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Neck Setting Aid
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=42943		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Terence Kennedy [ Mon Mar 10, 2014 10:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Neck Setting Aid
Here's something that has been a big help to me.

When fitting to a curved upper bout and/or changing the alignment of a neck that is a bit off the center line a guy often wants to floss the entire heel evenly. You can tape sandpaper to the guitar and move the neck on it but the neck is never in exactly the position it will be in when attached. That method has never worked for me very well. You can foss without a fretboard attached but the neck moves around and it's clumsy for me. if you floss with the fretboard clamped on it's tough to get an even stroke on the upper end of the heel

If you cut slots in a surrogate fretboard that keys off the truss rod slot and is clamped onto the neck you can floss one side of the heel evenly with the neck held in exactly the position it will be on the guitar. This has been a big help for me with initial fit to the body and any centerline adjustment that has to be made.

Also works for deceasing the angle of an overset neck.

The heel is undercut so you are only flossing 3/32-1/8" of wood on the edge that bears against the body.. Once all is good, fine tune the length and place the heelcap.

Image


Image
Author:  Colin North [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 3:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Excellent tip.
Author:  Arnt Rian [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 4:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
I like it, thanks for the tip
Author:  bftobin [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 7:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
I really like that !!! Thanks
Brent
Author:  Joe Sallis [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 9:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
good one
Author:  Haans [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 9:25 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Nice jig Terry, might even extend it out to the bridge.
Author:  George L [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 9:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Simple, clever, brilliant! Thanks for sharing.
Author:  cphanna [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 10:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
I agree. It's a great idea. Every time I see something like this I slap my forehead and think to myself: "Why didn't I think of that?"
Patrick
Author:  Michael Lloyd [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 11:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Ditto, great idea and thanks for sharing!
Author:  Link Van Cleave [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 11:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Nice. I like it.
L.
Author:  Terence Kennedy [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 1:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Thanks all. I've been building since 1998 and this idea just hit me recently while I was setting a neck. It's been a huge time saver. Like Patrick said, it was one of those "why didn't I think of this sooner" moments.

Haans I do have a long centerline finder that keys into the truss rod slot. I bought a centerline finder from Tracy when he first made them at Luthier Suppliers ( http://www.luthiersuppliers.com/products/p9.html ) and there was a defect and he sent me another. I set up the first with pins to use as an alignment tool that used the truss rod slot.

Image
Author:  Tom West [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 2:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Terence: Super tip......................!!!
Tom
Author:  ernie [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 4:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Terrence i am going to use this idea vy clever and thank you. .Heel sanding is such a pita
Author:  Tim L [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 6:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
That's a great idea
Author:  Clay S. [ Tue Mar 11, 2014 8:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Good idea, Thanks!
Author:  Haans [ Wed Mar 12, 2014 7:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Looks like that will work for dovetails too.
Need to get some more plexi...
Thanks, Terry!
Author:  Joe Sallis [ Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Terence Kennedy wrote:
Thanks all. I've been building since 1998 and this idea just hit me recently while I was setting a neck. It's been a huge time saver. Like Patrick said, it was one of those "why didn't I think of this sooner" moments.

Haans I do have a long centerline finder that keys into the truss rod slot. I bought a centerline finder from Tracy when he first made them at Luthier Suppliers ( http://www.luthiersuppliers.com/products/p9.html ) and there was a defect and he sent me another. I set up the first with pins to use as an alignment tool that used the truss rod slot.

Image


Terence, that's much the same as I do. I use the same method to locate the bridge (I'll try to remember to take photo tonight). But the idea of cutting out slots on the side to floss the neck joint without having to take the acrylic on and off is the sort of small detail that gets me excited. thanks
Author:  Pat Foster [ Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Great ideas! Thanks, Terence!

Pat
Author:  Joe Sallis [ Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:20 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
I feel compelled to add some advise to anyone who is going to make something similar. I used 9mm acrylic I found, cut to width on table saw and centre line scored with a marking gauge. What had me baffled for a time was that if you put the acrylic in place with pins in the truss rod slot and check the centre line reading then turn the acrylic over and check again, you get different readings.
Now I always make sure that the line I made with the marking gauge is facing down. Otherwise, because of the 9mm thickness of the acrylic, if the line was on top you could only accurately read it if you looked directly down onto it.
Hope this makes sense.
Author:  Tim L [ Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:25 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Joe, The term for that is parallax error. That is common whenever the measured piece sits away from the measuring tool. Real common with optical measurement and kinda like looking at something with just one eye and then switching to the other eye.
If you scribe a line on both sides of the acrylic it makes it easier to make sure you are on target.
Author:  Joe Sallis [ Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Tim L wrote:
Joe, The term for that is parallax error. That is common whenever the measured piece sits away from the measuring tool. Real common with optical measurement and kinda like looking at something with just one eye and then switching to the other eye.
If you scribe a line on both sides of the acrylic it makes it easier to make sure you are on target.


Good to know, thanks Tim.
For a while I did wonder if either my straight edge was off or my technique with the marking gauge need some improvement.
Author:  ChuckH [ Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Brilliant !!!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Author:  ernie [ Tue Mar 18, 2014 9:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Glad you found the thread hutch !!
Author:  James Ringelspaugh [ Tue Mar 18, 2014 10:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
Ha, I was fitting a neck yesterday and trying to think of a way to make things easier at the fretboard side of the heel. This looks simple and perfect for the job.
Author:  uvh sam [ Tue Mar 18, 2014 6:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Neck Setting Aid
What do you do if the fretboard doesn't go on dead center?
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