Nicks Tele

So my Tl-1A finally arrived a few days ago. And while overall I am extremely happy with the quality of the wood and hardware, I do have a few (hopefully) minor concerns. It is first worth mentioning that I am a complete newbie with these kits and even working on and assembling guitars. We all have to start somewhere, but nevertheless apologies to all if I ask a million questions which might just seem like general knowledge to some of you out there.
Anyways, what I noticed when seeing if the neck fits into the body is that as far as I can see it appears that it is not a perfect fit. I understand that this is an issue that many here have faced, and even if it is a minor problem I still might need some advice :/ From what I can tell, because the pocket does not fit the neck, if the neck is placed in and lined up flush with the left hand side of the neck pocket so the neck lines up straight, there is a small gap between the bottom of the neck and the body. This can be seen in some of the attatched photos. Is this an issue? And if a solution was needed would sanding do the trick? As can also be seen in some of the photos, if the neck is pushed in as far as it can go a gap is left on the left hand side of the pocket and the neck doesn't appear to line up straight.
Finally, this may seem a silly question but the fingerboard overhangs the neck slightly. Does this just mean the base of the neck needs to be cut or sanded down so the fingerboard sits on the body of the guitar?
Thanks everyone and again sorry if these questions seem silly but you have to start somewhere!
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...25218129_n.jpg
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Nick, rather than have us reproduce everything in the following thread, take a look here and at the video's in this thread below. If you then need more information or assistance it can be provided.

http://pitbullguitars.com/?page_id=4...ewforum&f=20.0

I have read all kinds of things on this website. The only thing I can recall is that a bit of filing of the "slot" can help the neck fit more snugly.

However, that doesn't answer the question about the fretboard "height".

I do have a question though.

If I do a bit of filing on my own guitar and get it as snug as I can get... when I have finally screwed (or glued) the neck onto the body... and there are still small gaps... what do I do with this? Do I get some Timbermate and fill the gap or should I just be sanding/shaping until it fits super well?

Adding a filler post Wudtoning the body seems a little wrong?

Don't worry about the overhanging fretboard. This is normal on lots of guitars. It's because you have a 22 fret neck on a guitar originally designed for 21 frets.

Hey Nick,
The only stupid question is the one you don't ask!
As for the neck fit up, you can file the heel to sit up against the end of the neck pocket nice and flush.
The gap either side is there to give you some wriggle room when you are setting up the bridge and neck positions.

Enjoy the build take your time and you will be amazed with the final results!

Quote:

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/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from dingobass on July 19, 2013, 18:04
Hey Nick,
The only stupid question is the one you don't ask!
As for the neck fit up, you can file the heel to sit up against the end of the neck pocket nice and flush.
The gap either side is there to give you some wriggle room when you are setting up the bridge and neck positions.

Enjoy the build take your time and you will be amazed with the final results!

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So DB... does that mean that you don't worry about the gaps either side of the neck once it is fixed in position? Or do you fill it?

Thanks heaps DB and Gav I'll take your advice and hopefully get underway this weekend! And thanks Fretworn that makes sense. I noticed the neck was a fret longer when comparing it to the neck on my strat.

Hey Nick,
Generally speaking no, I don't worry too much as the finish (in my case, Wudtone) generally leaves a slight bead on the edges of the neck pocket that is just enough to hide any gap....also, if you do a really speccy job on your finish you won't notice a tiny gap!