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Old 11-28-2017, 08:56 PM
Ned Milburn Ned Milburn is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Dartmouth, NS
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Quote:
Originally Posted by murrmac123 View Post
I should really edit that last post, but will add another.

There may be confusion about the term "shoulders".

George Lowden quite correctly uses the term "shoulders" to refer to the components of the neck heel on either side of the tenon, which abut onto the sides , at the top of the upper bout. Some luthiers, infuriatingly, have in the past erroneously referred to these shoulders as "cheeks" , when talking about a reset.

The term "shoulders" of course, can also refer to the curved sides of the upper bout ....

Hope this clears up any potential confusion
I now am careful to avoid being absolute and dogmatic about terminology. Saying, "Sit on your fanny" in N.A. is fine, but don't say it to a lady down under without being prepared to be slapped.

That said, some guitars are built with sides that are FLAT where the neck joins the body. Some, the sides continue to bend as they intersect the neck.

This as well as the fact that the "tail" portion of the dovetail on many guitars has limited (non-full) wood-to-wood contact area. As well, the "shoulders" (or whatever you want to call them) of the heel that contacts the sides, or "ribs" of the guitar, well these shoulders sometimes contact the sides (ribs) only on the outside few mm, rather than full contact.

It is pretty easy for me to understand from the writings attributed to George posted above that he aims for full contact wood-to-wood joinery with his dove-tails, and this fullness of wood-to-wood makes it more challenging to remove his necks than more common designs that have a cavity inside the dove-tail.

That said, while I understand his (George's) theory, if he is choosing a jointed guitar, it makes sense to build it so it can easily be dis-jointed. Otherwise, just build a solid Spanish style heel.

Well made mortise & tenon bolt on necks seem to me to be ideal for non-Spanish heel neck/body joints.
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Ned Milburn
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Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
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