ready to glue neck to body any clever hints?

[Steve Mars]

OK it has taken heaps longer than I thought it was going to but next week, after the second finished coat applied today is completely dry on my ES-5V I will be ready to glue the neck on.
Throughout the days of waiting I have on numerous times tried the neck in the neck hole and while I can get it to fit properly most times I am still somewhat nervous ...so any suggestions regarding
gluing...both surfaces?, how long have I got before the glue starts to go off
clamping...? merely a single clamp applied after the glue has started to go off?
how long to leave it?
remember I am in Tassie and it is autumn...and even though the last month has been reasonably warm for a late summer Tassie I have made a point of adding about four days extra between coats.
Will try to post a photo of the hanging neck and body 'cos I am somewhat pleased with the finish so far but still very apprehensive about the next phase.
So any comments greatly appreciated.
ta
Steve
Sorry I can't work out how to share the photos

[wokkaboy]

Hey Steve, first thing is make sure you haven't applied stain to the heel where it makes contact with the neck pocket. Glue works best on raw timber. If you have it will need to be carefully sanded off, be careful not to sand where it will be visible !
Mask around the bottom and edges of the neck pocket and ontop of the body where glue may squeeze out. I apply an even aount of glue in the pocket but not too much glue. Enough to give all contacting areas good coverage.
Clamp and leave for at least 24 hours. Get the titebond original (red label) glue

[Steve Mars]

thanks for that...only apply to the body makes sense.
am assuming when clamping as much pressure as comfortable...I think I know what I mean.
Steve

[wokkaboy]

Hey Steve, I usually put a scrap piece of wood wrapped in a rag in between the clamp faces and the neck/body to protect the finish. Wipe any glue squeeze off as soon as you clamp it. You need to apply a fair bit of clamp pressure and make sure the heel is seated flush. Being a semi hollow don't apply too much clamp pressure though

[Andy40]

I use sponges or rags

[JB RETRO]

Get every thing ready within easy reach so you're not scrambling. No distractions, no kids or pets.

[Steve Mars]

Kids no problem, they are well gone. Jill the Kelpie/Greyhound...perhaps I should just have a special bone ready for her before the job starts.

[Steve Mars]

Still practicing how to attach neck without involving glue just yet....seems to be a bit of a problem...don't ask for photos my computer refuses to allow me to download photos to pit bull site...but the problem if I put the neck in so that the fretboard end meets the body is hard up against the block ie no gap where the neck block closest to where the pick up will be, there is getting towards being a one mm gap where the back of the neck meets the back of the guitar. If I push include using a clamp so that this gap virtually disappears back at where the block meets the body above the pickup the block is obviously not meeting the guitar body for the full depth of the body. Sort of a little rock of the neck between the best fit at the pickup end and the back end.
The temptation is to ensure that there is minimum gap where the back meets the bottom of the guitar (that would look best) and clamp down with a fair amount of pressure where the fretboard meets the body to make it as good a fit as possible... and assume that I can adjust the location and height of the floating bridge to compensate for this variation... we are talking less than a mm and at that gap which is to some extent covered by the overlapping end of the fretboard, so really can hardly be seen
I hope that all makes some sort of sense, but would appreciate your comments....suspect actually that this was perhaps not the appropriate guitar for a first build.
ta
Steve

[stan]

Don't worry Steve, all guitars will have their issues - even the quite basic Teles can have tricky neck, pocket, pick guard fit.
The main things to look for are - in no particular order:
Neck fit, neck straightness, neck angle, gaps at the heal, gaps at the sides, gaps underneath....
I would be going for this - straight - left and right and correct angle , with no "roll" either.
Then next - fit as seen from the top - this is seen the most and most obvious if there are gaps.
Any other gaps can be filled if need be.
I would get the neck positioned tight and square as viewed from the front of the guitar, glue it and sort it from there...

[Steve Mars]

thanks for that, made me feel much better, now back to the footy.