Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm building my 1st guitar and am ready to do the first fit of the neck to the body. I noticed that the dovetail drops all the way through the mortise to the point where the neck surface without the fretboard attached is below the level of the top. This can't be right, can it? I've called Martin customer service and they asked that I attach the binding and then fit the neck. They also checked my neck # and found that it was correct for my kit. I haven't modified the neck block, nor the neck at all. Will fitting the binding really make a difference?

Please don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely not complaining about Martin Customer service. The personnel there have been great and very patient. I'm just double checking, getting a second opinion of sorts, from you guys that have helped me in the recent past.

Thank you.

I also sell Martin kits and I have this same situation . The neck is right the dovetail was cut wrong. You need to shim the neck block to bring the neck up high enough to set

_________________
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

It's just part of the process. What John said. What is most important is getting the right neck angle with respect to the top. Shims are your friend. So are sanding blocks. Take your time, be patient.

Thanks for the confimation. I've read enough of this forum to suspect that to be the case, but was hoping otherwise. So learning to shim a neck is the next lesson.