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I was wondering if anyone had any tips or approach on setting the neck, i.e. getting the correct shape on the face of the heel, on a small jumbo. When I was building the body I was tempted to make it flat along the top so I wouldn't have to deal with incorporating curves into the heel but in the end I decided to go for it to retain the curvy shape all around the small jumbo. The challenge is compounded by the fact that it's a cutaway guitar and I like the wider heels that match up with the cutaway side - so there's more curve to deal with.

What I've done so far is to put the angle on the face of the heel in my normal way (with a router in a jig) and hollowed out the cheeks so there's not that much wood on the heel that will contact the side. What I'm looking at now though, are some fairly big gaps along the bottom of the heel where the heel cap will be contacting the guitar body. The gaps are due to the the curve of the guitar body. So I have to curve the bottom of the heel to match the guitar body.

I'm not sure on the best approach for this. I suppose I could just do a ton of "flossing" but what I'm wondering is if others that have experience with this somehow capture the curve of the guitar body and get the shape close by chiseling or sanding the neck off the guitar.

Thanks,
Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

I have a vid on dovetail setting .
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... 97l0.1l1l0
It really doesn't matter flat or curved , the cheeks will need to be adjusted for angle , and center line . If you think ACE A angle
C centerline and E elevation that may help.
When you do the flossing start with 120 grit but when you get close use 220 then 320. This will get the crisp line at the joint. Curved will make things a bit more difficult but you can help yourself by relieving about 1/2 of the cheek face from the neck block out , so you don't have as much to work. It won't hurt the joints strength.

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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

Pat,

I put the neck without the heel cap on the body and run a pencil around the neck and heel, with the pencil in contact with the body, ending up with the needed curve drawn on the heel. With the neck off, I use a chisel to get the right curve, using the line as a guide, but not necessarily cutting to the line, and touch it up with a little sanding board. It's best if the neck angle is correct or close to it when this is done. When the curve and neck angle are right, I do the heel cap separately, with a piece of sandpaper sitting on the body to nail down the curve.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Thanks guys. I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes.
Pat

_________________
There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

I think I saw it on a Hesh tute, but when you relieve the shoulders, carve away the wood all the way back through the heel. You just need a good fit on the sides. The gap in the back will be hidden by the heel cap.

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

Got it done. Turns out the flossing wasn't too bad after all. Should have tried it first before posting the question.

Thanks again,
Pat

_________________
There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.