Fit a neck with Terry

[Terry McInturff]

Hello all,

Thursday is the day when I try to have the necks ready to fit into the body for glue-up. Like everybody in this business, I have my own little ways of going about things. Here is how I get a neck ready to glue onto one of my guitars.

Before gluing the neck onto the body, the neck is final carved, fretted, and sanded to a "finish ready" state.

The next step is to check one last time that the tenon is perfectly square in all directions:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m194/tcmzodiac/neckfitone.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m194/tcmzodiac/neckfittwo.jpg

Next, the rounded corners at the end of the mortise are squared off with one of my favorite early 1900's Buck Bros chisels, like so:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m194/tcmzodiac/neckfit3.jpg

These are the tools that I'll use to gently "open-up" the mortise in order to generate a great fit:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m194/tcmzodiac/neckfit5.jpg

Next, I will insert the neck into the mortise to get an idea as to how much widening the mortise will require. Since all of the routes and machining are dead-on centered with the centerline of the body, I'll have to be very careful to preserve this as I work.
At this point, the neck will not yet fit:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m194/tcmzodiac/neckfit4.jpg

Here I am using the sanding paddle to remove equal amounts from both walls of the mortise; I am careful to not only hold this tool correctly while working (not exactly as shown, I had to snap the pic while holding the tool in place!)...but to remove the same amount of material from both walls of the mortise, so as to ensure that my line-up with the centerline does not stray; I will count my strokes as I go.

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m194/tcmzodiac/neckfit6.jpg

As I work, I check with a square to be certain that the walls are square with the floor of the mortise:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m194/tcmzodiac/neckfit7.jpg

Slowly but surely, the neck begins to fit into the mortise. It is important that there are no glue-filled gaps; the correct fit takes practice.
If too tight, it may "seize" during the glue-up and not seat correctly;
if too loose, a big loss of vibrational transfer occurs!

The correct fit allows the guitar to be lifted by the neck and jiggled around with no clamps or glue holding the two parts together:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m194/tcmzodiac/neckfit8.jpg

Once I like the fit, it is time to check the neck angle. I use a slotted clamp block that allows a straight-edge to slip under it:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m194/tcmzodiac/neckfit9.jpg

Neck neck is clamped in place with the slotted block; the straight-edge is slipped underneath it, dead center along the middle of the fretboard; the height of the straightedge above the bridge position is checked; this one is correct. If it werent, the angle on the bottom of the tenon would be adjusted by hand:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m194/tcmzodiac/neckfit10.jpg

Once the angle has been checked, it is time to sand the top on either side of the fretboard, so that the top meets the neck/fretboard glue joint:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m194/tcmzodiac/neckfit11.jpg

Once that has been accomplished, a "dry fit" with the clamps and padded blocks is in order:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m194/tcmzodiac/neckfit12.jpg

The neck is now ready to be glued onto the body...and that is the moment that it becomes a real guitar! :)

[imissmj]

Fascinating. thanks for sharing!

[Shane S]

Thank you for sharing Terry. That is very interesting information.

[XKnight]

Awesome and interesting stuff for us layman.

[drezdin]

Damn!
That is skill right there.

Amazing work Mr T

[mojocaster.com]

Great work as always. No wonder your guitars are such superb pieces of art!

[IIIBOOMERIII]

Great idea having a clamp block with slots cut out so there is no
pressure on the frets. Is that cork on the face of the block?

Thank you for such an informative post.

[DWB1960]

Great insight! Thanks.

[dwes]

Fun read. Great pics. Very kind to share with TGP!
Dave

[paintguy]

Thanks for sharing, Terry!

Awesome craftmanship!

[Jack Briggs]

I have absolutely nothing to add to that. Everything Terry mentioned is what I would have said. :agree

[martyncrew]

Amazing craftsmanship and marketing!

[r9player]

Awesome bit of craftsmanship and tutorial there Terry thanks!

[Johnny Raz]

I love my McInturff guitar!

Thanks Terry for sharing your love for your craft (and your super secret method for gluing necks!)

[john b]

Very Cool! Thanks for putting that up for those of us who are fascinated with guitar building but have no idea how you all do it!

[Neil Morgan]

I use a similar method except I've mostly exchanged the use of the sanding block for these;

http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?cat=542

I find the crank handled face float perfect for the job and it leaves a better surface for the glue up.

[HHB]

wow, cool post Terry!

[Drunkagain]

Awesome post. Thanks a million for sharing.

[DucRyder]

Nice pics!

[Scott Peterson]

Cool as heck. Fun journey!

[Chris]

I LOVE these kind of posts. Great to see people who know what they're doing putting it out there . . . I'm a firm believer that if you're a master at your craft, or even if you just know a little bit, the greatest thing you can do is to share your knowledge. Not hoard it. :AOK

[2leod]

Never had a chance to play one of your guitars but the more time I spend on TGP, the higher doing so climbs on my "to do" list!

Thank you, sir!

[Terry McInturff]

Many many thanks for all of these very kind comments. I truly appreciate them!

Since this thread was moved to this part of TGP, I'll post future things of this nature here.

[crosse79]

Very nice indeed! Shows the level of dedication to perfection!

[Daren Anderson]

Thanks, Terry! That was terrific. I have my Taurus Custom in my lap and I am enjoying the hell out the amazing neck. Knowing and seeing the skill and effort that went into the guitar makes me enjoy it all the more.

[larry1096]

Amazing stuff, Terry!

When I was working on my last set-neck, I was searching for something to reach in and fit the body cut, and I thought I'd 'invented' the sandpaper on a block idea.
D'oh!

I just love it when you post stuff like this-thanks for taking the time and making the effort!

Larry

[hurleysurf]

That's pretty cool man. I believe my guitar teacher over in Fayetteville has a couple of guitars from you. Neat to see the work behind 'em.

[Terry McInturff]

Thanks again for the encouragement. Helps keep the 'ol chin up!