Set (glue in) neck - surface not level.

Hello,

I'm after some advice please regarding set (glue in) necks. The EX-1R kit is my first go at a guitar that has this type of neck so what I have found maybe then norm but I'm going to check before gluing!

The heel on the neck isn't completely flat. As can be seen on the attached image. The section under where the pick-up would be angles up and away from where it would meet the body, its approx 35mm that won't be glued against the body. This is reducing by about half, the glued surface area. Is this how it should be or has the back of the neck been finished incorrectly?

I don't fancy refinishing the back of the neck as I don't have the tools to ensure it is flat, plus this would possibly change the angle and height of the neck in relation to the body.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers
Simon

Hi Simon,

I had the same issue with my EXA-1 kit. I had to correct for it by sticking sandpaper to a flat piece of heavy MDF, marking the required angle on both sides of the neck heel and very gently tickling it back down to flat.
You've just got to be careful of your eventual neck break angle, and correct the heel accordingly to preserve something close to your ideal break angle.
I went too far on mine and had to laminate a shim on to the neck heel to correct so just measure and mark up well, and take it a little bit at a time and you should be okay.
It would also pay to check your scale length at this point and mark where the end of the heel sits in that front cavity when the scale length is bang on. They don't always sit hard up against the rear side of the pickup cavity.

I also found that I had to shave that extension down to get my chosen pickups to fit (EMG ZW set). if you are using the kit pups this may not be a problem for you, but if you are changing out, then it's something to hold in mind.

Look forward to seeing how you go, best of luck with it.