Neck Alignment RG1570

[phil27]

My High E string was a little bit close to the edge of the fretboard so I loosened the neck screws a tad to re-align the neck but after tightening them there is still play on the neck. The screws are about as tight as they'll go and I don't want to overtighten them. Could anyone assist me on this as it's affecting tuning stability and playabilty.

[john1880]

get yourself a nice heavy duty philips screw driver and sock them down pretty tight. it would take extreme force to damage the neck. i get them almost as tight as i can go by hand. also you might want to put a "shim" on the side of the neck pocket on the low E side because it sounds like you should have a small gap there. it'll just keep the neck in place a bit better.


john

[Rich]

Crank too hard and you'll crush the finish behind the ferules and possibly strip the wood.

How is there still play in the neck?

[frankfalbo]

Sounds to me like there's not a good seating somewhere. The neck and neck pocket aren't perfectly flat, or the screw holes have little lifts in them, so you thread everything "tight" and you're still rocking on some high spots. So then when you go to tilt the neck left and right, there's movement. The side shims are okay, if you put them in the right place. I would take the neck off, clean it out in there, check for level with a razor blade, countersink all screwholes, and then reinstall the neck at the correct trajectory.

[phil27]

Originally Posted by Rich

Crank too hard and you'll crush the finish behind the ferules and possibly strip the wood.

How is there still play in the neck?

Not sure mate, like I say, I've tightened the screws pretty hard and I could still shift the neck using a little bit force. Looking at it there is a small gap on the high E side of the neck.

[Rich]

Did you just loosen them a little to shift it to where you want it, and after tightening it still wants to shift back where it was?

[phil27]

Originally Posted by Rich

Did you just loosen them a little to shift it to where you want it, and after tightening it still wants to shift back where it was?

Yeah I did that, I done a gig with it tonight and the neck seems to be ok. It didn't move. The guitar has had a couple of knocks so that may have loosened it. It may have to go to a tech to sort it out.

[Rich]

I always pin a neck into alignment by shimming the sides of the neck pocket. Shim the treble side so the neck is flush against the bass side, then the headstock end of the bass side to perfect alignment. Most guitars will have the strings too close to the bass edge and that's the cure.

[phil27]

Originally Posted by Rich

I always pin a neck into alignment by shimming the sides of the neck pocket. Shim the treble side so the neck is flush against the bass side, then the headstock end of the bass side to perfect alignment. Most guitars will have the strings too close to the bass edge and that's the cure.

Thanks for that mate, do you just use the same thickness of shim that you would normally use for shimming the neck?

[Rich]

The guitar tells you how big the shim, nobody else can. Just don't treble side shim the pocket too tight. Tight pockets are creaky pockets and can also cause neck joint cracks.

[albee1952]

Another suggestion: cut a piece of drywall sanding screen to fit the neck pocket. The open gritty mesh will dig into the wood slightly and help everything stay in alignment. You might need to raise the bridge ever so slightly as the entire neck may end up a few hundredths higher off the body.