Quote Originally Posted by wazkelly View Post
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.