Attaching the Neck

Before attaching the neck I had one small detail to finish on the neck. I wanted a small end cap of rosewood on the heel of the neck to help with the transition of the neck to the back of the guitar. I cut a small piece of rosewood and resawed it on the bandsaw to approximately 1/8" thickness. I roughly shaped it to the heel and glued it on to the heel. I secured it with a bar clamp and let it thoroughly dry. After the glue had dried I continued to shape with a rasp and then sanded it to fit.

Gluing and clamping the heelcap.

The heelcap in postion.

In an earlier post I stated that I attached the neck to see if it fit and aligned properly. I could have permanently attached the neck at that point but that would have meant that all of the fret work would have to be done on the neck while attached to the body of the guitar. Many luthiers do the fret work after the neck is attached but that means special care must be used when installing the frets over the body. I decided that it would be easier to work on the frets while the neck was still off the body. Some luthiers even install the frets in the fret board before installing the fretboard to the neck. I don't think any one method is any better than another but keeping the neck separate until all the frets were in place seemed the most logical to me. Now that the neck is complete it is time to attach it to the body. I again tried a dry fit to make sure everything fit and aligned properly. I was now ready to glue and attach the neck. I cut two small piece of wood the same width as the neck to use as a cauls on the top and under the sound board. These cauls would protect the neck and the soundboard from the clamps. I applied white glue to the under side of the fingerboard and carefully attached the neck to the body. Going through the sound hole I inserted the two bolts and tightened them with an allen wrench. I used two C clamps through the sound hole and one bar clamp on the outside to apply even pressure while the glue dried. I also used one bar clamp on the heel and the bottom of the body to pull the neck tight on the top of the guitar.

Gluing and clamping the neck to the body.

2 C clamps through the soundhole.

I allowed the glue to dry overnight before removing the clamps. White glue was used because it is a little easier to remove with heat if the neck ever has to be removed for repairs.