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Hello,

Is there a tutorial or video about how to successfully execute a neck to body butt joint? I know Huss and Dalton and other builders use this. I also believe Taylor did before their NT neck. I am interested to learn more.

Thanks,

Jordan

HD has a series of YouTube videos which include the neck joint construction and assembly procedures.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Thanks! I saw that video and that is what sparked my interest. I was hoping for a step-by-step tutorial, if one exists.

not how i've done it but a good place to start,

http://liutaiomottola.com/construction/Bolton.htm

I do a bolt on using the Collings method. They don't have a step by step. Just a diagram on their web site. And I think Mario also gave me a few generous pointers back in the day.

Collings inserts a half inch maple dowel all the way through the heel of the neck so that the wood thread end of a hangar bolt bites into the dowel rather than just the end grain of the neck. The grain of the dowel gets oriented so that the hangar thread grabs best. I use bolts that have 1/4" 20 machine thread on the guitar end. Basic stuff.

With holes predrilled and counter sunk for the nuts and washers in the heel block and already drilled through the side material, and the correct angle cut down the 14 fret line of the neck, you line up the neck and body centerlines, then reach through the sound hole with a brad point bit to mark where you'll predrill into the neck. Make sure to only drill 5/8" into the heel!!!

I do all of this before I route the truss channel. Just makes lining up the center points a bit easier.

The one thing the Collings drawing doesn't suggest is routing a rebate in the face of the heal - maybe about 3/32" or so. I route that rebate to leave about 1/4" surface where the heel actually comes in contact with the sides. My heel is the full width of the neck at the 14th. This makes flossing and mating those surfaces way easier.

Hope all of that helps.

Phil

I do pretty much exactly as phil describes above. The hangar bolts are nice because they allow for a slimmer heel since you don't have to leave room for the inserts. I have used this on a mandolin and ukulele too. You have to make sure you plan out the how much bolt length you need do go into your heel and consider the thickness of the heel block. On the smaller instruments, I ended up cutting threads off both ends. I started the wood threads in the heel then backed it out and cut off the end; I was able to then follow the newly cut threads with the now blunted end of the wood threads and get it to go in straight. For the machine threads, I just screwed on a wingnut, cut it to length with a hacksaw and cleaned up the cut threads by backing out the wingnut.

You definately do want to make sure you undercut the mating surface as phil describes above. Flossing the fit is tedious, doing it without the undercut would be a nightmare!

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

I do pretty much what Phil and Bryan have suggested. I use the maple dowel and hangar bolts.

I use bolt caps to secure the neck to the body.


The big lesson learned I had was that as the neck angle changes when you fine tune things, you need to make sure the holes in the neck block (in the guitar) have enough clearance so they don't interfere with how the neck sits. I spent a while getting the neck set and then bolting things together and it not being right. It ended up being that the bolt caps were shifting things because the hole wasn't quite large enough to cover my adjustments.

Here is a thread I started years ago that had some good discussion on but joints in general.
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=35717

I use those bolt caps too, they just look nicer to my eye. I suppose with a regular nut, you wouldn't need to be as fussy about the bolt length. . .

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.