Neck set after final buffing

[jdb]

I have finished the buffing process on my guitar. It mostly came out well (acceptable for my first one). However, I just finished glueing the neck to the body of the guitar. All my tests before applying glue turned out all right as far as angle of the neck goes. Once I added glue and did my clamping, the neck didn't "sit down" on the sides of the guitar like I was planning on. One side looks pretty good but the other sits up a bit. When I check my action by using a straight edge, I am pretty close to sitting flush on the top of the bridge. It is about 1/32 of an inch low but I imagine once I scrap the finish off for the bridge, that will take care of itself. So, finally, here are my questions:

1. Should I worry about the fact that the neck doesn't sit tight on the sides of the guitar (you can fit maybe 2 or 3 sheets of paper on one side and maybe 1 on the other)?
2. Did I possible use too much glue?
3. How much glue should a person use?
4. What measurement can I use to see if playability will be affected? Like I mentioned earlier, the action measurement of running a straight edge on the top of the fretboard is fine. Also, it seems to be centered when I check down the sides of the fretboard to the bottom of the top. Any other measurements to do?
5. This one is off the topic a little bit but I keep chipping my finish when doing final steps. Not horrible chips but chips none the less. Any tips on fixing those or any tips on how not to be a clumsy fool?

[Tony_in_NYC]

Jdb, for question #5, what finish are you using and where are these chips happening? Blue painters tape can protect the finish. For repairs, I need to know what you used as a finish.

[jdb]

Hi Tony,

I used nitro from a spray can. The chips are random in occurrence. One happened when I was fitting the tuning machines in and dropped it. That created a small chip (could have been worse though). Other times are from me banging the guitar with a tool, etc.

Do you put tape over the whole guitar while finishing it up?

[Ken Hundley]

Sometimes you can create a mask with a few peices of craft paper and strategic tape. For filing fret ends on the fingerboard etension, I cut out a scrap of plexiglas I had leftover that was 1.8" thick.....basically cut out a fingerboard extension.....when I work in that area, I just place the template over it to protect the soundboard....little things like that, becuase I drop lots of tools too.

[Tony_in_NYC]

Jdb, no. I don't tape the whole guitar you banana! Stop dropping things on it. You are in luck though because you used nitro lacquer. Repairs are easy. Mask off your dings so you don't get spray anywhere else but the area to repair. Spray some more lacquer on the ding, remove the mask, and use a razor blade with scotch tape wrapped over the corners to level the repair to almost flush. Then starting with 1000 wet/ dry paper and a small piece of cork, finish your sanding and polishing of the repair. Check frets.com for the razor blade prep. I will find the link and par it later. Gotta give my three year old a bath now.

[jdb]

I have to admit that I have been called a lot of things, but that has to be the first time I have been called a banana. I definitely had to laugh on that one!

Thanks for the helpful information. Do I need to put several coats on like when I originally was finishing the guitar or can I get away with just a few coats? I am sure I will find out when I get started, but I thought I would ask.

Thanks,
Banana

[Tony_in_NYC]

I have to admit that I have been called a lot of things, but that has to be the first time I have been called a banana. I definitely had to laugh on that one!

Thanks for the helpful information. Do I need to put several coats on like when I originally was finishing the guitar or can I get away with just a few coats? I am sure I will find out when I get started, but I thought I would ask.

Thanks,
Banana

jdb(anana)--
Check out this link:
http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Tec ... rape1.html
If you have not read Frank Ford's site, Frets.com, you really need to read everything on it in the section "Items For Luthiers" Actually, everyone on this website reading this post right now should go read that section. Frank is a very experienced repairman. Not sure if he builds or not. But the info he has on repairing and jigs and tools is fantastic stuff that would take us many, many years to learn on our own. Speeds up the learning curve.
I did the same thing you did when installing the tuners on my second build. But I dropped a 10mm box wrench on the side causing a small dent on a guitar that was a gift for my brother. I was more than a bit upset. But, since I had finished the guitar with lacquer, I knew any new lacquer would burn in to the older layers and the repair would not have witness lines. As an Italian, I despise witnesses of any kind, particularly lines of them. In any event, I put some more lacquer on, then, once it had cured, I used the razor blade trick I had seen on Frets.com to mostly level the repair, followed by 1000 grit, 1500, 2000, 2500 wet/ dry, then polish and ba-da-bing-ba-da-boom...you would never know I had dinged the guitar.
You might want to use a small applicator of some kind to drop a little lacquer thinner onto the ding to get the existing lacquer to soften up just in case the new stuff you spray on isnt wet enough to penetrate deeply. Capish?
I hope this helps you to fix the dings. It worked for me!
If you still have questions, feel free to ask. I promise not to call you a banana again...probably. ;o)

[jdb]

I went to the site and read up on it. It seems pretty straight forward and sounds like the way to go. I appreciate the help! I actually put the strings on last night and played my guitar for the first time. This is my first build and probably not my last. I figured that the finish touch ups can always happen after it is completed. My action is a little high so I need to work on that...the saddle could stand to be lowered a bit.

Thanks again!

[Dan Bombliss]

I've found when gluing the neck, it's good to lob the glue on there (to an extent) to act as a lubricant. If you go light on the glue, at least with tightbond, it will start to setup very quickly so when your pushing your neck into the joint, all of a sudden you have resistance. With a good bit of glue in there, it's easy enough to get the neck to slide and set all the way into the joint, and just deal with the squeeze out later.

-Dan