Semi-hollow kit neck fit

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Underwood
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Nov 01, 2021 7:22 pm

Semi-hollow kit neck fit

Post by Underwood »

Hi,

I'm new to guitars and guitar building. I purchased a semi-hollow kit so that I can practice without driving my wife nuts in our open floorplan house. As I am struggling with Yankee Doodle, I would like to produce an instrument that will play well now and that will sound good when I finally become proficient.

As seen in the attached composite image, the neck has some tear-out on one side, requires sanding to fit, and lastly some voids on one side of the body at the neck joint need attention. Although I did not gauge or chalk the neck to verify bearing surface contact, the neck fit feels solid.

After ruminating and surfing to pick up what information my noggin can absorb, I have formed a general plan of attack:

1. for the neck tear-out I have 4 options: do nothing and glue in with Titebond, fill with a paste made with maple sawdust and Titebond, fill with a water-soluble filler (TImbermate), or fill in with a solvent filler (Dap Plasticwood). I'm leaning towards the Titebond/sawdust and the Timbermate options.

2. to fit the neck, sand down the proud banding at neck joint and possibly the base of the body neck cavity to have the fretboard contact the body. In sanding the body neck cavity I am planning on making a long block to attach fine (220) sandpaper to only the underside and another jig to maintain the cavity angle. I should be able to get a solid fit with removing about 0.050 in.

3. for the gap on the top which will be hidden by the fretboard, fill the void using one of the techniques listed under item 1 above.

4. for the gap in the mahogany/binding in the cutaway, I saw John's video on fixing finishes and I will give it a try here. I plan on using mahogany Timbermate tinted with stain for the body underside grain filler. I plan on finishing with Tru-Oil. Depending on the depth, I would start with Timbermate, then top with a mix of Tru-Oil and sawdust generated during pore filling. If it doesn't work out I can always finish with a solid color.

5. for the top I plan on popping the grain with TransTint antique maple and top with Tru-Oil.

Please take a look at the photos and let me know if I'm moving in the right direction.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions,
Underwood_1_2021-11-03.jpg
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Matt
Guitar Neophyte
Cape Cod, MA
koolimy
Posts: 87
Joined: Fri May 08, 2020 3:59 pm

Re: Semi-hollow kit neck fit

Post by koolimy »

Is your kit from a place like thefretwire.com? I assembled a 335 kit from thefretwire and it had a similar neck situation.

I can't help you exactly with what you are doing but in my case I just shimmed the bottom of my neck (it didn't make contact on the bottom so I needed to shim it for full contact) and just flooded the neck cavity with glue. As long as you make a connection that stays in place I think playability and sound will be okay, because you can adjust a lot of things at the bridge.

Hope you get a better answer to your question.
TEETERFAN
Posts: 342
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2018 12:43 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Semi-hollow kit neck fit

Post by TEETERFAN »

Congratulations on you first steps! You should have fun, learn a lot, and come up with a solid instrument. I don’t know what your instructions cover, but the geometry of the neck is critical, along with the cosmetic fit. Research this if clear guidelines aren’t provided. The typical bridge will have a lot of easy adjustability, but it can only go so low or high, so string/neck angle needs to be within that range. The lateral alignment should be checked and/or corrected to insure the centerline of the neck extends through the centerline of the two stop tailpiece studs, if those holes are pre drilled.

Good luck!!
Kevin Doty
Kansas City
Underwood
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Nov 01, 2021 7:22 pm

Re: Semi-hollow kit neck fit

Post by Underwood »

Thanks for the tips!

The kit is from TheFretWire. I spent some time lining things up and I think I am good. I am going with Timbermate to fill the gaps because the fit is good and I just want to fill the gaps with something more than glue. I go slowly to make sure everything is aligned and all surfaces are mated correctly as I fill/sand/fit.

I have a maple board which I am testing finishes on. I have wet-sanded/buffed/polished a hybrid alkyd cabinet paint on a piece of maple (Benjamin Moore Advance) after letting it sit a month. This will be my fallback option if the Mahogany repair in the cutout doesn't pan out after the pore-filling.

I sanded and raised the grain on the second half of the sample piece and will be applying then sanding trans tint antique maple and topping with Behr Tung Oil Finish (boiled linseed oil & varnish mix?). The sample board will be to simulate the maple top and if necessary, the white body. I will be using the same maple/tint/oil finish on the neck. I do not have any mahogany to test the Mahogany Timbermate (tinted/darkened with oil stain) and topped with the Behr Tung Oil Finish.

Much Thanks!
Matt
Guitar Neophyte
Cape Cod, MA
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