Neck joint

Assuming that everyone glues their tops first then the backs, I wonder at what point in the process do you machine your neck joint and fit it? I am using a mortise and tenon or possibly a dovetail. I have a friend that cuts the neck block before gluing it into the sides while another closes up the box and uses a router in a jig. That's what I'm going to do this time around. I'm really interested in hearing about the type of neck joint you use and the process for implementing it.

I build a couple guitars with mortise joint necks. It is a lot of work to get the neck aligned. I have built a few ukuleles and banjo ukes with bolt-on necks sort of like Pete Howlett does:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoBLSRrdQZw&feature=related
I'm thinking of building on a solera, but with a bolt-on neck. That way everything is lined up at the beginning of the build, with the sides and back being built around the top and neck. If that make sense?

thistle3585 said:

Assuming that everyone glues their tops first then the backs, I wonder at what point in the process do you machine your neck joint and fit it?

Click to expand...

LOL I do it totally backward from that - 1st the neck joint, then the back, then the top!

Spanish heel on ukes, but on guitars it's a bolt on M&T. I cut the neck block and tenon prior to any assembly of the instrument. All done on the table saw with dado blade and tenoning jig. A bit of set up to get everything spot on, but after that everything just falls into place.

I use to have to spend hours getting a good neck join and alignment. Now that I've switched to this method it's 95% right. I just have to adjust the pitch of the neck for final set up, and that's usually awful close too.

Spanish heel for me. Neck gets lined up and fitted with the sides.

I hope this helps!
Like Alan... I cut the blocks and and neck joint first..only I use the dovetail method tho.
I did a couple of slideshows in 2009..I've changed a few things since then but the method is basicly the same.....click on the pic's for slideshow.
PART 1

PART 2

Timbuck said:

I hope this helps!
Like Alan... I cut the blocks and and neck joint first..only I use the dovetail method tho.
I did a couple of slideshows in 2009..I've changed a few things since then but the method is basicly the same.....click on the pic's for slideshow.
PART 1

PART 2

Click to expand...

Just burned an hour going through your photo album. Love the kerf cutting jig. That is truely amazing.

Hi. I've pasted together a couple of posts I made some time back when responding to a similar question at the other forum. If it seems incoherent it might be just that, but these posts came to mind when I read this thread.

First section describes how I used to make a screw-reinforced butt joint:

I've used a contraption similar to this, I attach first the front, then the neck and the back last.



I usually drilled a 4 mm hole through the neck block, then a 2,5 mm into the neck. Both from the inside when neck and body are clamped down together. Then I screw it. I've since started making bolt on necks, but the screw attachment is good and strong. And there's a possibility to adjust the alignment before glueing since the hole in the block is slightly bigger.

Then another post that is more about a bolt on with a threaded insert, a barrel nut similar to what I know Pete has used. It also contains a pic of my "solera", which is fastened to the bench by a screw that goes down into an insert in the benchtop. This is a good solution for reaching the different parts from all sides.



This is a pic of Andy's uke-to-be. It has a bolt on neck (my first), but the pic shows how I clamp the parts before using the gizmo in my first post. In this case, the skunk stripe really helps, but I went through the routine with sliding a sandpaper between neck and body to get the fit perfectly aligned.

A good trick is to cut a recess in the heel surface, leaving 4 or 5 mm around the edge. Then when you slide the sandpaper you only work on the edges not the whole area. This makes a huge difference. To make the recess you can either have a dedicated router set up or you can do it as I do it, with a small and very sharp chisel. (I keep mentioning chisels, don't I?)

Of course, the visible screw head has to look decent. I don't know why, but it is quite a leap from a philips screw to a sturdy looking one with a hexagonal hole. But for wood screws the choice is somewhat limited.

Edit to keep from working:
You mentioned threaded inserts, I find them hard to use. With my bolt ons I use an aluminium rod with a threaded hole through it perpendicular to its' length. As here:



Hope this helps. And as you see, I glue necks without the fretboards, and I glue them before the backs. In this way I can set the neck angle when glueing the back, as Allen mentioned a few days ago in another thread. It is harder to finish the assembled uke than to finish neck and body separately, but hey, I'm an amateur so no one expects anything from me...

Regards / Sven

olgoat52 said:

Just burned an hour going through your photo album. Love the kerf cutting jig. That is truely amazing.

Click to expand...

Anyone is welcome to look in there http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc143/shiregreenbod/ ..I've got nothing to hide....I hope it will give builders some ideas.. and then they can improve on em'

Timbuck said:

Anyone is welcome to look in there http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc143/shiregreenbod/ ..I've got nothing to hide....I hope it will give builders some ideas.. and then they can improve on em'

Click to expand...

Let hope we all improve on the "finger" pictures. Those gave me the willys. I have been woodworking for 28 years and that is something that is always on my mind. Scares the snot outta me.