Dovetail Sanding

[tippie53]

when you chalk the neck block and set the neck into it , where is the chalk on the tenon?

[Zen]

when you chalk the neck block and set the neck into it , where is the chalk on the tenon?

On the botton of the tenon

[tippie53]

that should be pulling you tite . If not you may need a small shim. Try a slice of index card and use a clamp to set it in.
In a perfect world you should just be a bit proud of the top and the clamp will set the neck into the block for a tight fit

[Zen]

The situation is this John: A straight edge is now more or less clearing the top of the bridge --but only just and only when I pull back slightly on the top of the neck at the peghead. Thats the closest I have come to getting the neck angle right but the result is that the joint is extremely loose as i said earlier

So, If I push in shims to tighten it all up I need to know how tight does it all have to be before I glue it together. And my other worry is will all this affect the strength of the neck joint ? And will i have to use extra glue to fill the gap ?

Thanks once again for all the advice you have given=--I really think I would have shelved it by now as its become a big pain !! But maybe tomorrow will be a better day hopefully !!


Rusty

[Zen]

that should be pulling you tite . If not you may need a small shim. Try a slice of index card and use a clamp to set it in.
In a perfect world you should just be a bit proud of the top and the clamp will set the neck into the block for a tight fit

and heres how it looks and unfortunately I think this is as good as I'm gonna get it

Theres about 1/16 between the heel and body as in the pic. Can that be filled or shimmed because I am never going to get it any better
Theres about 1/16th as well under the extension fingerboard --Can that be shimmed ?

Not the ideal situation obviously but right now I just want to either shelve it or get it glued up.

[tippie53]

you need to call me if you can

[Zen]

Hey John , I have shimmed the joint and eventually it got reasonably tight but could be better. Problem now is I doubt if I can get it any tighter so question is will the glue hold it in ? I know there's gonna be all that string pressure etc and I'm a little concerned about that . I dont want to glue it in until I have tried everything but I 'm kinda running out of options
Next question is this, Is it ok to shave a little from the saddle to get a correct plane/neck angle because my straight edge barely tips the top of the bridge and thats the way its gonna be because I cant get the neck to pull back any further no matter what I try. It seems this joint was a disaster from the start and I have to make the most of it now

[Zen]

Hey John , I have shimmed the joint and eventually it got reasonably tight but could be better. Problem now is I doubt if I can get it any tighter so question is will the glue hold it in ? I know there's gonna be all that string pressure etc and I'm a little concerned about that . I dont want to glue it in until I have tried everything but I 'm kinda running out of options
Next question is this, Is it ok to shave a little from the saddle to get a correct plane/neck angle because my straight edge barely tips the top of the bridge and thats the way its gonna be because I cant get the neck to pull back any further no matter what I try. It seems this joint was a disaster from the start and I have to make the most of it now

I meant to say Shave a little from the bridge --not saddle ---
Sorry

[tippie53]

you can do that if you need to

[Zen]

Nearly there I think . I now think all of my problems with this neck joint stem from the cardboard mold that came with it and I ended up with a neck block thats well out of line --maybe even twisted.

Anyway, heres the latest and hopefully the last episode of my dilemma but just a few last pics and questions and please join in here with suggestions guys as John must well fed up of my marathon by now.

The story now is this: I can get a fairly good joint fit without a shim but then my straight edge will hit the top of the bridge when laid across the frets.so my neck angle would be wrong ?

When I put in the shim shown in the picture--about the thickness of two sheets of paper-- I get my straight edge sitting just on top of the bridge but then as you can see there's a slight gap along the side of the rim/neck that would need to be filled with something. I have sanded so much material from the heel and sides of the neck that I dont feel I could get this joint fitting any better but open to suggestions on that