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Reducing the neck pocket size.


Cuzzie
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OK peeps, advice if you could be so kind.

I picked up a bit of a broken P bass body, may well be Fender as the neck that came off it I was told was a ‘78 neck. I think the pocket is standard size. I got the body for postage cost only and fancy a go at repairing.

I picked up a really nice P bass Lyte neck for a good price and I would like to fit them together. (I did know it had a different heel width to a normal, but was a nice neck at a good price).

I would like to fit the 2 together but obviously I need to tighten things up a little. I know I will need to fill the original screw holes and match up to the neck.

Am I right in thinking that gluing a veneer would do the job and then sand/shape to size?

Any other tips, apart from get a neck that fits!

Obligatory pics...

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If it were me, I'd bolt everything together first to see whether it intonates properly, which would obviate the necessity of filling holes in the neck and neck pocket.  If they're both genuine Fender parts, the holes should match up.

Beyond that, you're simply making good on filling the gaps in the neck pocket, sanding and staining.  Borrow some clamps.

Any decent woodshop should have a decent stock of veneers; I'd take the bolted together bass along and see what fits.  This would save you sanding time.

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6 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

The pic shows the offset.

as an aside though - and as much as it pains me to say...that’s not a fender neck.

 

I was looking at this on a very small phone. 

I'd concur with this not being a Fender neck from that period as well.  At that point Fender joints were a standard rectangular four or triangular (to accommodate their micro-tilt system.  Too many laminations and the fingerboard wouldn't overhang at the dusty end.

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22 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

I was looking at this on a very small phone. 

I'd concur with this not being a Fender neck from that period as well.  At that point Fender joints were a standard rectangular four or triangular (to accommodate their micro-tilt system.  Too many laminations and the fingerboard wouldn't overhang at the dusty end.

The screw pattern is correct - the construction is not.

id suggest this is an aftermarket neck which has been on the body of a bass lyte 

E880DBB4-40A4-4818-B429-D0D3C11FB68A.png

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@AndyTravis @NancyJohnson

 

Thanks for your thoughts and concern on the matter guys.

i knew exactly what I was buying when I got it (I was just writing with brevity as the main thing was to see if I could get it to fit the body, which I also have no idea where is from). According to the seller who is a luthier he had to re-work it hence the appearance.

Here is the original advert.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F123437813884

Needless to say I like the feel of the neck very much without it yet being on a bass. As it really is a first jump into repairing stuff (only done 1 bitsa from new parts) I am using this to learn, and it may turn out OK.

i also quite like ferrules as opposed to a plate so the screw position doesn’t bother me.

Edited by Cuzzie
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I had a Precision Lyte and the fingerboard did indeed hang over the edge of the neck.  But the body of a P Lyte isn't the same size as a P bass, it is Strat sized with the bridge right on the edge of the body, so some jiggery pokery will be needed, i think.

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Certainly gluing some veneer inside the neck pocket is a viable option if it's a relatively small gap. If the gap is large though, it might be easier to fill the pocket completely with a block of wood and re-cut the pocket to suit the neck. 

I can't remember if I saw it on here or another forum, but someone did a lovely job of an oversized insert in a contrasting wood. It looked like it was designed that way and was a real feature of the guitar 

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33 minutes ago, Norris said:

Certainly gluing some veneer inside the neck pocket is a viable option if it's a relatively small gap. If the gap is large though, it might be easier to fill the pocket completely with a block of wood and re-cut the pocket to suit the neck. 

I can't remember if I saw it on here or another forum, but someone did a lovely job of an oversized insert in a contrasting wood. It looked like it was designed that way and was a real feature of the guitar 

Pretty sure that was @Jimothey

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14 hours ago, Cuzzie said:

OK peeps, advice if you could be so kind.

I picked up a bit of a broken P bass body, may well be Fender as the neck that came off it I was told was a ‘78 neck. I think the pocket is standard size. I got the body for postage cost only and fancy a go at repairing.

I picked up a really nice P bass Lyte neck for a good price and I would like to fit them together. (I did know it had a different heel width to a normal, but was a nice neck at a good price).

I would like to fit the 2 together but obviously I need to tighten things up a little. I know I will need to fill the original screw holes and match up to the neck.

Am I right in thinking that gluing a veneer would do the job and then sand/shape to size?

Any other tips, apart from get a neck that fits!

 

2 hours ago, Norris said:

Certainly gluing some veneer inside the neck pocket is a viable option if it's a relatively small gap. If the gap is large though, it might be easier to fill the pocket completely with a block of wood and re-cut the pocket to suit the neck. 

I can't remember if I saw it on here or another forum, but someone did a lovely job of an oversized insert in a contrasting wood. It looked like it was designed that way and was a real feature of the guitar 

Maybe route an oversize pocket that follows the outline of the intended neck closely so that the insert is of uniform width around the neck root.

1 hour ago, BreadBin said:

Pretty sure that was @Jimothey

Yust.

_20181106_160152.JPG

_20181106_130104.JPG

Edited by SpondonBassed
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