Slightly loose & misaligned neck-

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Bill Edison
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2022 8:39 am

Slightly loose & misaligned neck-

Post by Bill Edison »

Hiho- new to the forums & starting on my 3rd kit- a semi hollow body electric, PRS style guitar. Looks pretty good so far except for the neck issue It's not all THAT loose in the pocket- inserting the neck then moviing the headstock side to side, movement is around 5/32". Then I put a
straight edge on each side of the neck and noticed it's still outside the guitar centerline by about another 1/8" at it's closest point in the arc. I looked thru the FAQ and probably missed a fix but was wondering if it's advisable to take small amounts of material from the opposite areas of the neck heel (it won't be much) until it swings into position. I'm wondering if a shim THAT thin might be pretty hard to make. Also- laying a straight edges across the frets with the neck clamped into the pocket, the bottom of the straight edge is about 3/4" above the bridge mounting surface. Too high?

Thanks in advance for any pointers!
Bill
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Barry Daniels
Posts: 3186
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 10:58 am
Location: The Woodlands, Texas

Re: Slightly loose & misaligned neck-

Post by Barry Daniels »

Welcome to the MIMF, Bill.

I make wedges of various sizes all the time and consider it a must-have shop technique. I cut my first shims with a wood plane, but now I use a disk sander.

You should figure out the height that your chosen bridge will be above the surface of the top and use that dimension to determine where your neck should be. I like to draw a full scaled, side view cutaway of the guitar to dial in the neck angle.
MIMF Staff
Bill Edison
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2022 8:39 am

Re: Slightly loose & misaligned neck-

Post by Bill Edison »

Thanks, Barry

Will try it today-
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