Glue neck in again...

[viento]

I want to glue the dovetail neck in again.
Where should the glue go?
The whole room in the Swallowtail surely does not have to be filled out.
I have applied colored dots.

Which places need to be smeared with glue?
The red dotted surface under the tongue of the fingerboard surely.
But the other areas??

I´m sure somebody knows...

[mirwa]

Have you reset your neck yet to the correct angle

If you have then glue goes to green and red, no glue used in the blue area

Steve

[viento]

Thanks!
I have measured and made the correct angle of the neck.
I´ll glue tomorrow...and hope nothing will slip, especially the shim under the fingerboard.

[phavriluk]

Does it make sense to glue the shim to the back of the fingerboard first, wait till the glue grabs (or dries) and then attach the neck? I've never done this job, but I have wrestled with too many moving parts coated with glue, all trying their best to get out of place simultaneously....

[mirwa]

If a neck reset has been carried out, I glue my neck back in and leave any fingerboard shim out to start with, once the neck is glued in, i make a tapered shim to fit and slide in place.

If its just a neck removal and refit, i glue the fingerboard extension down at the same time

Steve

[Halcyon/Tinker]

FWIW, when I did dovetails, I only ever applied glue to the perimeter of the tongue, and very sparingly on the tenon, being careful not to let glue go into the bottom of the mortise...

[John Arnold]

Does it make sense to glue the shim to the back of the fingerboard first, wait till the glue grabs (or dries) and then attach the neck?

That is what I do, unless I am installing a shim later. I cut the shim slightly oversize, and trim it flush with the edges after the glue dries. And if need be, I can shave the shim thinner with a finger plane after it is glued on the fingerboard. It's much easier than gluing it when installing the neck.

[viento]

Thanks for all of your advices and experience!

[snow creek]

How do the pro's deal with string tension when measuring where the neck angle should be? When I did a re- set I had a metal straight edge on the frets to be level with the bridge.. but when I put strings on it- the tension caused a change in the angle so the straight edge was lower than the bridge slightly...
Is this a frequent issue? And how does on set the neck angle to compensate for potential string tension/damaged bracing issues?

[mirwa]

You can overset a neck to accomodate for string pull up, however it is very rarely needed really one should take care of any other issue that has not been resolved.

For me, i keep it simple, truss rod straight, straight edge over the frets onto the bridge.

Lock the new neck angle in.

Any further action adjustment i do with the saddle.

Steve

[dbintegrity]

What everybody else has said and.... you want to make sure you've refitted the dovetail so that it is snug as you're putting it together. The heel should pull snug to the body and somewhat lock as you're putting it together... no need to over glue...

[Rodger Knox]

Originally Posted by snow creek

How do the pro's deal with string tension when measuring where the neck angle should be? When I did a re- set I had a metal straight edge on the frets to be level with the bridge.. but when I put strings on it- the tension caused a change in the angle so the straight edge was lower than the bridge slightly...
Is this a frequent issue? And how does on set the neck angle to compensate for potential string tension/damaged bracing issues?

I suspect you are mistaken about the change in neck angle(that shouldn't move enough to measure), what you really saw was a change in relief. That caused the straightedge to rest on the first and last fret, and the relief caused the first fret to rise relative to the last fret, which causes the straightedge to hit lower on the bridge. If you remove all the relief from the neck with the truss rod, the straightedge should be back at the top of the bridge.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by snow creek

How do the pro's deal with string tension when measuring where the neck angle should be? When I did a re- set I had a metal straight edge on the frets to be level with the bridge.. but when I put strings on it- the tension caused a change in the angle so the straight edge was lower than the bridge slightly...
Is this a frequent issue? And how does on set the neck angle to compensate for potential string tension/damaged bracing issues?

As Steve stated, you can "overset" the neck to accommodate an anticipated rise. As Rodger stated, the neck should be flat when determining the neck angle and excessive relief after restringing will change your result.

On new guitar construction, the maker can anticipate, based on previous experience on their instruments, how much the top/bridge will rise when string tension is imposed upon it. About 1/16" is typical, depending on the guitar, how stiff the top is, the bracing ... When adjusting the neck angle, one can set it to allow for that 1/16" of rise.

[John Arnold]

And how does on set the neck angle to compensate for potential string tension/damaged bracing issues?

I measure the action and saddle height before removing the neck. That is my baseline for the amount of angle change I want. By adding the desired change in action and saddle height, I have a goal for how much I want to change the straightedge measurement at the bridge. This is not necessarily even with the top of the bridge, since you have several variables to consider:
1) How much the guitar pulls when strung versus unstrung. This s NOT just a change in relief....the top pulls up, too.
2) Desired saddle height. This is not the same with all guitars.
3) Bridge thickness
While the straightedge is referenced from the top of the bridge, it still is a factor which determines the string height above the top. This should influence the decision on saddle height.
4) Desired action
The perfect storm is when you have a guitar with more than the normal amount of pull, and the desired action is lower than typical. Then add a desired saddle height that is more than 5/32", and I guarantee that a neck angle with the straightedge touching the top of the bridge while unstrung will be underset.

[snow creek]

Rodger- That may be. I did not have a straight edge long enough to go from the first fret to the bridge. I am just trying to give the OP more info on how to fix their rig with insights on issues I ran into doing the same job. Excellent info all around though. Cheers.