new to building

[Jason Brown]

Hello. I'm attempting to build a small body acoustic and I have some questions. First, here's a few pics of my progress.

The neck is oak since that is all I had and the body is maple I believe. Not sure. The question I have is, do I cut the neck to body angle after I cut the tenon to 1 degree or so in order to test fit how the neck
will sit in relation to the body? 14th fret to body btw. Is this fine tuned after I attach the fretboard and locate the bridge position?

[Michael Lewis]

What sort of neck joint are you going to use? The reason I ask is some of us prefer to finish the neck and body separately and then assemble them. If you are going to assemble first then I guess it doesn't matter much. For a first time round maybe it would be a bit easier to join the neck and body to determine the bridge position. This will probably get you closer to a good playing guitar but not so good detail with the finish. By finishing the body and neck first you get access to the hard to get to places before they are more difficult to get to.

[Jason Brown]

Michael
I plan on using a bolt on mortise and tenon joint to attach the neck. Can I cut the angle now though to get a test fit? Is 1 degree sufficient if it will be adjustable?

[Barry Daniels]

What building book or method are you following?

[Mark Swanson]

And save locating the bridge for last, after all the neck positioning is done.

[Jason Brown]

Cumpiano. The doolin adjustable neck idea too. I think I saw an article on it in american lutherie. I emailed Louie Atienza also.

[Michael Lewis]

I'm not familiar with this joint, is it angle adjustable or only the overstand?

[Mark Swanson]

Michael, you aren't familiar with Doolin's neck joint? It's been talked about quite a bit here through the years and I have built a few guitars using it. It provides an adjustable angle, two bolts inside with the upper bolt at a pivot point and the bottom bolt adjusting the angle.

[Randy Roberts]

Or, in some instances, 1 bolt. <g>
http://www.mimf.com/library/Randy_Rober ... -2008.html

[Michael Lewis]

Wow, fellows, Where have I been? Probably with my nose in repairs and making dovetails. Thanks for the link and all the effort spent in that thread guys.

[Jason Brown]

I put the captive bolt in the bottom of my adjustable neck block instead of the top so my adjustment bolt is in the top. Will this create any problems with neck angle adjustment. I'm not sure it can be switched.

[Michael Lewis]

Not sure what your proposed set up is like, but the neck must pivot at the edge of the top so the frets remain in proper position in relation to the bridge. The adjustment needs to be not at the top, otherwise you will move the neck closer or farther from the bridge when you adjust the angle. Muddy enough?

[Jason Brown]

Yes. Thanks. Guess I'll have to try to switch the setup.