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This is my first acoustic guitar build. I didn't quite get the neck block glued straight. I was thinking of gluing some leftover kerfing on top of the tail block and sanding it down. (See the attached pics)

Does this seem like a good strategy to fix this mistake? I'm open to better options if they exist.

That would work or you could laminate a thin veneer of mahogany or almost anything else to build up the tail block, but why not just sand the block, kerfing and sides all to the same level? You'll want to put a very slight dome on it - 15 or 16 foot radius on the back, 20 or so on the top. The separation between the two sides can be covered with a tail graft - usually to match your binding.

This shows a rim that I'm sanding - the sanding block (upside down) has a 16 foot radius, sandpaper can be stuck on with double stick tape (or sticky back sandpaper), I'm checking that the neck block in this case is level with the sides. Its better to do the sanding in a radiused dish but they are expensive - my first few were done this way and came out fine.

I suppose I was worried about sanding away some of the sides, making them uneven. This is my first build, so I shouldn't expect perfection!

I built a sanding stick with a 5 degree angle on one side and 1.5 degree on the other, so I should be good on sanding angles for the top and back.


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Hey man.
As the above poster suggested you can build that up with most anything, but I’d use a solid something over kerfing. You just don’t want a gap when you close the box.
Go ahead and build it higher than the sides and you’ll level it when you apply your radius to the back and top.
I remember that first kit build! I think I did the same thing.


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Remember to taper the tailblock back to the kerfing, top and bottom...

I’d just sand it all to the same level (with the dome of course) and be done with it. Losing a bit of depth will not do too much and you would have to sand or plane a good glueing surface on the block anyway if you wanted to build it up. That seems like more trouble than it is worth.

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