Heelless neck joint

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jeffhigh
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Heelless neck joint

Post by jeffhigh » Mon Jan 17, 2022 12:49 pm

Anyone got a good design for this?
I don't care for the Fender type neck plate looking for something more subtle
I'm building for my brother in law who plays lap style but not slide, with his index finger on top and thumb under the neck.

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graham mcdonald
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Re: Heelless neck joint

Post by graham mcdonald » Tue Jan 18, 2022 2:36 pm

Think about a hollow neck block, with a mortice for the end of the neck to sit in. Embed a couple of t-nuts in the top surface of the neck (covered with the fretboard) and bolt the neck the neck on from underneath. Pics of a couple of bouzouki bodies to give you an idea. The structure is glued up from bits of 8-10mm thick mahogany.
t2inside.jpg
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t2_headblock.jpg
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seeaxe
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Re: Heelless neck joint

Post by seeaxe » Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:07 pm

This is a poor photo but you get the general idea. I blackened the bolts as these looked too bright against the rosewood.
20211031_110210.jpg
Here's a picture of the neck joint
neck joint.jpg
There are two bolts at the other end of the mortice that are done up from inside the soundhole. That's a real pain. The next guitar will just have two bolts accessed from the back. I glued a steel washer onto the heel block in a counterbore so that the s/s allen bolts sit flush with the back once its on.
mortice.jpg
Richard

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Mark McLean
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Re: Heelless neck joint

Post by Mark McLean » Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:35 pm

Yep, I endorse what Graham and Richard said. There is actually no need for the heel, very good reasons to eliminate it, and a number of good options to attach the neck in another way. Here is one I made following Graham’s plan, with a hollow neck block (a bouzouki style body, but you could do the same with a guitar shape).
E41B4670-4783-47EC-9FD8-7E07B6A3DC4C.jpeg
I also love my Taylor Big Baby which has the same style of heel-less neck sitting in a pocket in the neck block. The Taylor has the neck attached by two screws straight through the fretboard at the 16th fret, which is inelegant but effective. Or you can hide the bolts inside, or come in from the back
F48A3674-D639-4E06-9D56-7B7162395118.jpeg
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Have you checked out the fairly new Martin SC13e
6AAC80EC-28BD-4A80-84EC-ABEBB9967270.jpeg
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kiwigeo
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Re: Heelless neck joint

Post by kiwigeo » Wed Jan 19, 2022 9:04 am

Mt ten cents worth. Alot of good practical reasons for no heel...but I'm old fashioned and like the gradual transition it creates from the body to the neck. Its aesthetics I know but if aesthetics weren't part of the equation we'd all be making carbon fibre bricks :mrgreen:

That Martin.....it's got binding on the top but they appear to have chickened out on running binding around the bottom.
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jeffhigh
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Re: Heelless neck joint

Post by jeffhigh » Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:31 am

Normally I would just do the heel, but I want to do a 12 fret joint and still allow easy access for him with lap style playing with thumb under (hand injury)
Thanks for the ideas Guys

WilliamDavidReynolds

Re: Heelless neck joint

Post by WilliamDavidReynolds » Mon Jan 16, 2023 5:34 pm

kiwigeo wrote:
Wed Jan 19, 2022 9:04 am


That Martin.....it's got binding on the top but they appear to have chickened out on running binding around the bottom.
This isn’t a bolt on, I can’t seem to do my cutaways different.
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Trevor Gore
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Re: Heelless neck joint

Post by Trevor Gore » Mon Jan 16, 2023 7:32 pm

Not my idea, and no pictures, but you could do a tapered sliding dovetail into what I call the neck block top plate, with a single screw accessible from inside to stop it unplugging. Fully fit the dovetail before you glue the fret board on.

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nkforster
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Re: Heelless neck joint

Post by nkforster » Tue Jan 17, 2023 8:12 pm

My archtops have an unusual "long neck" design but there is no reason why you couldn't make this a normal length neck and attach it as I do - with 4 bolts and inserts. A round neck into a round mortise.

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