Members lgs Posted June 27, 2018 Members Share Posted June 27, 2018 Hey Folks, I've got a bit of an chicken and egg problem with a partocaster that I am building for my son. I have bought a very nice mahagony tele body and a nice strat neck that feels well and looks very good on it. The neck fits the pocket well with the common issue that a strat neck is rounded while the body has a straight neck pocket. So far so good. Now the issue: The holes on body and neck are misaligned by about 3 mm. (See the pictures. The blue dots are taken through the body holes). I know it would not be much of a problem to fill the neck holes and make new ones. But what if my body is odd? There is no bridge installed yet so if I redrill the neck holes, mount it and then align the bridge won't I get problems with the next neck because the bridge might not be where it should be? The solution obviously would be to install the bridge first. But how do that properly without a neck? I could also easily sand down the three millimeters at the end of the neck so that it would fit the pocket better. But then of course the bridge would have to be set back as well and I'd still get problems with another neck, right? Advice is much appreciated! Lorenz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted June 27, 2018 Members Share Posted June 27, 2018 You are right, each option is fraught with potential problems. Both strats and tele's use the same hole pattern (2.000 by 1.500) offset from the back wall of the pocket by 0.625. As you note, the tele is a square neck heel and pocket, the strat is curved so a strat neck fits a tele but usually not the other way. First, can you determine which component is drilled correctly. If the neck is wrong that is already a weak area and you are going to make it worse trying to plug the holes (plus its a real hassle). If the body is off you can easily plug the holes and the plate will hide it, but its darn hard to hit hole already drilled in a neck. If the holes will match and you take the 3mm off the end of the neck (I think I would route the pocket deeper towards the neck pup) you run into some other challenges. It looks like you are planning to use humbuckers - I assume you are getting a bridge that either mounts the pickup or will clear the pickup ring. Moving the bridge is pretty easy but dealing with the pickup hole isn't. Same thing might occur at the neck - the end of the f/b might run into the pickup ring and/or pick guard. So with three marginal options I guess I would opt to fill the neck holes and drill to match the body. In the future you would buy an undrilled replacement neck and drill to match. If you have to dowel the hole I would definitely use maple and drill the hole with a brad pointed bit, but having your mounting screws going into end grain still scares me. I think I would go thru the hassle of putting threaded inserts into the neck - you would have to build a jig for your drill press but I think it would be worth it. Remember too that this is the time to really check all your geometry and I like to have the actual bridge that I'm going to use. Good luck, let us know what you decide and how it goes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted June 27, 2018 Members Share Posted June 27, 2018 Additional thought, if you are going to use one of these short bridges https://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Bridges_and_Tailpieces/Bridges_and_Tailpieces_for_Electric_Guitar/Non-trem_Bridges/Short_Bridge_for_Tele.html Then you should be able to shift the neck and bridge and leave the pickups where they are. Make sure the f/b doesn't run into the neck pup. I would assume this mounts the same as a standard tele bridge with the screw holes at the scale length plus 0.250 but it would be good to have it in hand before you went any farther. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lgs Posted July 1, 2018 Author Members Share Posted July 1, 2018 Thanks a lot for the advice Freeman Keller. Using the measurements you gave I was able to determine that indeed the holes on my body aren't where they are supposed to be. So I'lll guess I'll have to close and redrill them. At least the body will then be able to take any standard tele or strat neck. Thanks also for advice on the bridge. I already got a used Schaller 3D Bridge that seems to be an easy start or me as a beginner as all the strings can be adjusted in each direction. Also, being a top loader bridge, it saves me the effort of drilling holes through the body. Thanks a lot! Lorenz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted July 1, 2018 Members Share Posted July 1, 2018 Keep us posted and if I can be of help please let me know. I've never worked with that bridge but according to the StewMac fret position chart its should have the forward mounting holes located from the nut [TABLE=border: 0, cellpadding: 0, cellspacing: 0] [TR] [TD=width: 50%]Schaller Non-Tremolo Roller Bridge [/TD] [TD=width: 50%]26.343" (± 0.030")[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] That is very different from most other tele or strat fixed bridges. I don't like to drill those holes until I have the neck in the pocket and can establish a centerline based on the neck and can then measure from the nut. Once I make that measurement I like to position the bridge on the top and just make sure that it looks right - are the saddles in a reasonable place to be able to intonate the guitar within their adjusting range and is the neck geometry going to work with the vertical adjustment of the saddles? Different bridge, obviously, but same idea. Make sure its centered to the neck Make sure the neck angle is correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted July 3, 2018 Members Share Posted July 3, 2018 Its common knowlege, Tele necks are square and Strat necks are round. Some Strat necks with 22 frets can have intonation issues depending on where the last fret ends up so be sure to measure the distance between nut and 12th and 12th and the High E saddle and be sure you can intonate without over extending. If this is a 22 fret Strat neck it the 22nd fret needs to overhang the end of the fret board. Be sure the neck clears the neck pickup. [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"6-27-2.jpg","data-attachmentid":32269972}[/ATTACH] Some Strat necks have the overhang but the 22nd fret ends at the heel. If so, when you mount the neck "as is" the scale length may be too long. [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tkmise-left-hand-electric-guitar-neck-for-fender-strat-partsreplacement-canada-maple-22-frets-bolt-on-vintage-tint-gloss-intl-1501201077-73775532-4b24b9cc0efb5a36b96a669426d15bfe.jpg Views:\t1 Size:\t129.9 KB ID:\t32269941","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32269941","data-size":"full","title":"kmise-left-hand-electric-guitar-neck-for-fender-strat-partsreplacement-canada-maple-22-frets-bolt-on-vintage-tint-gloss-intl-1501201077-73775532-4b24b9cc0efb5a36b96a669426d15bfe.jpg"}[/ATTACH] Be sure the distance between the nut and 12th fret is the same as the 12th fret and High E saddle and you have enough distance to adjust the saddle. ALSO, be sure the pocket isn't too deep for the fret board overhang. The overhang needs to clear the body when screwed down. [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"22fret_sideviewNEW.jpg","data-attachmentid":32269974}[/ATTACH] A rounded neck in a square pocket will typically have issues being bumped and thrown out of alignment when transported in a case. [img2=JSON]{"alt":"Related image","data-align":"none","data-size":"full","height":"224","width":"642","src":"http:\/\/www.warmoth.com\/Guitar\/images\/necks\/NeckFitStrat.jpg"}[/img2] You could Flatten the neck - or Round or fill the neck pocket but this would shorten the scale length. Be sure to measure. Do not trust the screw holes. The neck plate and holes in the body are not a calibrated measurement between one guitar and another. They may or may not align properly. If the scale length is acceptable without flattening the neck or rounding the pocket then you could fill the corners using epoxy putty. It wont fix you pickguard issue but will give the neck a tight contact for better tone, stronger joint stability so it stays in tune and the curved contact will prevent neck tilt side to side. Get some Epoxy Putty from the hardware store. http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...yABEgK9aPD_BwE The stuff mixes up like clay. Then tape the neck heel with scotch tape and put a thin coat of oil or wax the tape. Press the putty into the heel then press the neck into the putty to shape the pocket round. Remove the neck after 15 minutes or so and trim off the excess. (The oiled tape prevents the epoxy from sticking to the lacquer and removing the finish when you remove the neck. Leave it a tad higher then the top. Once it hardens it can be sanded as smooth as the wood and painted over when you finish the body. I prefer the putty over wood filler because it doesn't crack or shrink, it doesn't crumble and it provides excellent sound conduction. It also begins to harden within 15 minutes. I've used the stuff hundreds of times and it works great. The good part is it can be removed from the wood if you ever planed on installing a tele neck. Just use a sharp chisel and you can peel it off the wood cleanly. The putty is also great if the neck pocket is too deep where the fret board overhangs. Just spread some of the putty out and tighten the screws down on it so it flattens out then remove the neck to allow it to harden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted July 3, 2018 Members Share Posted July 3, 2018 ^^^ This is absolute bull - go ahead and do it if you like but it is not necessary. Plug the holes in the body and redrill them. The critical thing is to make sure the neck is more or less on the body centerline. Your ace in the hole is that you can move the bridge slightly if you need to since that hasn't been drilled yet. On the off chance that you need to shim the neck to better fit the pocket, do just that, shim it. Remember also that your body holes should be clearanced slightly, my plans call for a 0.166 hole which is a #19 bit. If you would like to PM me an e-mail address I will send you scans of two sets of Fender plans that will help you locate the holes. The problem that I see is that you already have the holes in the neck and its going to be very hard to line them up. If you are lucky and they match the Fender standard (domestic necks like Warmoth will, PacRim necks may or may not) then once you drill the body you will be good to go. I like to use an undrilled neck and drill it to match the body which I have drilled on a press with a template. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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