What most stumps you in building?

[tippie53]

when you seat the neck into the block you use a clamp so you get a secure fit. You can't push it in hard enough by hand

as for the 1/16 to 1/8 in this will be in the vid but this is what you are looking at

Once the body is built you want to set the neck. I do this with the fretboard off so you can work the neck tenon easier. Using a straight edge on the neck you measure the height off the body at the neck joint. So lets say it is 1/8 in high out of the neck block . When you measure off the approximate nut location to the point where the saddle would be located you would want to see 1/16 to 1/8 in more at this point.
so with 1/8 in at the neck then you would want to see 3/16 in to 1/4 in off the top at the saddle point.

the vid will make this more clear. Just remember that even a bolt on needs to have the neck adjusted you just won't have a dovetail to work.

One reason I like dovetails is that they are more structurally secure than any other neck joint.

[Phil]

Hey Bon 04, a friendly piece of advice: Book mark John's youtube channel and watch all his videos at least once as time allows. I've done it and learned a ton as a result. In fact I've watched most of the videos a few times. I watched them all, tried doing some building, made mistakes so watched the videos again, etc... John does a very good job on his videos at explaining everything.

[Ben-Had]

Getting the neck angle correct so that I have the right height at the bridge no sky jump no large fall off after the strings are on.

That's the trick isn't it John. I've gone to making my bridges last to fit the angle not the other way around. My bridge thicknesses have come in around .3125 and .375. That way I'm not continually flossing the heel to get the angle only to get a clean mating surface to the body. I've been much happier doing it this way.

[tippie53]

This is the first part to this puzzle , getting that plane correct isn't impossible but many newbies are not even aware of this. You want the fret board to be a flat as possible but remember a little fall off is better than a ski nose. This video shows how to prepare the rim for the 1 1/2 neck angle.
Once the top is braced and glued to the top you then pre set the neck. At the end of that process you want to make this perfect.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6174

check out these 2 links I am sure you will find some answers and maybe raise a few more questions.

You want the fret board to be a flat as possible but remember a little fall off is better than a ski nose.

If I had a ski nose I would be offended...........but my nose is more like a potato.

[tippie53]

My doctor told me to watch my weight so I put it all on my belly on the front , that way I can watch it

[maxim]

One reason I like dovetails is that they are more structurally secure than any other neck joint.
There are dozens of high end makers that would take exception to that assertion since they use bolt on necks for models into the $10,000 range

[Hogan's Hero]

I don't know that they would take exception to the strength argument. There is always more than one way to do things...

I found this interesting:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/How-To/Al ... eck-Joints

and a neat discussion here:
http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showt ... t-on-necks

The bottom line is that both [and a few others including the integral Spanish style] work when executed properly. However, strength is almost always mentioned as a feature of the dovetail.

[johnnparchem]

One reason I like dovetails is that they are more structurally secure than any other neck joint.
There are dozens of high end makers that would take exception to that assertion since they use bolt on necks for models into the $10,000 range

I am not sure any of them would take exception, I would guess that they would take exception to someone saying their neck joint was not structurally sound, and if they use a bolt on they would argue that there joint may be superior for a variety of other reasons. I do not think that a bolt on is more structurally secure would be one of the arguments. I use bolt-on joints cause it is easier. The flip side is I had to tighten the bolts on nearly every guitar within 18 months, even though I use the springy washers.

[tippie53]

Lets address these questions one at a time.
Clamping the dove tail
actually lets call it clamping the neck joint, Even a bolt on , as you are making adjustments you want to affix the neck to the block as best you can. In the case of the dovetail , I do cover this in my you tube vid but you do want to use a clamp or even a hammer and tap it in so the joint is secure. On a bolt on just tighten the bolt. Once the joint is tight , it will force the heel of the neck against the body so you can get an accurate seating of the joint. Now you can address the position of the neck and relation of the neck to the body to get the measurements.
Don't assume that you can just push them together. It is these details that help your accuracy.

Any time you don't understand what I am saying please don't think I would be offended if you ask a question. I am here to help.