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First, my thanks to the forum posters for the extensive and helpful information.

I'm working on two rescue projects and one kit and am a newbe to steel string guitar making. On this guitar pictured here, the neck is a straight tenon/mortise. The joint hasn't been fitted yet; is the quarter inch gap intended for allowing enough room to get the neck fitted or is it something that needs to be addressed?

Second question, the tenon on the bolt end is not well matched to the pilot for the bolt in the neck block; should the tenon round end be trimmed or the mortise enlarged or a new bolt hole made?

Thanks for any comments.

-Dan

The gap is normal. The hole needs to be adjusted as necessary to fit the insert location, also, I add a second bolt for security.

EDIT: After giving that a second look, the gap in the back is normal there shouldn't be a large gap between the heel and the side. Couldn't tell from pic if that was what you might be asking about.

Thanks, Tim. That's exactly what I was asking about. The second insert sounds like a good idea. Would you plug the pilot hole in this case? The pilot isn't bored all the way through and it is not even close to the insert location.

-d.

Danl8 wrote:Thanks, Tim. That's exactly what I was asking about. The second insert sounds like a good idea. Would you plug the pilot hole in this case? The pilot isn't bored all the way through and it is not even close to the insert location.

I would.

Just a quick note to closeout this request for help. After weeks of agonizing, I followed everyone's suggestions resulting in a good tight joint. It took about an hour and an ounce or two of lampblack, but in retrospect it was easy enough to do. I will separately post the second project next and that one will be more challenging. Thanks, --d.