21
21
Pitch Back
If your neck is pitched back and there is a large gap above the bridge and
below the straightedge, the neck heel needs to be sanded more at the top of
the neck and feathered in to the bottom of the neck heel (little if any off the
neck heel). This will allow the neck to rotate forward.
Solution:
If the neck is sitting to far back, an adjustment of the table so that
the heel closest to the top of the neck is pretty much the only thing being
sanded and the bottom of the heel barely gets touched.
Once the bottom of the heel comes in contact with the disk
face....STOP...you're there.….re-fit.
•
Once the neck angle is bolted on to the body and it is determined that
everything is correct, fit the neck tang and bolt it in.
o
Remove any material from the tang from the end that fits into
the neck. Otherwise, the bolt hole in the neck plate may not line
up with the threaded inset on the tang.
•
Remove the neck and neck tang from the body and glue the tang into
the neck.
•
Once the glue is dry (1 hour), bolt the neck back on to the body using
all three bolts.
•
Using a circular motion and a sanding block, sand the tang flush to the
top. This is critical to ensure the fingerboard will lay flat on the top.
•
Using the straight edge, check one final time with the fingerboard
lying on top of the neck and the bridge in position, that the clearance
remains 3/32” from the underside of the straightedge to the top of the
bridge.
Step Seventeen – Fitting the Truss Rod and Gluing the Fingerboard
Locate the truss rod. The truss rod is a threaded steel rod embedded in a
square aluminum channel. It strengthens the neck and also allows the
counteraction of string pull over time.
1)
Insert the truss rod into the slot on the neck. Install it so
that the allen key adjuster is towards the headstock and
is bottomed out in the slot. Do not allow the truss rod to
extend into the headstock. The fit should be snug but
not too tight. If it is too tight, carefully open the slot
with a file or sandpaper. Ultimately the truss rod should
be flush or slightly below the surface of the neck.
