Attaching Strat Neck to Body

[catscurlyear]

thanks for the reply`s, some good points there.i think putting low E and high E strings on is a good idea for a accurate gauge of how straight things are, i remember i once had chance of swapping an early 80`s dan smith ginger sunburst strat for my `84 jap Squier pop strat ,but the strings on the ginger looked a bit scew amongst other things that i didn`t like about that guitar so i kept the Squier . And that about the holes on the body having a thread the same as the neck is wrong , i have come across them now and again ,they were probably made by machines ,drilling the holes straight through the body and neck ,not ideal if you ever want to take it off for any reason then put it back on.

[AXEL276]

In advance of planning a new build I will save a set of old strings. I own over 20 guitars and am usually changing strings on one of them per week. It's not like it's costing anything thing. Putting a couple of strings on before drilling is just an insurance that your not going to have problems AFTER the holes have been drilled. In addition the strings do a good job of "clamping" the neck to the body. As long as the guitar is lying flat the strings will hold the neck firmly in place. A clamp with some cardboard over the front lightly tightend is enough to hold it so you can drill pilot holes. It's really very simple and 'fool" proof.

 

Or you can just hope everything is perfect, drill away and play the odds...

[Belva]

When I'm building one I always leave the neck pocket real tight. Then it can't slop around when drilling holes for a new neck. I can see how using strings (I use fishing line when locating a bridge) could be beneficial if the pocket is snug but not tight enough to keep the neck from moving. For someone new to doing this it would be a good practice. But I've been working on bolt neck guitars since Jesus was in swaddling clothes.

The best advice I can give when doing this type of work is to make sure you're completely clean and sober. How do I know this?, , and

[wagdog]

The one time I did this, I put on both E strings and used a C clamp. I made sure the strings were running down their respective sides of the neck and drilled through the body holes into the neck.

 

Before doing THAT, I took the drill bit and eyeball/measured it w/the neck clamped to the body and put some tape around where I wanted to stop drilling.

 

Then I sent it.

 

And it seemed to work OK... and I, actually don't know what I'm doing... but it did work.