetamines. When I saw this guitar I thought, "How the hell can anybody grind frets down so far while playing?"

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