Neck Bolts: Too Close to the Edge?

[Silence Kid]

I'm preparing to drill a virgin neck. The trouble is: I marked the drilling location by aligning it with the body and tracing the hole locations and the holes are ~5mm closer to the edge of the bass side of the neck than the treble side.

I tried a a Squier Vintage Modified neck as well as a Mighty Mite; nope, neither bolts on with the existing holes. The neck is a pretty tight fit in the pocket. It's clear that this body isn't quite to spec. with the holes vs. a standard Fender body. Oh well, I got a deal on it, what do you expect.

I think I know what to do (especially considering it's also a relatively cheap neck,) just drill them where they need to be... But... Is there any other approach I should take? Is this even an actual problem? They do seem sort of close to the edge...

 

[akio]

Re: Neck Bolts: Too Close to the Edge?

Clean off the paint. Put the screws in the body until they just poke out into the neck pocket. Fit the heel into the pocket and press down so the screw tips dig into the heel. There are your drilling marks.

Does the standard size neck plate match the body holes well?

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Neck Bolts: Too Close to the Edge?

Clean off the paint. Put the screws in the body until they just poke out into the neck pocket. Fit the heel into the pocket and press down so the screw tips dig into the heel. There are your drilling marks.

Does the standard size neck plate match the body holes well?

Fair call but if i was doing that i would put at least one E string on just to make sure the alignment of the neck is good before.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Neck Bolts: Too Close to the Edge?

Drilling is always a case of fitting the body in question to the neck. Use a clamp to hold the two together and check the alignment. When it is correctly aligned to the bridge or centreline take the drillbit that fits perfectly the holes already in the body. For each hole use the drillbit as a punch......it cannot but find the centre of the hole and will give a starter for the right size drillbit for the screws.

 

[MrTondo]

Re: Neck Bolts: Too Close to the Edge?

As long as the neck and bridge are properly aligned on the centerline (and therefore the strings as well ), it should be ok. For all I care you can make a nice heart-shaped bolt pattern, as long as you bolt the neck nice and tight enough, where the bolts are does not matter too much. (Of course you want as much as possible wood-to-wood contact etc. but where the bolts are does not matter, as long as they are not so close to the edge the wood becomes weak).

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Neck Bolts: Too Close to the Edge?

What's bothersome is that I intended this neck to be temporary, to switch for a better one later. Seeing that a standard Fender neck appears not to fit, I'd still be hesitant to drill into a 'good' neck to make it fit the weirdness of this body. Moral of the story for me is likely about buying a better quality body to avoid this issue, although I understand that it's not really "broken" as long as it fits and lines up with the strings/bridge. The plate does line up.