M&T (bolt-on) Neck Angle

[johnnparchem]

I agree that is a very nice looking guitar. The neck looks good; I am not sure how it would be to play. a lot of gutairs have a wider ledge. I would not change the neck.

I do not have enough experience to say if the slot angle is OK as it is. Maybe you can widen the slot to change the angle. I like a wider saddle as it gives me more room for intonation.

[Ken Hundley]

I agree, no problem with the ledge...many have them, even wider. Personally, I try to blend it in, but that's after making a couple where I forgot too;). As far as the saddle slot, some make them tipped, but I don't know the angle. I don't think it looks too bad, though it might be more aggressively angled than I have seen. Worst case....try it out! If it doesn't work out, the slot can be re-routed for a larger saddle. I use 3/8" unbleached saddles, I like the look, they give me more room for compensation, and they are the ultimate cool. (jk)

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I too think your neck is just fine. I think Taylor cutaways have a bit of of the binding sticking out. I can tell you cause my last build was a cutaway dred, it is hard to make that transition flush...body to fretboard. I accomplished it, but with a lot of sweat and dry fitting and sanding before the binding ever was put on the body.
The angle on the bridge looks a bit steep to me. It will give you more break angle maybe, but I would think there will be more pressure against the front of the saddle slot then down against the bottom of the slot, and cause a problem down the road....just wondering.
Your guitar does look nice, good job so far.

Kevin

[RnB]

Thanx all for the replies & your positive thoughts about the overhang.

Needless to say, it would have drove me nuts every time I picked it up. Over the weekend I switched the neck out for another one I had. The two are very similar, except the new one is Mahogany w/ a volute. The other Spanish Cedar. The biggest reason was I prefer a 1 3/4" nut width & that's why the orig one came up shy! I had to plane the Ebony board down for binding, inlay the side dots, & epoxy the TR, drill for tuners, & glue-up the fretboard for it to be done. It fits & lines up far better than the first neck. Ironically, the former neck, fits great on another rimset I have that also has a cutaway. So, all is good & I was a busy boy all weekend and then some...




Also: The bridge I had shown earlier has been replaced as well. It had too much angle & looked awkward imo and possibly would have led to a problem. The new bridge had no diamond inlays on the wings & I wanted to have it match the fretboard inlays. After watching John's YT videos on 'Inlays', I got up the courage to have a go at my 1st attempt doing inlay. Thanks Johnnparchem for the tip on using 'white glue' to temporarily them down. I left mine on overnite & it broke trying to get it off...lol, but it mended easily. Not sure if the new one is Ebony or Rwd, but it sure is dark...Macassar Ebony maybe ? In all, not as difficult as I thought it would be. Now, I'm thinking torch inlay for the hdstk. :>) Thank you John H for all your help...!

[johnnparchem]

That is a beautiful looking guitar. I am glad you are ending up with a guitar without compromise.

btw... I only leave the inlay on for about 15 minutes max. Just enough time to have the glue get tacky and for me to scribe around the inlay :)

[JVan]

You have a really nice looking guitar there! Keep it up. I like the your new bridge, I like the smaller diamonds on the ebony , very classy!

[tippie53]

nice work and nice photos

[Kevin Sjostrand]

It sure looks like you got that fretboard flush with the side.....good job.

Kevin

[RnB]

...a little closer!

I've been working on the finishing aspect of this build. Spraying lacquer on the neck & body. I also felt the hdstk needed something since I've not come up w/ a logo of sorts just yet. So, I did a variant of a torch inlay & simplified the design w/out all the dots...per the bride's request. Plus, I lost one of the teardrops trying to pry it off the cardboard.

Using sanding sealer as a wash coat (twice), I then mixed-up Bartleys med grain filler & added stains in...to color it up some. I only grain-filled one time. Next day, after lightly sanding, I shot 3 more good coats of S&S. Sanded that flat w/ 400 grit. I had to address a few areas that needed some CA to bring the level up on the backstrip, but they're ok now. All toll, after sanding in between coats, I think I put on 4 top coats, using less than 2 cans of Deft gloss lacquer. One less on the top. The hdstk was a little more problematic, seeing as I had some pits & a sand-through....more lacquer :>)

After the rule of threes, I start wet sanding w/ naphtha & a little eraser, usually w/in an hour of the last spraying session. A little unorthodox, but it works for me. I feel it off-gasses quicker this way. I heard tell that Collings Guitars does something to the same effect ~ Dunno...?

It's a matter of time now, b4 I can do a final sanding. This is where I get impatient...lol!






~ Rich

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Looks real nice. Good job on the inlay.

Kevin