Im building a solid-body electric guitar with a bolt-on neck. How do I get everything to line up accurately?
A. You need to start by routing the neck pocket, before you cut the body out of the blank. Mark a straight line down the center of the neck, and on the center of the body blank. Lightly clamp the neck to the blank. Now check to see if the neck is correctly centered. This can be done by clamping two alignment sticks (1/2″ x 1/2″ x 12″ planed true) to either side of the neck heel. Adjust the neck until the two sticks are an equal distance from the center line at the proposed location of the bridge (bridge location is determined by the scale length you select). When you’re certain that the neck is centered with the body, mark the neck pocket position with a pencil. You can now remove the neck and route the pocket. Once the pocket is routed and the neck is fitted, re-check the bridge position and adjust if necessary. The body shape may now be cut out of the blank, and routed for pickups.
