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I am helping a friend build and OM. He took the body home to start with the prep for the finishing. I neglected to tell him to stay away from the area at the FB extension. When I reattached the neck (bolt on from Martin, only one bolt) I have this

Any suggestions?
Thanks
Richard

Have a look here.

http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=30602&p=405755&hilit=sand+fretboard+extension#p405755

Since the top has had some sanding done, make sure there's enough left to flatten it without getting too thin.

Pat

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you may need to sand that area flat .

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Looks alot better than some of my neck joints.
If there isn't enough material on the top to sand flat....I'd just fill the gap during finishing

Besides sanding the upper bout, you could also take off a bit on the bottom
of the fretboard. That's going to be more noticeable than flattening the soundboard
though, so if it's thick enough, flattening the soundboard is a better option. Since
it's his first, I'd also consider leaving it as it is, even if it doesn't fully fill during finishing.
That would be a better option than a very thin soundboard, IMHO.

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

IMHO the only good choice is to sand it flat. Then you'll have to re fit the neck. After lowering the neck so the fingerboard is against the new flattened top you'll probably need to tweak the angle some too.

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Thanks

Richrd

Can someone tell me how this sanding jig works? Does it pivot on a pin on the ebony board in a lateral or east /west sideways direction, or does it slide in a longitudinal north /south direction?
Is the whole upper bout above the soundhole thinned or just that section directly under the FB then blended smooth so as to not show a step?
Sorry for what may be a dumb question but I'm finding that the more I think on something, the muddier things get.
Thanks

http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopi ... on#p405755

Richard: Have you checked the alignment of the fingerboard and the bridge position.If you have and all is ok there I would suggest a combination of a bit off the top and the rest off the bottom of the finger board.Good luck.
Tom

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Rusty,

the jig slides longitudinally N<==>S. The idea is that the bottom end is riding along the bar at the same height
as the top of the bridge, while the top is riding along the line of the top of the frets. The sanding board/sandpaper
are just a little (1/8" or so) wider than the fretboard. So when you're done and the neck is reset with the fretboard
extention resting on the sanded top, a straightedge resting along the frets will just kiss the top of the bridge. This
is about where most people like to build their guitars. It makes setting up the guitar pretty easy- not a lot of fret
dressing needed, etc. And you do blend the sanded flat section out to the outer wings of the upper bout.

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

It looks to me that if you do take some sound board material off then the FB will float over the whole top and you will have to sink your dovetail a bit more which may also mean you need to shave some of the heal cap off. Like others have said, I'd be tempted to just leave it and fill it with some stick shellac.

I just saw a LoPrinzi in a music store with the same gap, they just left it and didn't care. Must not be that big a deal then.
Leave it and fill it's what I say.

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