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Hi All,

I understood neck slopes and all with the classical build, but the steel string is a little different. I had a custome made neck and neck block with a 1.2 degree set angle on my last guitar. When fitting everything, I had to remove the 1.5 degrees or I had 1.5 degrees of air between the fretboard and the body. After I did, I had the 1/16A" of space between the straight edge and the bridge slot.

On a guitar that is FLAT from the neck to the bridge and then has a radius, shouldn't the neck angle be started at 0 and adjust from there? Thanks for the feedback.

Dave

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God, Family, Carreer

I am still at a loss as to why some folks insist on starting with a neck/block angle, and try to build a guitar around it. (If it were so easy -taylor would have perfectly set necks every time with all the CNC they have - yet they still have to shim necks differently to get the angles correct).

I talk to my students about this all the time as we make necks and get them set. It makes far more sense to me, and its far easier, to just start out with a block for each, and cut the angle as required to make things fit.

I make the body .... my neck blocks start out square, and then get shaped by the bowls as you sand the rim top and back. The neck blank is initially cut square. I then measure the angle (with a sliding bevel) to set the heel and bottom of the FB to the body, and cut the neck heel. I could care less whether or not its 1.2 or 1.5 degrees, because thats irrelevant. The neck has to fit. Period. When using a 28 foot bowl, the top curvature takes care of the bridge/saddle/string height - no messing around involved. The heel is simply cut to fit, and nothing else.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

This topic is of great interest to me also.

Most agree that if you end up with 1/64 to 1/16" from a straight edge down the fretted neck to the saddle slot and the neck is straight from the 1st fret to the last, you are good. How you get there seems less important to me.

I don't use a bowl on the top. I radius across the lower bout but keep it flat sound hole to end pin. Then I slope the top from the sound hole to the neck joint about 1/32" but keep it flat across the upper bout.

That gives me a flat gluing surface for the neck extension.

I give the heal of the neck a 1.5 degree angle. I cut it on the table saw and also tilt the saw about 7 degrees to give me a nice sloped shoulder for the body to neck joint.

Before I glue the top on I dry clamp everything together and verify I have the right clearance for the saddle.

Don't forget that the last variable is the fretted fingerboard thickness. I figure on a 3/8" fingerboard plus fret height but vary it from there if needed. (You can go 1/16" either way).

Next I glue the top on and check again. Then its time to make the fingerboard.

This is probably not the best way to do it and some of the pros might be rolling on the ground laughing but it works for me.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

This is an open ended question. You are going to get many conflicting answers and this doesn't mean anyone is wrong. It depends on what you are building and what style. I build martinish. I use a 1 1/2 degree angle and with the way I set up my sides this is perfect for me. I want to have 1/2 inch string height at the bridge so I have a 3/8 bridge and 1/8 of saddle with a 3 and 2 1/2 action height.
There are many ways to accomplish the same thing but for me this is what I do and I can hit the mark very well. My last guitar , I didn't even have to set the neck. Using jigs and layout I hit the set up . This was the first time it happened and I expect that it will also be the last.
On your top , you need to have a matching angle so the fretboard will low onto the top without dipping or lifting. Once you build a few you will dial in for what works best for you.
I had 2 students in my class , and this guitar was for one of them.
john hall
blues creek guitars

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

What Tony said. After the box is closed and the sides sanded square, I set the body upright on my table saw and take the angle using a bevel guage. I then transfer that angle to a jig for my belt sander and literally grind the angle into the neck heel. There is always a little tweaking when I actually fit the neck, but usually very little. I learned this method from Charles Fox's class.

Chuck