I am building a Jag style guitar with a bolt on neck, I just got some neck ferrules from Stewmac that came with screws for attachment. I am concerned that when I countersink the ferrules into the body that the screws will be too long and break through the fretboard (disaster!). Has anyone cut down the neck screws on a bolt on, if so, how did you do it and was it successful? Cheers!
NSJ 12/03/2023 12:06 am
@timc You can buy different length screws, personally I use the 38mm ones with the ferrules. I get mine from axesrus in the UK but I think you should find them on ebay or allparts maybe.
I drill my holes, do the recess for the ferule then put the screw and ferrule into the hole and meassure how much sticks out for the neck.
TimC. Topic starter
12/03/2023 2:58 am
Thanks @NSJ I did what you recommended and 3 of 4 will be good, as I am putting a comfort/access carve on the body where the neck joins I will need just one smaller length screw, Still wondering if I can cut or grind down the screw to make it work. I will do a test on some scraps and let you know how it works, cheers.
I've had the same situation in the past @TimC - I've just used a hacksaw to shorten the screw (or bolt - see below) length as necessary.
If you want to get even fancier, you can use bolts with captive nuts instead of screws. This sort of thing;
It makes the neck joint a lot more solid and you don't have to worry about the screw hole getting worn and the screw getting loose if you remove/re-attach the neck a few times. It's all I've used for a while now on my bolt-on builds - and means that they *are* bolt-on rather than screw-in !
You can easily get the bolts in different lengths to suit your builds.
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