Only had a quick glance over it, but not seeing any obvious dings etc. Looks to be in good shape and a nice light colour should make it a pretty brightish red. The neck is a good 2.5-3mm too big for the socket. I know about letting it sit for a week or so to settle after being subjected to different temperatures and humidities in the long journey from WA, so I'm not too worried about that. However, I can't see it settling down a full 3mm so that will probably eventually need a bit of sanding down. Might also wait for the second kit to turn up and do some mixing and matching to see which neck goes better with each body.
I’d measure it rather than estimate it. Looks more like 1mm to me from the photo. 1mm is recoverable and that might reduce To almost nothing after a few days acclimatising. 3mm is definitely a send it back job.
Though I’d wait for the 2nd kit to arrive. If its neck is loose in its pocket, you know what to do!
It was 2.1mm (after checking with a digital vernier caliper), however I was making the mistake of measuring the wrong part of the heel. The heel is not completely square and bridge end is actually slightly wider than the neck end. Where it sits up against the bulk of the body is actually about spot on. Fits in nice and snug when fitted correctly (rookie mistake - never done a set neck before), although I didn't push it right in as it was a bit snug and I want to give it time to acclimate properly before I start forcing things.
This is why I shouldn't rush things. One thing I should get through my skull is that my first opinion of anything is usually wrong.
Yes, rushing is never a good idea in kit building. It’s always worth sharing problems here, as often the simple act of writing down the issue(s) clarifies things in your mind and you often find the a solution yourself.
Full-width neck heels rarely have straight edges. They just continue the lines of the neck, which almost always expands in width by a few mm from the nut to the last fret. So they almost always need slotting in from the top at their intended final location.
I've had a bit of a closer look at this trying to find bits that need fixing and so far nothing. Some of the cleanest cuts and routes I've seen on a kit. They must have replaced their tools just before this was made.
Of course, no mock build yet so still time to find issues. Failing that, I'm good at creating my own problems.
The day has come and gone. Not a word from Aus Post regarding the missing box and no delivery today. I'm currently only at a level of mildly annoyed but that could escalate tomorrow if I don't hear anything.
Thought I'd hack away at the headstock this morning. Cut the bulk away with a coping saw (which wasn't coping very well) and worked the rest away with a file. Got a bit too eager at one point and splintered a little bit away from the edge at the back. It's not overly obvious and will hardly be seen so I'm not going to try to fix it. Still got some fine sanding to do to smooth it out a bit more.
I've also noticed that the centre is not quite centre. Will probably just need to work away at one side with a file a little bit and make the dip a tiny bit deeper to centre it better. Time to go back to the IB7 sanding while I try to decide if this bothers me enough to try to fix.
One thing I've discovered is that these guitars are quite long. My GSM-1 only just fits into a standard length guitar case (100cm long internally), and that's with it touching both ends. My GSJ-1 is even longer by about 2cm and I've had to buy an extra long case for it (which costs more). So it's worth measuring the length of the guitar (don't forget to add on 1cm for a strap button). Whilst you are at this stage, if it's just over 100cm, you may feel like cutting down the length of the headstock slightly to help it fit in a normal case. It doesn't help that the headstock between the nut and the first tuner hole is about 1cm longer than on a real G-style headstock, which moves the main bulk of the headstock out further (and the likelihood of it being neck heavy).
Last edited by Simon Barden; 06-09-2020 at 05:23 AM.
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