Bolt-on Acoustic Guitar Neck
Source: Guitar Building Articles, The Guitar Neck
Tools & Materials Needed
Back Saw or Dovetail Saw
Drill Press
Table Saw
Brass Connector Bolts
Brass Cross Dowels
Chisel
Mortise & Tenon Neck Joint:
Build your Mortise and Tenon Joint just as you would in our article Mortise and Tenon Neck Joint.
Brass Connector Bolts & Brass Cross Dowels
Source: Guitar Building Articles, The Guitar neck
Tip: Drill the barrel and bolt holes in the neck blank on the drill press while it’s square BEFORE sawing the tenon and shaping the heel. This will assure square – lined up holes that are perfectly square.
Cross Dowel Locations:
The cross dowels are located quite close to the heel side of the tenon. This is done to give as much strength to the tenon as possible by leaving wood in front of the tenon at the cross dowel locations.
Another Suggestion: to reinforce the tenon even more would be to add two strips of hardwood on either side of the tenon and glue them into place with epoxy glue. I would recommend using 1.5 – 2.0 mm stock for this. Run the grain direction of the strips 90 degrees to the neck wood.
Cut everything for the neck tenon and the head block per the plans. Next I dry fit the neck to the Head Block to make sure everything is within tolerance. I would also recommend that you oversize the holes for the bolts to allow for miss-alignment problems when it comes to attaching the neck to the guitar body.
Bolt On Neck Plans:
For detailed plans for this bolt-on neck method, I have prepared free PDF downloads on our Plan Shop page. Just scroll to the bottom of the page. Just click the link here or use the Menu Navigation at the top of this page.
Glue The Cross Dowels To The Tenon:
If everything aligns perfectly and you have allowed for the proper side thickness to be glued to the Head Block, go ahead and epoxy the brass cross dowels into place. This means an assembly of the neck and Head Block once again, but it assures you that the bolts and cross dowels will be in proper alignment with the assembly process begins.
I usually glue the Head Block to the sides before aligning the neck and gluing the cross dowels in place. This way you can check all the center-lines, neck alignment to the body etc. before this final step.
Gluing the Head Block to the Guitar Sides:
Now the time has come for you to glue the Head Block to the guitar sides. For detailed information of this step see the article Gluing the Head Block.
Tags: bolt-on acoustic neck, guitar neck, guitar neck connections, guitar neck joint, mortise & tennon neck joint
