I tried a new neck joint

Good morning. Since our last thread on here about lag screws / hanger bolts instead of barrel bolts I decided to give it a shot. I'm making a soprano for my daughter so the first one with the new joint won't leave the house for the next few years.

I went for wood screws with a coarse thread and a narrower shaft near the head to avoid getting the threads stuck in the neck block.

I'll put a link and paste a few pics, pretty self explanatory. The shallow slot in the dowel I put in is there to give excess glue a chance to escape.

I think it works. I might use it again. Glueing in the dowel must strengthen the heel, a hole for a barrel bolt weakens it. Note that I attach the neck before glueing on the back. The back will cover the heel so that and the fretboard will also contribute to the strength of the joint (and the difficulties of ever disassembling it).

http://argapa.blogspot.com/2019/02/new-neck-joint.html

Nice work, Sven - that should hold it. I've done something similar in the past, but without the refinement of inserting a vertical dowel. I drilled two holes in the face of the neck, leaving just enough for the threads of the screws to bite into, and seated the screws in the holes with glue, in the hope that it would strengthen the end grain.

My inferior job seems to have worked. The two ukes I used it on haven't disintegrated, so your well-thought-out method is sure to be successful.

John Colter.