set neck question

[Tony]

Hi. Just would like to gauge opinion on whether setting the neck before filling and staining is advisable or not. I am planning to use the same finish on both neck and body and they are both mahogany. Cheers

[Sonic Mountain]

When I did my SG I did the prep and staining with the parts seperate (taped over the glue contact areas, you don't want anything but bare wood there) I then set the neck and did the final clear coats over the whole thing. Its a bit more awkward to work with, but gives a nice continuous finish.

[Simon Barden]

I'm with Sonic on this. Other people do the whole neck and body completely, finish and all, before gluing, but you've still got to go back over the join areas.

It also depends on the finish. Say you were doing a colour gradation around the heel area and fading that into the neck and sunburst top, then it's easier to match things up by gluing first then spraying the neck joint area than doing them separately and hoping the colour matches exactly. All the same colour, then it's far less of a problem.

Also, there will probably be a small amount of filling required to get the neck joints looking really smooth, so you want to do that and colour them to match the body before the clear coats go on.

[Marcel]

Here is one I prepared earlier...lol

Setting the neck before any finish is applied has only two problems... One is things become more awkward as you now have a full sized instrument to deal with... and two, may the gods of excess glue be kind to you and your raw Mahogany just as they were not so kind to me.

The plan was natural coloured Mahogany neck and body with only a clear spray Polly protective top coat....Yep, I wiped it well with a damp cloth after positioning the neck, I sanded it until I was 100% confident that I had got it all, and yet the clear Polly I spray applied on the unstained raw Mahogany still found plenty of glue issues. What you see is still after twice sanding back the clear coats... The glue got into the raw Mahogany and got in DEEP!! so as the glue and the Polly I was using have some sort of compatibility issues I was essentially forced to live with it.

Lesson here is to put down at least one coat of "finish" on only the visible bits before setting the neck, as the glue (in my case TiteBond I) does enter any raw unsealed wood.

[Tony]

Awesome info, gives me a plan of attack. Cheers everyone

[Waldron]

Here is one I prepared earlier...lol

Setting the neck before any finish is applied has only two problems... One is things become more awkward as you now have a full sized instrument to deal with... and two, may the gods of excess glue be kind to you and your raw Mahogany just as they were not so kind to me.

The plan was natural coloured Mahogany neck and body with only a clear spray Polly protective top coat....Yep, I wiped it well with a damp cloth after positioning the neck, I sanded it until I was 100% confident that I had got it all, and yet the clear Polly I spray applied on the unstained raw Mahogany still found plenty of glue issues. What you see is still after twice sanding back the clear coats... The glue got into the raw Mahogany and got in DEEP!! so as the glue and the Polly I was using have some sort of compatibility issues I was essentially forced to live with it.

Lesson here is to put down at least one coat of "finish" on only the visible bits before setting the neck, as the glue (in my case TiteBond I) does enter any raw unsealed wood.

Couldn't you tape around the joint to avoid the glue run-out?


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[Simon Barden]

In theory you could, but the excess glue's got to go somewhere, and clamping two bits of wood together can produce a lot of force on the glue. So if you taped right over the joint itself, the glue would probably just force itself out underneath the tape and still get on the wood. You'd need to tape each side of the joint but leave a small gap directly over the joint so that the glue could still seep out but then run over the tape, not the wood.

The real secret is to use only as much glue as is necessary, so you don't get seepage. There's always the tendency to use to much, just in case. But knowing just how much is one of those things that comes with experience. I'm far from that point, though I do try to be careful.

[Tony]

It's my first set neck attempt, so I'll be cautious and do some finish work prior. I'd never have thought of the glue seeping in but of course under pressure it would. Thanks again as always