ESB-4 - first build - ultimate newbie

[Roger79]

Hi guys,
Hope you're OK !

For me, it's a bad time.. I finally survived inserting electronics inside the semi-hollow body, after a very long fight, and I just finish the last step : to glue the neck.

But.. now I'm in big trouble..

My biggest fear comes true : the fingerboard is too high, and I can't tune the strings
Maybe I didn't search enough but I couldn't find anything about this, especially for the ESB4.

So : here's my problem :


I think I'll have to unglue the neck, sand it a lot to lower it, and glue it again.

Any tips to unglue without damages ?
I think I must find a very long and thin knife, and maybe use some water's steam ?

Thank's !

[fender3x]

Yikes! I have not had this particular problem and savvyer folks will chime in, I hope!

Couple of quick things: Don't force it. Don't use a knife.

It's going to be difficult to do this without damaging the wood in the net pocket. Will also be tough not to damage the veneer.

These veneers can be damaged by a hard look, loud noises or bad attitudes. My guess is that steam--which seems to be a common approach--will not do anything good.

Did you use a PVA glue? If so you may be able to get it to melt a bit by using s heat gun on the joint. If you can get it hot and get it to wiggle a bit that might do it if you are lucky.

A less elegant solution would be to see if you can find longer bridge bolts. That might look a bit odd but it should not make a lot of Sonic difference if you can find the bolts....





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[Andyxlh]

Oh dear! Is the neck glued in correctly, is it all the way down at the rear end?
I don't know how to get it out, but if you have just glued it perhaps trying before the glue has a long time to cure might be good.
What sort of glue did you use?
Could you perhaps score the join with a scalpel first to reduce the chance of splitting the finish, and then try steam or perhaps gently loading it with weights and leaving it overnight?

[Sonic Mountain]

It would be interesting to see a side on shot to asses the neck angle. Those posts are out a long way!

The fret board doesn't look abnormally high against the body, but something is clearly not right.

Personally I would steam it apart and then let it really dry out thoroughly before doing anything else. The steam is likely to get into the wood and cause some swelling, which is a concern with the veneer. But if you give it plenty of time to get really dry afterward I think you'll get away with it.

I have a steam mop with a detachable section you can use to direct a fine stream of steam, something like that might help you keep the steam in the area where you need it. It's a bit like this:

[fender3x]

This might be a good time to post in DB's forum, and get a luthier's perspective.

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[johnnyrotten]

Have you adjusted the truss road yet? Introducing a dip into the neck might allow you to lower the bridge a bit.

[Roger79]

Hi !
Thanks for your help here !

First answer : I use the glue sold by Pitbull Guitars, included when I ordered this kit.
It's grey, in a small bottle, but without any label on it, so I don't know the composition.

In my first post, you can see a picture of the gap between the end of the fingerboard and the body, when I tried a mock build.
I'm pretty sure the problem comes from here : I must lower the neck's base so the fingerboard touches the body.

Here are some picture of my disaster.. by chance the pocket is a little larger (on sides) than the neck, so I'll be able to heat and insert a small piece of metal (this actually), I own one it'll be perfect for this job !

About heating, I read I can use an hairdryer to do the job without damaging the wood.. not to close of course, and with patience.. any though ?
Or I'll have to find a steam machine..

My biggest problem will be under the neck.. I must find a way to soften the glue to insert my flat tool.










I will try to ajust the truss road ! I keep you in touch

I thought about longer screws, but then my strings will be too far from the pickups

Good idea to post in DB's section..

Thx again !

[fender3x]

I have looked at how people use steam, and I would try to avoid it if you possibly can. I would also avoid the use of metal if you can.

Since you have a sample of the glue, you can use it to experiment. two flat pieces of hardwood. Here in Miami, the big home stores sell pieces of poplar which would be good. It is about as dense as basswood in the neck pocket, but less dense than the maple in the neck.

Glue two pieces together. Wait 48 hours. Try heating with a hairdryer and wiggling the joint apart. If you can do it without damaging the wood you have a viable method.

You can also try your knife/heat method the same way.

I don't think the steam method is advisable. Most people who do this seem to inject the steam into the joint. It's a lot of work, and seems to to require drilling most of the time, as well as removing some frets of the fretboard. Where I have seen it done the tennon and mortise are under the fretboard. In your case the neck is as wide as the neck slot (mortise) is the width of the neck, so there is no place except the gap in your pics to inject steam into the joint. The other problem with steam is that it may not stop with loosing the neck joint, it may also loosen the veneer--which is similarly glued in place.

Those gaps on the side of the neck that appear in your photo should not be there. I'll have some advice about that once the neck is out. It makes me think that the neck it might not be set properly...or that it needs a fillet or shim for tighter fit...but one problem at a time ;-)

[Fretworn]

I haven't made one of these, and it is a bit hard to tell without actually holding the bass in my hands, but the neck angle doesn't look like it would be wrong. Where are the strings touching the neck, near the nut, in the middle, or at the bridge end?

[Roger79]

Hi !
In fact, the strings are always touching the neck's end, even when I rise the bridge the higher way possible..
It's like the neck isn't horizontal, or just too high..

I compared with a ESB4's photo found on Internet, the fingerboard's end seems to touch the body (more than mine anyway) :
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-remV4LyVY-...0/IMG_4416.JPG

It's a great idea to experiment on two wood pieces before any attempt ! I'll start by this

Cheers!