Hey folks,
When we first got the guitar kit, we did the test fitting like instructed. We did some tape around the bridge saddle posts, we dropped the neck in, we measured it to 24.75", we clamped it, we put on the high and low E strings and ensured it was straight and even. I made a pencil park on the neck where it lined up with the body of the guitar.
Before I started working on any finishing, I tapped off the portions of the wood in the cavity and on the neck where they are going to be glued together. The tape on the neck should give me the line where the body of the guitar and the neck come together to get that 24.75" scale length.
We have painted and cleared the body and the neck separate. Still gotta do the wet sanding and polishing on the finish, but the clear is currently curing.
Soon, it's going to be time to put that neck back in. When I go to glue it in, I assume I'll have to put the taped in saddle posts back in to verify the 24.75" scale length. I'm a bit concerned that we will damage the painted surface on the neck as we have to put in the neck a little forward, and then essentially slide it back out to get back far enough to maintain the 24.75" scale length. It's really like it is slightly tapered and goes from wider in the center of the guitar to slightly narrower on the outside edge. As I recall when we did the test fitting, things were pretty darn tight. Now with primer, paint, and clear, it's going to be even tighter. (Like I said, I taped it off, but obviously the part that is outside of the neck cavity is painted).
I guess it will be possible for me to sand ever so slightly the sides of the neck pocket and/or the neck heel to help get it to drop straight down in from the top. I know the build guide says to sand the neck pocket rather than the heel, but the neck on the EX7a is very thin on the outside edge and I don't want to risk any chance of making it too thin out there. Oh well, I'll figure it out when I get to that step.
My question is this.
1). Obviously I have to put the glue down inside of the cavity on the body. Then I'm going to insert the neck, get it in place, measure, and then clamp it. How much time will i have to make the little adjustment wiggles to get the scale length right?