Fender neck on Squier body issue.

[John_H]

You worry too much! Glue some toothpicks in there, trim it flush, and drill new holes. Once they're filled, they aren't holes anymore. I wouldn't even wait for the glue to dry if it was me. It's taken me longer to type this than it would to fix it.

[dmartn149]

Thought I'd add my 2c. I would set each neck in the neck pocket, and measure from the 21st fret to the bridge. If that is the same on both necks, then fill & drill. I have only done this once. When I did, I used chopsticks. Not sure what they were made of, probably bamboo. They were very hard. I used a hand drill with a strip of masking tape around the bit as a depth guide. I was worried about the proper drill diameter, as you seem to be, so I found out exactly what size my screws were and then went by a chart I found on the internet for drill size.

[Sea Chief]

You worry too much! Glue some toothpicks in there, trim it flush, and drill new holes. Once they're filled, they aren't holes anymore. I wouldn't even wait for the glue to dry if it was me. It's taken me longer to type this than it would to fix it.

You see this is where we differ- you guys would do it quick and well enough/ do another soon after. Us brits do it perfectly/ and have a cup of tea.

No Im getting these holes filled top notch or not at all. toothpicks maybe fine in some cases, but not where the edge of them is the new holes' side's surity adjecent to it.

[big_teee]

Chop sticks are great, plus the bonus of getting to eat Chinese!
I use tooth picks, skewer sticks, chop sticks, corn dog sticks, popsicle sticks and I have an assortment of dows.
I like the idea of measuring each neck, if the same, like martn said fill and drill.
The most important thing is to make sure you don't drill too deep.
As far as making it top knotch.
It won't come out any better if it takes 5 minutes, or a month.
Once it is all assembled you will tell no difference!

[Sea Chief]

Thought I'd add my 2c. I would set each neck in the neck pocket, and measure from the 21st fret to the bridge. If that is the same on both necks, then fill & drill. I have only done this once. When I did, I used chopsticks. Not sure what they were made of, probably bamboo. They were very hard. I used a hand drill with a strip of masking tape around the bit as a depth guide. I was worried about the proper drill diameter, as you seem to be, so I found out exactly what size my screws were and then went by a chart I found on the internet for drill size.

chopsticks sncm scmop chopsticks schmopsticks.

[elipsey]

I've done this a couple times, and it wasn't that big a deal.

Once I got a Chinese Squier with a factory defect. They mis-drilled the two of screw holes in the neck, drilled new holes that overlapped the first and put several toothpicks in the extra space. They didn't even bother with glue! I drilled out the holes and filled them with oak dowel. I leveled the dowel off with a sharp chisel and re-drilled. The new holes were halfway between the oak and maple.

I worried about that repair a lot. I was afraid it would break, or I wouldn't drill it straight, but I played it for 10 years like that, banged it around on airplanes, loaned it to teenagers, and so on. It was fine. For that matter, even the unglued toothpicks held on for a couple of months before I knew about the problem.

Another time I refitted a vintage USA Fender neck to a different body. I turned out maple pegs on a lathe, made a jig for the drill press and spent an altogether unwarranted amount of effort on the task. In retrospect I still parted out an old guitar, which was stupid, and I now regret it. Spending hours making my dowels changed nothing.

While I would generally defer to the opinions of other more experienced people in this thread, I'll make the following suggestions:

--In general, don't mess with the neck pocket, you'll screw the up mating surface and fit. The pocket angle is critical, and bolt on necks are supposed be friction-fit. If the neck doesn't fit, sand the heel of the neck until it just, tightly, fits. Don't force it in either, or you'll crack the finish or thin bits of wood around the pocket.

--If you don't like cocktail sticks, get some hardwood dowel. If the dowel is slightly loose, knurl it with textured pliers, or be prepared drill the holes out slightly to accommodate the next larger dowel.

--I like to clamp the neck to the body, and string the low and high E strings to a low tension to check alignment before drilling. I use a neck plate on top of a rag on the fretboard side of the neck. I place the guitar face down with the body on two blocks, and carefully hand drill. Mark the drill bit for depth, and be careful.

--In general, think twice before parting out a guitar, or doing a destructive mod. Most of the times I have done this, it was at least a waste of time compared to just getting a different guitar, if not ultimately a regrettable and irreversible mistake.

So in summary, the repair is not that big a deal. Just cut some dowel to fit the hole, glue it in, level it with a chisel, re-drill it and stop. Don't mess with the neck pocket.

[Sea Chief]

Great plan of action elipsey- cheers alot. I'd never have thought of the rag/ extra plate idea and stringing E's for alignment before drilling/ excellent idea (wish theyd done that 5 mins work with my bloody CIJ 50's RI tele worth all of £730 thesedays new! the neck isnt aligned quite straight/ nicely finished parts but thrown together- shoddy, & the trussrod doesnt work).

[John_H]

You see this is where we differ- you guys would do it quick and well enough/ do another soon after. Us brits do it perfectly/ and have a cup of tea.

No Im getting these holes filled top notch or not at all. toothpicks maybe fine in some cases, but not where the edge of them is the new holes' side's surity adjecent to it.

I don't know why I bothered to try and help you. I'm not even going to explain to you why the multiple toothpicks is stronger than an oak dowel, or that a strat neck is a strat neck. Just like all of your other topics you've spun something quite simple into a bloated thread about nothing. I don't know what it is with you, but I tried to be helpful. You return the gesture by insulting me.

[Dave H]

...(wish theyd done that 5 mins work with my bloody CIJ 50's RI tele worth all of £730 thesedays new! the neck isnt aligned quite straight/ nicely finished parts but thrown together- shoddy, & the trussrod doesnt work).

I had a USA Strat like that once (when they were all made in the USA). Really shoddy work and the E strings were falling off the edges of the fretboard because the neck was too narrow. I didn't check it out properly before buying. It was an expensive real Fender so I assumed it would be perfect. You live and learn.

If the neck isn't aligned correctly can't you slack off the screws and push it over to line up the E strings with the fingerboard edges? That's what I do and it's another reason for having clearance holes in the body for the screws rather than threaded holes.

[big_teee]

The problem always boils down, to not being able to sort the information and make a decision.

[Sea Chief]

I don't know why I bothered to try and help you. I'm not even going to explain to you why the multiple toothpicks is stronger than an oak dowel, or that a strat neck is a strat neck. Just like all of your other topics you've spun something quite simple into a bloated thread about nothing. I don't know what it is with you, but I tried to be helpful. You return the gesture by insulting me.

Gosh right. erm.. where exactly have I 'insulted' you/ I must have missed that

(Tbh I don't know why you bother either- you're usually rude sooner or later/ I therefore take your posts with a pinch of salt anyway).

[Richard]

I agree on the screws threading through the body. It's hard to find actual wood screws these days with a grip length. I would probably be more inclined to fill and redrill the body than the neck. If I'm not mistaken the holes to be filled are usually drilled to the next size larger dowel.

[Sea Chief]

I had a USA Strat like that once (when they were all made in the USA). Really shoddy work and the E strings were falling off the edges of the fretboard because the neck was too narrow. I didn't check it out properly before buying. It was an expensive real Fender so I assumed it would be perfect. You live and learn.

If the neck isn't aligned correctly can't you slack off the screws and push it over to line up the E strings with the fingerboard edges? That's what I do and it's another reason for having clearance holes in the body for the screws rather than threaded holes.

No because it just finds its way back to the same spots again wjhen you tighten up. You can only shift it the other way by way of inserting a shim between the pocket side wall and neck. This needs shifting t'other way, so there's nowhere to jam a shim in.

[big_teee]

I agree on the screws threading through the body. It's hard to find actual wood screws these days with a grip length. I would probably be more inclined to fill and redrill the body than the neck. If I'm not mistaken the holes to be filled are usually drilled to the next size larger dowel.

That would work, but when you fill the body holes?
How do you know where the neck holes are?
That is why you normally drill the neck, through the body holes.
Also the body holes have to align with the chrome 4 hole square plate!
T

[Sea Chief]

I agree on the screws threading through the body. It's hard to find actual wood screws these days with a grip length. I would probably be more inclined to fill and redrill the body than the neck. If I'm not mistaken the holes to be filled are usually drilled to the next size larger dowel.

So the dowel has say a 1mm total gap around you mean (IE for a 6mm dowel / drill a 7mm hole) rather than the dowel a
push-in snug fit?