Posted by Mad Dog Madda on September 10, 2009 at 3:15am
What are some ways to set the neck angle on a through neck CBG? I am using a zero fret nut and the action where the neck joins the body is way higher than I like it. I like to fret all my builds so this action thing is amajor point of frustration for me. Thanks.
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Do you have pictures? If it's a through neck, the only thing I can offer is that the action is affected by the height of the neck above the box (dependent on whatever relief you cut into it) or the saddle height. I had good luck making the neck flush with the body and exactly parallel, with the only height offset being the fretboard on top of the neck. A straightedge on the frets was used to insure the neck was parallel to the body before gluing. Granted, mine wasn't a through body design, but that's how I did it, and technically I should have had a tougher time than you getting the neck angle right.
Thanks! I have a neck (two, actually) that I may be able to salvage by applying this idea to it. I experimented with a theory that ended up removing too much wood - long story - and the neck wanted to bow. I stabilized it with two hooks and a turnbuckle on the back of the neck inside the box, but the action is still too high. Oh, I'm making a new neck for this one tomorrow, but I'll be damned if I'll let this first neck defeat me! I will prevail! Or I'll build a cigar box ukulele out of it. Ha! As for the profile pic, it was too low-res. I may replace it with a higher-res version.
Ted Crocker said:
Start at 3.5 degrees with a standard bridge height.
(liked the first profile pic, darling...)
Starfish, darling said:
Do you have a formula to determine that angle?
Mortimer Snerd said:
One way to lower the headstock end of the neck is to remove material off the top side of the tail stock under the lid of the box.
I wonder if you have a problem other than design.... most of my neck thru CBGs are "fast" all the way down the neck... (0* neck angle is implied with a neck thru design unless you work at it). The only way to have a too high action on a neck thru is to have a too high bridge... unless you have a neck that is bowing (or warped) toward the box. If that is the case, any design will have action that is pretty much unplayable down the neck...
Here's a way. The block that goes through the box is a separate piece from the neck. It goes through holes in the ends of the box. You can control the neck angle two ways. 1) by the position of the holes the block passes through - if the hole at the tail end is closer to the front of the box, the angle will be steeper, or 2) by putting an angle in the heel joint where the neck attaches to the thru-block.
I pretty much always have a zero fret for my nut, and an applied fingerboard is the way I get the action low enough. This works better for some boxes than for others.
neck throughs and neck angles can be made only if you start with a thick piece of wood stock. I do something like a bolt on. screw to a piece of hard wood in the box under the neck. Then angle the neck and screw through through the tail.
If the neck is to remail a single piece going thru the box, then the only way I can think of would be to taper the cutaway to allow the end of the guitar to be lower than the front (where the neck joins the body).
Replies
Ted Crocker said:
Mortimer Snerd said:
I could be wrong, but check it out...
the best,
Wichita Sam
(Picture is attached...)
heeljoint.gif