Tutorial - How To Plane a Guitar Body for the Neck Break Angle

[@electricwally]

Ben, can you please make a video of the advantages and disadvantages of cuting the neck break angle on the body verses on the underside of the neck heel? Very helpful videos, thanks so much.

[@angeldelvax7219]

I'm using a floating bridge headless system. So basically, if I want my neck to be absolutely straight, I need to route bridge cavity just deep enough for the top of the saddles to be just as high as the top of the frets. I figured that I didn't need to put the neck in at an angle if I got my bridge low enough, now I know how low to mount it! Thank you for this most useful information!!!

[@anthonyglaser929]

that masking tape trick was pretty slick.

[@MechanicalMind7]

I made myself a little ramp-shaped jig that sat on top of my guitar body and used that to guide a router to create the angle on the top surface of the body around the neck pocket. Then I used the same ramp to angle the body on my drill press as I bored out most of the neck pocket before finishing it by hand with chisels. Looking back, I still can't believe I got the neck to fit at the right angle and alignment doing it that way. I like the method you showed here a lot better, and in the future will try that in conjunction with a router/pattern bit/template now that my shop is a little better equipped.

[@justaguy2365]

Great video!! There are some great double sided masking tapes that leave no residue.

[@electricwally]

Thanks Ben. Can you please point the way to a video you may have made that teaches how to cut the angled neck break pocket? This video is a big help as it teaches how to carve the top of the guitar to match the neck pocket angle.

[@headknocker8999]

Slick trick using the Stanley #No.6 or No.7 jointer plane for getting that angle. I'm gonna give this a try on the one on my bench & will let you know how it goes. The super glue trick & a scrap of wood is another luthier trade secret. Thanks for Sharing them.. Gary/Hk

[@loloaqici82qb4ipp]

Does this mean that you can use the router to cut the same angle in the bottom of the neck recess using the newly planed top as a reference?

[@Ibaneddie76]

YES

[@mattfairfield9103]

Oh my god.... how genius!!!

[@bradleybrown8399]

Why, that idea is just crazy enough to work!

[@captainjanisch]

Your tutorials are really really great- engaging and informative - You've really helped me on a couple of occasions by making these and thank you very much for sharing your knowledge- wishing you well - dan.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Hey Dan, thank you for commenting and for your support, it makes it all worthwhile knowing I am helping people with problems I struggled with early on. Keep making sawdust! B

[@timsmoot5141]

I draw out the profile of the guitar in autocad with exact measurements for the hardware, then let the program give me the angle. Same could be done on paper of course. I cut the body angle and using a router sled. Mine has adjustable rails to accommodate any necessary angle. I rout the neck mortise using a template attached to the (now) angled body with shims for added support.

[@marcosferreyra2378]

Gracias por compartir tus conocimientos maestro . Anthony Hopkins young 🙏

[@georgescarlett2320]

I'd definitely go with the Router Sled, and not be concerned about hitting the binding, OR do the binding afterward, then profile the top, and binding together. Sled also for pocket angle. Great Video, and skills Mr.Ben, as ALWAYS. Thanx Gb bg

[@lumberjim]

Hey, Ben. Do you have, or could you make a tutorial about hand planes. How to set them up, adjust and use them. It may seem obvious to you, but I haven't been able to find something like that, and I enjoy the way you teach.

[@DavidGatto]

Stew-mac has solid wood shims, for the lazy- most teles and strats will need this adjusted .5 inch usually.

[@scoutrifle6827]

I just 'discovered' your videos, and they're simply invaluable-thanks very much for doing them.

[@flapjack413]

I built a router sled box with hinged walls for Les Paul neck and pickup plane angles. It uses a couple of machine bolts on the end opposite the hinge to set the angle, and works like a charm. This is a cool way to do the neck angle, but how would you do the pickup plane?

[@SkyscraperGuitars]

Great trick Ben. I use your masking tape trick ALL THE TIME. Works like a charm with the CNC machine too!

[@Jshortca1]

I learn so much from this channel. Thanks again for all this information.

[@liampellerin9696]

Thanks for all these videos ben! We all appreciate it!

[@KarlAnderson-sx8vg]

Surely the more material you take off the angle changes as the plane is pivoting around the bridge point ? Okay for roughing maybe. Use a protractor against the body and face to get the correct angle. Or Cnc it when you do the neck pocket angle

[@Avonidsed]

Wish you made this back in November. Made an explorer type then, and I'll have to rip it apart to correct the break angle now. Thanks for the info, this was most helpful :)

[@MyVintageVictory]

"MEASURE-MEASURE-CUT!", Got it! Cheers, Gerardo :D

[@johnnypk1963]

Clever solution to getting the correct neck angle on the body.

[@Andyjpro]

Holy shit, that is a FANTASTIC idea.

[@walterrider9600]

thank you Ben. that info has been alluding me for quite a while. sadly i am looking for it on an acoustic guitar. still all information is good

[@JustinHallPlus]

I'm learning so much from your videos!

[@allanreeling1067]

Looks good, I've just done my L P and it works. I just wish he wouldn't keep putting his plane flat on the bench!!!

[@peterlamborn]

Fantastic ideo. Showed me the answer to one of the most burning questionsI, as a novice guitar builder was facing. However! Can you use the same method on a flat top guitar such as an Sg or LPjr? If not, is there an alternative that is just as simple? Also, and this may seem elementary to an expert, what length plane should be used?

[@puckspirit2573]

So you need to have bridge flush with the frets in its lowest position? I have a 12.5-14mm heigh bridge and only 6mm of fretboard, so i want to carve a pocket for the bridge, should look nice

[@thomascolley254]

So on a home build, I guess it's suggested that you should plane the top of the body first and then cut out the neck pocket square to the planed top angle?

[@Zero-nb4wq]

So when measuring the angle of the break angle using that piece of wood, do you take into account the height of the screws on the tune-o-matic or just the bridge itself?

[@blackjackmcgack]

I have questions because i don't quite understand haha any help would be appreciated !! :) So your planing the top of the guitar but how does that affect the angle that was made in the neck pocket?

[@Iceplorer]

+blackjackmcgack I guess you use the surface as a hight reference and route the neck pocket again to the correct depth, so you get the neck angle in there. Correct me if I'm wrong, because then I also want to know :D

[@TesserId]

+blackjackmcgack, I agree with Iceplorer, but it looked to me as if only the top had been cut out--and the body hadn't been routed at all (see closeup at 5:00). So, I do expect a router will ride the new angle to deepen that pocket.

[@Barrygee]

Exactly what I was thinking...doesn't do anything to the base of the neck pocket....further explanation required I think

[@Erowens98]

+blackjackmcgack I think crimson guitars puts the angle on the neck and not in the pocket

[@ciri151]

Leaving this comment here. I also would like to know :P

[@petethueson2043]

i use a 4.5 anglle on les paul from a templet i made and ajust by sanding the bridge aria or the neck pocoket

[@nanofree01]

Merci pour tes vidéos super. Ce modele est juste magnifique !

[@guitashmurtz4772]

Thank you very much!

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

M pleasure, this is a very very useful thing to know and I am more than happy to share. B

[@ciri151]

But how do you cut the neck pocket to the right angle? I don't think you have a video on that.

[@behradgorgani]

Inigo what do you mean? The neck pocket is routed when the body is flat (top and the back are even thickness). Then the back of the neck is hand planed the match the pocket. Hope this helps.

[@behradgorgani]

@KesselRunHero well I do exactly as Ben does here, I made a piece of wood the same thickness as the lowest height of the bridge, then I router the neck pocket, then I shape maple top like Ben does here, I then hand plane the bottom of the neck heel until I get the correct angle ( with the fingerboard I make sure the neck is projecting a hair above the dummy wooden bridge). It's all plane a little bit check the. Plane some more, takes me no more than 10 mins

[@behradgorgani]

@KesselRunHero yes exactly

[@tjspurgin1155]

What if you wanted to use surface mount pickups (Ric) on tele body and use Ric bridge and tailpiece? Can you shim your bolt on neck to give you the break angle to use this setup?

[@behradgorgani]

TJ Spurgin yes you can, you just make a thicker heel part on the neck, and plane/sand it to the correct angle and just bolt it.

[@codelicious6590]

I assume the neck pocket is not ro its final point since if it were, carving an angle into the ytop would just create problems with the fitment and not really change the angle of the neck?? Or am I missing something?

[@Disco58]

Is this the body you were building in videos 1 and 2? If so, I would love to see how it got to this point.

[@apinakapinastorba]

Absolutely brilliant tip, thank you!

[@irondavebennett8635]

Brilliant

[@DrZirta]

Would you use the same method for an SG (or other flat-topped guitar)?

[@sanyabojko94]

Hello Ban, is it possible to have a neck angle on a guitar with Floyd Rose? Is there any issue with that?

[@luthiferbuilds]

I just did this exact trick! it fuckin works

[@michor10]

Wouldn't it make sense to stick a second, thinner piece of wood further towards the neck to give the body of the planer something to hit on once you've reached the correct angle? You would have to determine the thickness of it according to the angle, of course.

[@Soulleecher]

Hi, sorry if it's a stupid question maybe but what I don't get here is you will have applied the break angle to the body, yet the neck will be put into the neck pocket which bottom is then still not angled, so the strings won't be aligned in an angle !?? maybe I'm just not seeing this the right way, please enlighten me and sorry if it's a stupid question. Another slightly off-topic question but can be answered quickly I guess: let's say I have a kit guitar and the neck is a bit too large on the sides to fit into the neck pocket hole, what I'm sanding? the neck pocket hole or the neck? and how do I ensure the neck is still centered?

[@johnhorning2506]

The pocket was angled in the CNC already.

[@besafe2470]

+John Horning, no I reckon the pocket was only outline routed. I think he will do a set neck, which will mean he cuts deeper into the pocket, ALL of that is later on. Just my take. Cheers, Paul

[@TheEARLD]

had the same problem with a kit, put a piece of masking tape down the middle of the neck. measure the center of the neck at the nut and Mark with a pencil, and do the same at the bottom, I also measured it every 3 or 4 frets, join the marks with a line from top to the bottom of the neck. find the body center line and hope the pocket is in the right place, mine was so I could be happy and carry on. I have a piece of steel that's about 2ft long and 4 inches wide , it's perfectly flat. I glued some sand paper to it and clamped it down. then evenly sanded the heel of the neck a bit on each side until was a tight snug fit and the center line on the neck met the center line on the body. you can do it with a sanding block if you want but remember to do a bit at a time and regularly check your work. if you find the neck pocket is completely out of line , stop!! contact the seller of your kit and send it back and get it replaced, there is no point trying to fix that because it's a manufacturing defect. hope that helped you out. I have done a fair number of kit guitars now and some have been really good some have been shit out of the box, had an evh type kit and the tremlo post holes were out of line.

[@TheEARLD]

posted a solution for you, hope it helps.

[@Soulleecher]

+TheEARLD awesome trick will try thanks a lot buddy.

[@Locrian999]

Brill video! i'm currently renovating a perspex guitar, do you have any tips for shielding the electrics without spoiling the look ? (as it's all on show).

[@driesvanoosten4417]

There are transparent conducting polymers (for instance used in flexible displays). Perhaps you can source them as a foil.

[@Steinstra-vj7wl]

PRS does that so much easier: they angle the heel of the neck instead of the body which neck pocket is routed flat.

[@DrZirta]

Is there any reason to do this if you just build the neck angle into the heel?

[@justanotherdummy3448]

Ben are you feeling OK, I didn't get a video this morning I just wondering thx

[@BillyBN]

Ben, awesome job with the #GGBO2020 ! I have a question about the guitar in this video, is it possible to replicate this guitar but with a bolt on neck? Thanks, Ed

[@Ibaneddie76]

I USE A BOX JIG AND ROUTER PLANE. ITS AN MDF BOTTOM WITH A CENTER LINE TO LINE THE BODY ON THEN AROUND IT SITS AN MDF FRAME 3" TALL WITH A HINGED FRONT SO YOU CAN RAIS THE BOX TO WHATEVER ANGLE YOU NEED THEN JUST SHIM IT, CLAMP IT, AND USING A ROUTER PLANE THAT RIDES 1" TALL RAILS INSIDE THE BOX I CAN ROUT THE NECK TO BODY ANGLE, PICK UP ANGLE AND I EVEN MADE TEMPLATES THAT FIT THE BOX THAT ROUT THE ROUGH CARVED TOP IN STEPS THEN FINISH WITH AN ORBITAL SANDER. DOESN'T MEAN I'M NOT STEALING THIS IDEA FOR MY CUSTOM BUILDS. I ONLY USE THE HINGE BOX WHEN BUILDING LES PAUL COPIES THAT NEED THAT 4.4 DEGREE ANGLE.

[@apinakapinastorba]

Could on use a wide jointer for this?

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

+apinakapinastorba technically you could, it would scare me though I think, having to stop halfway between the cut and the angle jig could be problematic.. Though, come to think of it a stop clamped to the planer bed would do it... Mmm, I'll try that next week!

[@tullaholicful]

could you do this with a smaller hand plane?

[@HBSuccess]

Not without building some kind of a jig. I actually use a handheld router with a straight bit to rough in more or less the way Ben was doing it - but it rides on an MDF and plywood jig that spans from bridge to pocket.

[@yerblues10]

Am I missing something? Doesn’t the neck pocket also need to be angled?

[@einarabelc5]

I'm so confused about this. What about the neck pocket joint? I must be missing a ton of information.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

+einarabelc5 the template for the neck cavity is either rated on the new angled section of the body or, if you already have it routed the pocket you can go back around it with a bearing cutter this cutting the bottom of the neck pocket to match the new angle we planed on the top.

[@wolflahti412]

Apparently, this technique is used for that rare style of guitar where the neck consists entirely of the fretboard.

[@cybrunel1016]

LOOOOOL.

[@StMoritzGuitars]

Nothing rare about it............all Les Pauls are done along the same lines

[@zedhex]

What size is that plane? It looks like a number 8, but it might be a 7 - please confirm, before I go and buy one

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Hi. It's a number 7.. I have an 8 but rarely actually need to use it in luthiery

[@pennystinyworld4188]

Bam bam bigelow!!!

[@HBSuccess]

Guess I'd better start shopping for a Stanley #8 LOL

[@stuartpplace6502]

maybe cover up the F-holes to negate swarf entry.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

That would be the wise thing to doz I am however not known for my wisdom.. quite the opposite in fact ;) B

[@ianb4801]

when you use this technique, I presume you then touch up the pocket with a router again, making the base of the pocket coplanar with the new body surface you have just made

[@jackpasternak7586]

Ian B i like to route the neck pocket after making the break angle so the tenon has 3 sides of contact

[@ianb4801]

@@jackpasternak7586 just as I see it

[@TesserId]

Throwing another off the wall idea: does anybody ever angle the bottom face of the neck where it joins the body; and if so, might you pre-route the pocket, clamp the neck in upside down, and then plane both the top and that bottom surface of the next--to get a neck joint that exactly matches the depth of the pocket? I do, however, imagine that clamping the neck in with the appropriate degree of precision would be a bit of a challenge.

[@TesserId]

+AngryWelshman, curved? eek. Yeah, I understand. So much joinery is based on straight lines. If curved was easy; yeah, all we would need is tools that standardized on a convenient radius. But, the convenient radius that 99.99% of all joinery is based upon is the infinite radius, i.e. the straight line. I assume that most would tell you to plane that thing down; and if the arch of the body is not making that work out, then plane that down as well. That might sound tyrannical, but there are artful ways to get straight lines to merge gracefully with curves (tangents and such). And, we do love nice organic curves. Anyway, thanks for the comment, and keep on carving the graceful curves, along with suitable tangents to the ever-so-convenient straight lines. (Gawd, I love curves.)

[@TesserId]

+AngryWelshman, BTW, I once knew a Welshman who expressed anger in the most exquisite way. But, then I'm generally a fan of well-express curmudgeons. I once aspired to be a curmudgeon, until I realized that aspiration was inherently optimistic. Anyway, love the name. Rock on.

[@johnhorning2506]

Yes, if you do it at the right stage of your build, you can have a flat pocket and angled neck heel to achieve the correct break angle. That relies on math the determine the angle and accurate drawings whether CAD or on paper.

[@comanderiz]

why not to add angle on the neck heel? I assume it should be much easier

[@MonsterGuitars]

You can do that, yes. But if you do that, the fretboard will start to sink below the surface of the body as it angles back - unless you have the neck sitting high out of the pocket. If you use the method in this video, the neck will protrude the same height above the surface of the body all along the heel.

[@jeffhigh2]

It's just "neck angle" not "neck break angle". break angle refers to the deflection of the string where it crosses the nut or saddle

[@maxcowell4260]

I don't understand how the angle the body tapers off to at the neck dictates the break angle of the neck. Surely it's still going to be flush in the pocket? Someone patronise me as much as you'd like and tell me.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

The trick is to rout the bottom of the neck pocket so it runs at the same angle as we have planed into the top. The alternative is to leave the top flat and rout the cavity at an angle, but doing this leaves a gap at the binding etc on the neck.

[@NoyzyBoyZ3]

Well,you lost me in there somewhere big guy!

[@Slewfoot303]

The Maths!

[@CloudfeatherRusticWorks]

I'm planning a PRS carved top with the angled pickup rings. I'm guessing you only need to do this above the neck pickup/around the neck cavitiy, then get your neck pocket in line with it?

[@manawarrior2010]

Really surprised at how reasonably priced the Triton gear is.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Excellent tools with awesome features and for the most part incredibly well thought out.. Check out the new workcentre and router table.. I'm in love!

[@Professor-Scientist]

17 mm string height ?!

[@TJJJJJJJJJJJ]

Ppl are confusing this with actually establishing the break angle

[@christopherberthelet3977]

My first guitar(bass) actually 2nd when I was 18 and inexperienced I used a U. S. 50¢ coin as a shim not ideal by any means. Planing is much better.

[@hairball1]

I watched one guy put the neck angle on the back of the neck itself. He says that it's easier for him.

[@kevinpopescu9741]

fucking clever

[@rhianagica7427]

Set neck cheapest guitar construction

[@jeromestevenfaigin6059]

Once young now old man?

[@indigorob]

the word is RAKE!

[@Fender5621]

Very confusing :(

[@scuttlebuttin11]

i think your head tattoos require explaining