This is great discussion; thank you for this. The picture of the gap was from when I levelled the fretboard with the top of the body. To get the fretboard level with the body, it requires tipping the neck forward so that the gap appears. If I push the neck right down so it’s entirely seated flush into the neck pocket, the gap is gone, but the neck isn’t aligned straight with the body; instead it “ramps up” to the neck pickup, like this...
As for the neck screws, I haven’t assembled any of that just yet, but I will for sure include the neck plate at that stage.
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