I know it's my first, but still... (neck joint problems)

herbsandspices

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I've been procrastinating gluing the neck onto the body for the past couple of weeks - making sure the butt fits perfectly, getting my dry clamping down, etc.... but something about this step had me really nervous.

Well, tonight I decided to stop worrying, and just DO IT! So, I got everything ready, got 'er glued in place, had tubing wrapped around it, and then noticed something: the fretboard extension wasn't sitting flush on the soundboard. :eek: So I quick took the tubing off (with the hope that I could start all over) - but in the little bit of time that had passed, the glue had set enough where I couldn't remove the neck, without fearing that I'd rip the wood from the sides right out.

I tried cranking the bar clamp to slide the entire neck down, but the neck wouldn't budge (and in fact, the force ended up bending the fretboard extension...), and eventually, I realized that it was staying just how it was. So I'm stuck with a little bit of a gap there; I'm just hoping that it won't affect the action too much (and that I can compensate with the nut & saddle heights).

Goof-up: I didn't clamp the fretboard to the body first, cause I couldn't figure out a quick way to wrap the tubing around with the clamp in the way (should've had a longer reach clamp).

Lucky for me this SM kit is a practice run for Pete's kit, so I'm learning from my (many) mistakes. But it's still heartbreaking! :eek: Oh well! :shaka: It's been fun, and I'll look at this little guy fondly, no matter how it turns out!

:) john
 
It's surprising how thislast operation can ruin a good job.It's an operation i dislike but have learnt to prepare for doing a dry run with clamping. Going over to a bolt on joint has simplified matters greatly - except when the pilot drill wanders...
 
It's surprising how this last operation can ruin a good job.It's an operation i dislike but have learnt to prepare for doing a dry run with clamping. Going over to a bolt on joint has simplified matters greatly - except when the pilot drill wanders...

Even with a soprano? That sounds nice - and even more structurally sound.

Spanish heel - no such problem :rolleyes:

'Twas a kit! But I have a book that talks about Spanish heels, and it's something I want to try out.

Thanks guys! :)
john
 
Those of you building the Stew-Mac kit may consider trying this. I use a 3" x 1/4" lag screw as a temporary bolt-on to secure the neck to the body during gluing and to check the fit before gluing. The beauty of this system is there are no external clamps to interfer with checking the final measurements before gluing, and as the screw provides secure clamping pressure, nothing is going to move after you glue it.

1. Fit the neck to the body.
2. Drill a 1/4" hole at the center of the neck joint, thru the body and end block.
3. From the inside of the body, use a 1/4" brad point drill bit to mark the neck, while holding the neck in the final position.
4. At the marked point on the neck, drill a 3/16" hole in the base of the neck, about 3/8 " deep.
5. Make a spacer out of a small wood block, drill a clear hole for the lag screw thru the spacer. The size of the spacer should be such that when the screw with spacer on it is pushed thru the end block and body, about 3/8" of the screw protrudes after it is pushed out all the way.
6. Position the neck against the body, and use a 1/4" drive socket thru the soundhole to tighten the lag screw and secure the neck against the body.
7. With the neck being held securely in place, check your final alignment carefully.
8. If you need to adjust the neck position slightly, you can enlarge the hole thru the body and end block to provide some wiggle room.
9. After you are satisfied with the fit, disassemble the joint, add the glue, and reassemble.
10. Double check your alignment and let the assembly dry. Remove the lag screw and spacer block and you are done.

If you have any trouble understanding this process, let me know and I'll try and clarify it.

Brad
 
Hi Sven, you could do it that way if you prefer. I was referring to setting up the neck to body joint about 90-95% of final fit in step 1. Most of the time you need to make some small adjustments after the initial dry bolt on anyway.

Brad
 
Congratulations Herbsandspices, you have just discovered on of the approximately 7,850 things that can go wrong during a build! A friend of mine who is a hobby builder described his building process as a continual series of correcting mistakes. Another friend who has over 500 ukes under his belt claims to having never built the perfect ukulele.
Keep up the good work. You'll learn from every one you build.
 
Brad - I overthought it. Of course the fit must be good before drilling, I just read with such a sense of revelation that I saw before me the drilling being done with the neck in place. That could be like semi-possible with a 90 degree extension to a small drill but...

My best tip: glue and screw/bolt the neck before glueing on the back. Saves you trouble, and you can let the back cover the heel.

All the best / Sven
 
How about we start a list of things that often go wrong..like the seam at the lower bout end not neat enough.. so a fancy inlay has to made to cover it up... or when pressing in fretwire, one kicks over and breaks the fingerboard in two:eek:..neck centre line do's not line up with sound hole....Routing body sides flush and a piece splinters off, and you have to search the shop floor to find it so it can be glued back in place (and hope no one will notice)..cutting out the sound hole before the rosette is fitted and glued, and chunks break away from the edge into the groove....Slotting finger boards then cutting them with the narrow end where the the fat end should be.:(...gluing the bridge facing the wrong way....Scraping away the finish to glue the neck or bridge and you go past the line of no return (I've done all of these)....there are loads more...so come on lads time to be honest:)
 
How about cleaning off sawdust with the hoover, and accidentally covering the sound hole with the nozzle, just to create a vacuum in the uke and hearing the back cave in with a loud crack?

Heh... imagine doing that... And imagine telling folks about it. I would never...

:eek:
 
How about cleaning off sawdust with the hoover, and accidentally covering the sound hole with the nozzle, just to create a vacuum in the uke and hearing the back cave in with a loud crack?

Heh... imagine doing that... And imagine telling folks about it. I would never...

:eek:
Thats a great vacuum cleaner, you wouldn't expect that.... one that made me smile was the guy on the "Cosmos" who used a party balloon to hold some bracings in place for a repair job...and the uke exploded.
 
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How about cleaning off sawdust with the hoover, and accidentally covering the sound hole with the nozzle, just to create a vacuum in the uke and hearing the back cave in with a loud crack?

Heh... imagine doing that... And imagine telling folks about it. I would never...

:eek:

Uhh... :eek: Ok, that's something I won't do anymore!

Congratulations Herbsandspices, you have just discovered one of the approximately 7,850 things that can go wrong during a build!

2 down, 7,848 to go! :D

:) john
 
It's surprising how thislast operation can ruin a good job.It's an operation i dislike but have learnt to prepare for doing a dry run with clamping. Going over to a bolt on joint has simplified matters greatly - except when the pilot drill wanders...

I'm with Pete, try considering the barrel bolt method on the next build. It's worth checking out. Also, I recommend using Hide Glue. It allows for removal of a neck, bridge, binding, or whatever if you mess it up first time around using heat and moisture to loosen up the joint. In addition, if you have some unwanted glue you didn't clean up initially on a joint, warm water and a soft cloth will take it right up. Beautiful stuff! I've even removed back bracing once because I didn't like the way it was laid out...good luck with future builds...e.lo..

Of course Pete never makes a mistake so he doesn't need to use it! hahaha...sorry Pete, just a little American humor from the other side of the pond...
 
Thanks E-Lo... if Pete does a video on bolt-on necks, I promise to do one with my Howlett kit! :D If it's good enough for the UK Uke dude, it's good enough for me! :)

As for using hide glue, I try to stay away from using animal products as much as I can (I'm one of them cooky vegans). So I'm "stuck" using Titebond... :wallbash: sorry, couldn't resist a little glue humour. (UK spelling to appease Mister Pete)

:p john
 
Mistakes - can't think of a single build where ar least 10 things didn't go to plan!
 
well this kind of encourages me.

I am on my 7 and 8th ukes - built to the body and the neck is still giving me fits! I built a jig to cut the face of the body flat with a router, and one to drill the neck and body for dowels and a bolt but am still having problems getting it all to line up perfectly, maybe i should go to the spanish style neck? But i do bindings on some of my ukes.
Chuck I admire your ukes very much and am planning on moving to the big island in a couple years, I am looking at the Hilo side, my sister has a condo in Wiakola and it is too desolate looking over there!
Mike
Anchorage Alaska
 
Zog, the neck joint is just something you have to find your own way with, trying different methods until you're comfortable with one. Many builders use some type of bolt arrangement that allows them some latitude in adjustment. I've never used a dowel joint in my life so I wouldn't know about that. On the other extreme I have a friend who wouldn't consider anything but a dovetail but that comes from his guitar building background and is what he is comfortable with. It only takes him about six hours to make the joint however! With 7 or 8 ukes built, you're only now at the level where you can start thinking of the right questions to ask. I've built something over 300 and I still keep changing the things I'm unsatisfied with. And I still got a million questions!
Hilo (Puna really) is really a great side of the Big Island. If you get yourself down toward the water you'll find it sunny most of the time, unlike Hilo, Mountain View, Volcano, etc that can be quite wet.
Good luck and keep building! Aloha.
 
I've tried dovetail, spline, dowel and now use bolt-on exclusively. My current thinking is:
  • Saves time
  • Makes alignment easy
  • Gluing is a before or after finishing option
  • There ain't much torsion on the neck so the triangulated joint with its glue on the fretboard tongue works well
Like Chuck says, you have to find your own path. I am seriously considering dovetail methods again...
 
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