Official Luthiers Forum!

Do you suppose that could have been from finish prep or finish on the body? Neck angle change from .007 or .008" at the heel (admittedly quite a bit) could translate to about 1/32 change at the nut.

Remembering this on steel strings has me hesitant to building classicals with a neck joint. With the integral neck and neck block, I don't get those kinds of surprises, but there are downsides. I think Bruce Sexauer does a sort of hybrid on this SS, building face down on a workboard like classicals are often done.

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

That was my best guess, as well as a slight distortion in shape from being cooked in the UV ovens...

For something like a Taylor bridge, I would agree...already flat-topped, so not much risk with the minor wing reshape. For a more complex bridge with offset top radius and contoured front and back edges, there is a labor versus risk versus final outcome trade to be done. Is it worth the extra labor such that the work appears better than the original? It's also an opportunity to clean up errors in design and contours, and easier to get through saddle slots on Martin bridges milled to the required offset bass/treble numbers off the guitar (which is usually needed with a bridge thickness reduction).

I have to wonder how other quality manufacturers seem to get their necks on with so much greater consistency than Martin. From my point of view, and on a much smaller sample size, I never saw a reset or new neck at the six month mark settle to more than 0.020" off the target string height here. I recall several that I thought were high going out, only to see them settle to near-perfect height within a few months. A mystery indeed.

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Oh the irony!

I just got a call from Sacramento from a luthier asking for best practice for resetting my necks. So that's at least two of three hundred that do, but shouldn't, need a reset. Scritch scritch.

Not all, but many. I always try to feel out their playing style b4 and give full disclosure. But yeah, not for everyone.

Either way, as long as I was shaving, I would take it down another .015 so that action would be possible.
Pat

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Pat