How To (Or How NOT To) Fit and Install a Fender Style Neck - Part 2: The Saga Ends

This is Part Two of how (or how not to) fit a "bolt on" Fender neck to a body, and how to drill holes in the neck. In Part One we saw that it did NOT go as planned. In this video I show how I remedied the situation (partly by strategy, partly by accident).
This video is part of a series/playlist I'm doing on a Telecaster (or "partscaster") build. See the playlist here: • Telecaster Build (Road...
To skip the talking, go to @3:36
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#tele #neck #install

[@AUNitsua]

Hey man, I just stumbled on your videos as I was researching guitar builds. I can't imagine how frustrating this whole neck fitting process must have been for you, especially filming the whole thing and uploading it to KZbin, but thanks A TON for doing it. Like you said, it can serve as a guide of some things to avoid when doing this yourself...but I think more importantly it shows that even if something goes wrong, it can still be fixed. Excellent content man!

[@NathanSink]

Austin Reid thanks! And thanks for empathizing with me. 😂 I think it was even more frustrating because my Strat build (the first time I ever did this) went great. But, like you said, things can be fixed & there are definitely lessons to be learned. Glad to help any way I can. 👍🏻

[@rgba32]

It's so refreshing to watch these videos. I admire your ability to walk us through your experiences and thought process without your ego getting in the way. Seeing the mistakes which could be made is very valuable, and a lot more real and interesting than seeing everything done perfectly the first time. As someone who is going to embark on drilling holes in a custom neck tomorrow, I'm definitely glad I watched this. Hopefully it'll save me similar painful experiences.

[@NathanSink]

Thank you for the kind words. I hope it goes well for you!

[@gregrayner3146]

great work man, i was shown this trick yrs ago when i started building partscasters n i just used a piece from a reciept book i had n still use this method to see where the neck is binding n get a perfect fit, awsome video man keep up the great work

[@NathanSink]

Thank you!

[@RaymondLandis]

Hey Nathan, thank you for showing all of your challenges! This video (and part one) has increased my courage to do things that I'd probably not been willing to chance otherwise... It shows that most things can be fixed or worked over to overcome an obstacle in building parts casters! Nice work!

[@NathanSink]

Thank you for the kind words. Glad to help in any way I can…warts & all! 🙂

[@JohnNathanCO]

Your part 1 and 2 caught my eye as I built a Tele 20 years ago that looks exactly like yours (I actually made the body from scractch, a miracle it worked) and was currently doing a neck swap on another one. I am a professional residential trim carpenter and I'll share something with you that could get me in trouble -- the surprises you ran into, the ad lib fixes and mistakes you made are things we deal with every day! I'm talking about intricate work for extremely high-end clients (I recently worked on a $9M "castle" of a house) where you gotta think on your feet, pull up your shorts and make it work. You've got the knack and you're in good company. Or, I should say, I am. Good job, nice guitar!

[@NathanSink]

Wow, thank you for the kind words! It means a lot coming from someone like you who has to deal with the “surprises” on a daily basis - on a professional level. Although they are a pain at the time, I do enjoy learning new things from mistakes, in the long run. 🙂

[@whyzen2081]

Takes serious stones to upload a video of you screwing up on your first attempt - I wouldn't have the courage to do that. It totally saved me from doing the same thing with the clamp and drill on my build. And it's great to see you sorted it out. I'm now off to watch your strat build videos :D Thanks!

[@NathanSink]

Glad to help! My pain, your gain. 😂

[@bentlyist]

Great videos! I love watching you figure things out; I've been there many times myself. 😅 One thing I would say is get yourself some sort of mini workbench. (I'm assuming you don't have a lot of room at your place) Watching you drill into the neck while it was rocking back and forth on the carpet was speeding up my heart rate! 😂

[@NathanSink]

Thanks for the kind words! Yes, I cringe at these moments myself. 😂 Great tip. I do have workbench, but it’s in my unconditioned garage, so sometimes I choose comfort. 😁 I can also clear away things on my computer desk & use that. I’ve tried to get better at having a clean & de-cluttered space. 👍🏻

[@ronaldzilli2005]

Honesty. It is appreciated. Thank you

[@NathanSink]

@@ronaldzilli2005 glad to help, even if it means sharing the warts & all! 🙂

[@bdogjr7779]

Bravo👍🛎《☆》I was searching for roasted maple plugs and..ah..kidding. Nice recovery I'm happy the project turned out in your favor. I have a Squire Classic vibe Tele Deluxe. My string alignment is off where the bass string will go off the fret if I'm not consciously pulling it away when playing. Fortunately it looks like the nut can be moved about a 1/16th" to correct the issue. That's a sweet looking Black Guard clone😎🎱☮🔊🖖👍

[@NathanSink]

😂 Thanks. All’s well that ends well. 😉 Hope you can get your Tele deluxe sorted out.

[@d3w4yn3]

This is as real and unstaged as it gets! I learn a lot more from seeing the thought processes that you go through and the lessons the job teaches you as you go... without this stuff - well, yes, I can find some charming and hyper-abbreviated how-to video out there somewhere, but I'd be making 15 mistakes per job if I relied on that utopian disney depiction of how a job really works out. What you are doing here is infinitely more valuable because it lets us experience the job, not just see some self-indulgent narcissist misrepresent the difficulty and pain required to get a job done! And hey, is this your music in the background? That's insane man, you are quite gifted musically, it's nice the way you laced in some of the reward of getting the job done right there in the background!!!

[@NathanSink]

Wow, thank you for the kind words. I often wonder why I even make these videos, but it’s times like these I’m reminded that there’s a point. 😊 Yes, that is my music playing in the background. Sometimes I sneak it in just to force people to listen. 😂 Again, thank you for the compliments. All the best!

[@jonparker6537]

Thanks for sharing this. You were really honest about all the problems you had. They say a wise man learns from other people’s mistakes so I’m sure watching your video will give me a better chance of success when I try it. Fingers crossed

[@NathanSink]

Jon Parker haha, absolutely. Glad to help! Hope your project turns out great. 👍🏻

[@FrontRowRock]

Thank you for the benefit of your experiences. Great video, great guitar!

[@NathanSink]

Front Row Rock thank you! Always glad to help. 👍🏻

[@vitaliistep]

Thank you, happy that it has turned out well in the end! :)

[@NathanSink]

Thanks! Glad to help. 😊

[@MichaelMadden-s6x]

never been able to screw into maple without pre drilling. Glad it worked out

[@frankkurdyla1947]

Starting a similar project with tele body and neck. I now see how difficult it can be. This video is a big help for beginners like me.

[@NathanSink]

frank kurdyla Glad to help! Hope your project turns out great!

[@claudehopper9813]

Gee you mean I'm not the only one to drill , fill with dowel & re-drill and cross your fingers . Thanks your videos are super helpful now i gotta fix my mistake .

[@NathanSink]

😂 I feel your pain. Hope it works out.

[@gregrayner3146]

another trick to keep the drill bit straight is to use double sided tape n tape an old DVD over the hole n then when you drill the hole you can see thru the reflection if your drilling straight cause the size of the drill or the body of them dremel can make it hard to see if you drilling a straight hole cause if the hole is not straight you can snap the neck screws n that is a real bitch to have to remove the brocken screw n then drill it out n dowel it with maple n then re drill the hole, keep up the great work love your videos hey

[@shaan455]

Thank you man for the explanation...

[@NathanSink]

Glad to help!

[@wyattsdad8561]

For some reason my instinct would be to sand the neck instead of removing material from the body. But I’ve never done this before either

[@AleArzMusic]

Awesome, thanks. Trying to do the same thing with Jackson parts (japanese neck won't fit into indian body, even though they should be perfectly matching). What sandpaper grit did you use to widen the pocket corner?

[@NathanSink]

I can’t remember exactly, but I would use something fairly rough like 220 or 100 grit, because you want to remove material, not just make it smooth. And go slow! You can always take more off, but you can’t go the other way. All the best. 👍🏻

[@AleArzMusic]

@@NathanSink thanks

[@gregrayner3146]

when your fixing a mistake with a dowell its better to get a maple one from the hardware store n then drill the holes bigger n then use titebond to glue in the dowel as most hardware stores sell round maple or hardwood dowels in every mm sort of size in the timber section and then you just drill out the hole and the dowel can be glued in n cut flush when it dries and that Alot easier than trying to make your own

[@NathanSink]

@@gregrayner3146 good point. I think I just feared drilling more holes into the neck, but it would have been a viable way for sure. I’ve also learned that with the plug-cutter bit, going slow is better (prevents burning the wood).

[@gregrayner3146]

@@NathanSink keep up making the great videos mate love your work hey

[@hamforthecatify]

Very nice!! Subbed!

[@NathanSink]

Pachinko Puppet thank you! 😊

[@stevebolszewski]

Thanks I’m about to do this with mighty might neck

[@NathanSink]

Right on! All the best. 👍🏻

[@taylorw362]

Great video. I’m a first timer about to do the same thing. I was thinking of filing the neck corners instead of trying to sand the body like you’ve done. I’m figuring as long as the fit is snug and everything lines up this should work. Any reason not to do it that way?

[@NathanSink]

That approach should work. For whatever reason, it's typically done the other way around though. I suppose if you ever wanted to sell the neck or put it on a different body with a larger pocket it might be an issue.

[@PeterSz73]

@@NathanSink I was wondering about that, I would choose to modify the neck over the body because the neck is the wear part. That's what may warp over the years beyond repair or most likely to break in an accident. Then I would just fit a new neck to the old body. If the pocket is enlarged it is more likely to be a loose fit for the next neck. Fender designed these guitars so that the neck is easily replaced if it developed an issue.

[@NathanSink]

@@PeterSz73 excellent point. You can't really add material back to the neck pocket, so if your next neck (replacement) is a bit smaller than your old one, you might have a sloppy fit. I guess I was thinking of this video from Fender where they sand the neck pocket during installation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqrYYaivobFsoMU However, I realize they were really just making the point that you may have to clean up the neck pocket of paint or abnormalities.

[@andybetts1484]

The one thing I've taken out of your excellent videos is this....... Don't drill a guitar body without using a drill press.

[@NathanSink]

Probably wise advice! Haha

[@GMec78]

I did the exact same thing with a road worn black strat from StraOphere and got an All Parts neck, all nitro strat for $680

[@NathanSink]

Grant Mecozzi great minds think alike! 😊

[@GMec78]

@@NathanSink we certainly came to many of the same conclusions regarding Fender. Leo's main premise in the 1940s was to design guitars that could be endless modified and rebuilt with little to no training

[@hamforthecatify]

Hi Nathan, just wanted to know how much time it took for the neck to arrive to you from Musikraft.

[@NathanSink]

Pachinko Puppet I ordered it on 3/4/19 & it shipped on 4/15/19. I can't remember the exact day it arrived, but I'm guessing 3-4 days later.

[@hamforthecatify]

@@NathanSink ok, so about a month and a half. I just ordered one and just wanted to know how much I have to wait. Thanks!!!

[@NathanSink]

Pachinko Puppet 👍🏻

[@philsandoval8614]

Yikes dude! You're killing me!!!

[@NathanSink]

Phil Sandoval yeah, it wasn't pretty. Don't do what I did! 😂

[@MusicCoverage]

15:07 if I'm not wrong. it look like reverse drill direction and make wood burn. i've made the same mistake before. Nice video by the way

[@NathanSink]

Could be. I think it has more to do with the RPM & the fact these are supposed to be used with drill presses. 🤔

[@PeterSz73]

I think part of the problem is that the holes in the body are too small. The screws should not have any bite in the body. You should have enlarged those just enough so the screws can be pushed through (just like it was on your strat body). If you researched fastener design you will find that the body should have no thread so the neck can clamp to it through the force created by tightening the screw into the neck. If you leave it as is and remove the neck often you will lose clamping force over time.

[@NathanSink]

Interesting! It did seem strange that the screws engaged with the body. Came like that from the factory in Mexico though. 🤔

[@PeterSz73]

@@NathanSink it is a sure way to eventually crossthreadbthe neck holes... My friend's cheap Schecter came like that. I have no explanation why. In his guitar one of the screws were even drilled angled :O

[@NathanSink]

@@PeterSz73 We’ll see what happens. 😬

[@dasdaro]

You want the wood dowels to be as tight as possible because the wood glue does not have any structural integrity.

[@NathanSink]

Dick Whitman thanks for the tip!

[@Thirdgen83]

Nitrocellulose laquer SUCKS.

[@NathanSink]

At least you know what you don't like! 😉

[@Andy-in8ej]

30p for a dozen dowels.

[@NathanSink]

30 pounds?