Neck removal and replacement torque

[BloodRose]

Im sure this is just my @nal retentiveness, but I want to ask.. (plus, I always used to bust off bolts on my dirtbikes cranking them down too much)
Here is why I ask.. When I get a guitar and do my set up, I usually check the neck screws and torque em down. (I once got a guitar where they were quite loose) I figure the more snug they are, the better the transfer. When I was cranking the screws, I got one of the dreaded pocket cracks. Just the finish, but still.
So... I know its not preferred, but is there a (unwritten/implied) limit to how often neck can be removed before there is weakness in the screw holes or other issues?? Im VERY careful not to cross thread or anything.

Next, is there a rule of thumb for how much torque should be applied when bolting them on?? Obviously not herculean cranking..... Also, I do always twist them in and then snug them up as evenly as possible in a criss cross pattern.

With my charvel, I didnt crack anything, but do have an indentation in the wood from the neck plate that wasnt there the first time I pulled it apart..

Thanks!

[sosomething]

Re: Neck removal and replacement torque

I really think that once they're snugged down really good without any chance of working loose, you've got them tight enough. Cranking them down beyond that point isn't going to net you any tonal or stability benefits and run the risk of exactly what happened to you... or worse, stripping the holes.

It's wood.... so, in theory, every time you take the neck off and put it back on, you're removing a tiny bit of wood from the threaded holes, which will eventually strip them out.

But again, it's wood, so should that ever actually happen... just drill out the holes and dowel them... sand down... and re-drill new holes, ya know?

[eschoendorff]

Re: Neck removal and replacement torque

I've been thinking about the same thing lately and I'm considering installing threaded inserts on my bolt-on guitars. You can get a little more torque without the fear of stripping. But you can also have the neck on and off as much as you want

Just make sure that you get threaded inserts made for hard wood. There is a difference.

[Zerberus]

Re: Neck removal and replacement torque

....
With my charvel, I didnt crack anything, but do have an indentation in the wood from the neck plate that wasnt there the first time I pulled it apart..

Thanks!

Absolutely normal, time + pressure = dent

If you say youīre tightening snug but not superman snug, over crisscross, then I donīt see any apparent flaw with your tightening technique. Unless you are of course superman posing as a human, and then superman snug then is a whole different ball of kryptonite....

I still have a problem wrapping my head around the whole topic of threaded inserts, stripped holes and such. Not that I donīt understand the subject at hand as well as the solutions to eventual problems, but for the life of me I canīt figure out why people remove and reinstall their necks on what appears to be a relatively constant basis.

Iīve only ever stripped the mounting holes of one neck in 20 years, and that neck had a new body on it once a month for about 2 years.....

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Neck removal and replacement torque

I like to back the screws off just a little bit after they burst out through the fretboard.

[Zerberus]

Re: Neck removal and replacement torque

^^ :

[sosomething]

Re: Neck removal and replacement torque

Absolutely normal, time + pressure = dent

If you say youīre tightening snug but not superman snug, over crisscross, then I donīt see any apparent flaw with your tightening technique. Unless you are of course superman posing as a human, and then superman snug then is a whole different ball of kryptonite....

I still have a problem wrapping my head around the whole topic of threaded inserts, stripped holes and such. Not that I donīt understand the subject at hand as well as the solutions to eventual problems, but for the life of me I canīt figure out why people remove and reinstall their necks on what appears to be a relatively constant basis.

Iīve only ever stripped the mounting holes of one neck in 20 years, and that neck had a new body on it once a month for about 2 years.....

Ever owned a Fender with the trussrod adjustment at the base of the neck?

[Zerberus]

Re: Neck removal and replacement torque

^^ Yes, but not one that needs to be adjusted on a weekly basis

[sosomething]

Re: Neck removal and replacement torque

^^ Yes, but not one that needs to be adjusted on a weekly basis

I would hope nobody is pulling necks off that often.

How often are people adjusting their trussrods?? Weekly? That's nuts.

[Zerberus]

Re: Neck removal and replacement torque

I would hope nobody is pulling necks off that often.

How often are people adjusting their trussrods?? Weekly? That's nuts.

Not saying thatīs necessarily the case, just kind of the impression Iīve always had

[sosomething]

Re: Neck removal and replacement torque

Let's just assume that it's true, for comedy.

Pfft.

Idiots.

Constantly yanking the necks off their guitars and cranking away like madmen on their truss rods every time they change the strings.

What dummies.

Right, Zerb? Ha. Yeah.

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Neck removal and replacement torque

....doh I never overtighten any neck I had....
Just as long as it is nice nd tight, never cracking laquer tight though...no need!

[BloodRose]

Re: Neck removal and replacement torque

Absolutely normal, time + pressure = dent

If you say youīre tightening snug but not superman snug, over crisscross, then I donīt see any apparent flaw with your tightening technique. Unless you are of course superman posing as a human, and then superman snug then is a whole different ball of kryptonite....

I still have a problem wrapping my head around the whole topic of threaded inserts, stripped holes and such. Not that I donīt understand the subject at hand as well as the solutions to eventual problems, but for the life of me I canīt figure out why people remove and reinstall their necks on what appears to be a relatively constant basis.

Iīve only ever stripped the mounting holes of one neck in 20 years, and that neck had a new body on it once a month for about 2 years.....

I usually avoid removing necks like the plague..I had to in this case cuz the new pickguard was not cut just right and not flexible enough to bend under the board overhang.

I like to back the screws off just a little bit after they burst out through the fretboard.

no, leave em. So it'll help play till your fingers bleed, like in the summer of 69.. haha