# Routed my neck pocket too wide



## JaeSwift (Oct 31, 2010)

Help!

I'm almost done with my replacement body (will get a thread with pics and details up and running soon as I find the time!) but my neighbour and I routed the neck pocket too wide D: 

What's the best way of taking care of this problem? Inserting the neck, somehow centering it properly then drilling the holes and fill up the sides with something like veneer or scrap wood, or just place two scrap pieces of Swamp Ash (which is what the body is made off), glue them to the sides of the neck pocket and then re-route? I'm quite scared that this will mess up my guitar that I've worked on so hard for the past 3 months.

The gap isn't too bad, it's less than credit card thickness near the 24th fret, and gets to credit card thickness at the 19th thread. My main problem is that now, I have no idea how to center it properly without filling the gap and re-routing, which is something that if possible, I'de want to avoid.

Thanks in advance!


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## MaxOfMetal (Oct 31, 2010)

Glue in a thin wooden shim. 

If you're having problems centering your neck, take a pencil and draw a perfectly straight line down the very center of both your body and neck.


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## JaeSwift (Oct 31, 2010)

Saved me again mate 

Will shims do the trick and is there an appropriate way of creating them from the scrap pieces of swamp ash that I have left? My friend told me it's best to glue in 2 thin blocks of wood and then re-route, but I never really got why as most of the wood would just be routed away anyhow.

So would centering the neck, drilling the holes (is there by the way any easy way to drill the neck holes? I'm having quite some trouble marking the positions on the neck pocket, the old piece of paper+pencil scrapes isn't working accuratly), then glueing veneer to the sides and sand it/file it with my template on top work? 

Again, cheers!


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## Mindcore (Nov 1, 2010)

When I square a neck I always string up the E (or B) and E strings and align my neck with the bridge and such in the right place. That way I know for sure that even if things are out slightly, it's all relative.

Once you have that, clamp it and drill it. You're neck will be straight, and then you can shim as required to insure a snug fit.


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## MapleMan (Nov 1, 2010)

My method for lining up bolt on necks/holes.

Clamp your neck in your body, and run a straight edge down either side of the fretboard and make a mark at your full scale length. If you measure off of your center line to these marked points you can work out accurately if your neck is centered up. I find running a center line down your fretboard can leave too much room for error if your straight edge slips. 
Adjust the center line on your neck until it lines up evenly at your scale length.

At this point take the screw that you used to drill the bolt holes in the body, and set the brad drill bit into the body holes. Tap the brad bit into the neck, so the point of the bit gives you a mark to drill. 

Drill to depth in the neck, and bolt on!

Good Luck.

and in regards to shimming the pocket because its too wide, personally I would just fill it and re-route it. I never liked using shims in the neck pocket. But thats just me


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## JJ Rodriguez (Nov 1, 2010)

I think the only proper solution is to make a wider neck and add a string


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## JaeSwift (Nov 1, 2010)

MapleMan said:


> My method for lining up bolt on necks/holes.
> 
> Clamp your neck in your body, and run a straight edge down either side of the fretboard and make a mark at your full scale length. If you measure off of your center line to these marked points you can work out accurately if your neck is centered up. I find running a center line down your fretboard can leave too much room for error if your straight edge slips.
> Adjust the center line on your neck until it lines up evenly at your scale length.
> ...



Maybe I'm dense, but could you explain what you mean with ''running a straight edge down either side of the fretboard and make a mark at your full scale length''? The mark at my full scale length would be the distance from the bridge to the nut, no?

Also, I may have worded this wrongly, but the neck actually has the holes drilled already, the neck pocket on the body doesn't, that's why I have no clue how to work out the holes accuratly.

And JJ  It's actually already an 8 string


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## JJ Rodriguez (Nov 1, 2010)

What you got against 9 strings?


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## adrock (Nov 1, 2010)

I vote to glue in wood and re-route. a tight fitting neck is the most crucial element of a bolt on neck guitar. don't half ass it now with shims, you've come this far. one thing I've learned and stick to with anything, do it right the first time


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## MapleMan (Nov 3, 2010)

JaeSwift said:


> Maybe I'm dense, but could you explain what you mean with ''running a straight edge down either side of the fretboard and make a mark at your full scale length''? The mark at my full scale length would be the distance from the bridge to the nut, no?
> 
> Also, I may have worded this wrongly, but the neck actually has the holes drilled already, the neck pocket on the body doesn't, that's why I have no clue how to work out the holes accuratly.
> 
> And JJ  It's actually already an 8 string



Doubt its an issue of density, hehe. Probably just me thinking you understand what I am saying, and continuing accordingly.

I will start at the beginning. Place your neck in your body, measure from your nut to your full scale length on the body (do this off of your center line on your body and neck). So now, you will have a mark on your body on the center line at your full scale mark.

If you then place a straight edge down the sides of the neck (where the side-dots would be) follow and draw that line on your body. At this point you should have two angled lines on your body following the fretboard width. Then measure off of your center line at your scale mark, and see how close you are.

Will do a little diagram.

Green Line: Full Scale Mark
Yellow Line: Center Line
Red Line: Straight edge mark down side of fretboard

So measure off of the yellow line, along the green line, to each of the red lines.

I hope this all makes sense....


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## JaeSwift (Nov 3, 2010)

MapleMan said:


> Doubt its an issue of density, hehe. Probably just me thinking you understand what I am saying, and continuing accordingly.
> 
> I will start at the beginning. Place your neck in your body, measure from your nut to your full scale length on the body (do this off of your center line on your body and neck). So now, you will have a mark on your body on the center line at your full scale mark.
> 
> ...



Dude thanks a lot, that really helped!

We decided on filling the gap from the neck route (it really is a tiny gap) with a 2 component composite Epoxy glue. My neighbour assured me it would be near invisible since I'll be finishing the body in a dark-as-fuck blue. We also managed to get the perfect hole positioning from the neck on to the body by making a thin cardboard jig of the neck pocket on the original body and putting the screws through just enough for it to puncture the cardboard. Worked like a charm.


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