Neck Problem

[Simon Barden]

You could also show it to the luthier, he might be able to remove the neck quickly and easily (and thus cheaply) if you want to re-glue it. He then might be able to tell you why it started to come apart, and what to do better next time.

[Alan]

Just found a guitar maker who does repairs as well, been at it for 40 years so should have a good idea, he has a good write up, only about half an hour away, so I think it's probably worth a visit before I do anything.

[Simon Barden]

I'd remove the strings and as much of the pickguard as you can beforehand so he can have a look in the neck pocket to see the tenon as well. It will help him to give you a more accurate quote for repairing or removing/resetting the neck.

[Alan]

Cheers Simon, will do

[wazkelly]

You could always use ferrules and shorter screws rather than a traditional bolt-on neck plate. That would not look too much out place and also be recessed so things don't catch on your clothing or belt buckle (heaven forbid!).

[Simon Barden]

You could always use ferrules and shorter screws rather than a traditional bolt-on neck plate. That would not look too much out place and also be recessed so things don't catch on your clothing or belt buckle (heaven forbid!).

The trouble is there's only 4 or 5 mm of fairly soft basswood under the neck. Recessing a ferrule would take 2 to 3 mm out of that. I wouldn't call relying on 2-3mm of basswood a very secure fitting. Neither does a ferrule spread the load much, which was the whole idea of fitting a wider plate.

Hopefully Alan's luthier will have a go at removing and re-gluing the neck so he doesn't need a plate or screws at all.

[Zandit75]

You could always use ferrules and shorter screws rather than a traditional bolt-on neck plate. That would not look too much out place and also be recessed so things don't catch on your clothing or belt buckle (heaven forbid!).

The trouble is there's only 4 or 5 mm of fairly soft basswood under the neck. Recessing a ferrule would take 2 to 3 mm out of that. I wouldn't call relying on 2-3mm of basswood a very secure fitting. Neither does a ferrule spread the load much, which was the whole idea of fitting a wider plate.

Hopefully Alan's luthier will have a go at removing and re-gluing the neck so he doesn't need a plate or screws at all.

So is there any advantage between the two designs? If used on an LP style guitar where there is a bit more meat in the body, which one wold be better?

[Simon Barden]

I don't know about 'better'. From a structural engineering point of view, anything that spreads the load more is generally a stronger design, but there comes a point where 'strong enough to do the job with a sensible safety margin' is fine. It's all going to depend on the woods and thicknesses used. A ferrule will help spread the load out over a larger area on the wood than the screw head alone. There will come a point where if the guitar falls over and the neck hits something on the way down, where it's not the heel joint that fails but something on the neck. However, if there isn't sufficient resistance in the wood, repeated pressure on the neck forcing it backwards and forward in normal use could pull the ferrule into the body over time, making it, and the neck joint, loose.

Pick the right body woods and sufficient depth at the neck heel and there's no problem. But you have to remember that the neck will act as a lever on that joint, so any knock near the end of the neck can put considerable pressure on the joint. Given ferruled screws, a hard maple neck and a much softer basswood body that's maybe 5mm thick at best at the neck joint, then I'd put money on the basswood splitting rather than the maple. In this instance a wide neck plate would give a much better chance of everything holding together.

I know the general principles, but not the specifics here, so I don't want to state that this would actually happen in this instance, just that there is a point in body neck joint thinness where it will happen, so it really is best to avoid that happening.

[wazkelly]

Spot on Simon, I hadn't given much thought to how little timber thickness there was and the plate would help to spread the load forces.

[Alan]

Hi Guys

The Luthier guy turned out to be not viable, he was really a vintage guitar restorer/repairer, and wanted about £600 just to look at it. However, he did give me a few ideas of what to do. He said that trying to get the glue unstuck to get the neck out would be a bit of a problem and might result in some damage. So in the end I have utilised a couple of 90 degree brackets. and screwed them into the top of the neck fitting where it slots into the body and then into the side of the cavity, which is into the main guitar body, one on each side. Sorry forgot to take any pictures - was in to much haste to rectify the problem ! So, in theory this should stop the neck moving in any direction now. I then re did the shielding over the two brackets - so still no buzzing etc. Probably sounds a bit unconventional but hopefully it will work, if not it will be going to plan B - neck plate. We'll see.