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I'm working on a Tele Build for my daughter. I did a two piece neck and head stock with a scarfed joint as suggested here. After routing and getting it sanded I noticed the neck has a bow to it. If it was complete with truss rod and fretboard it wouldnt be a big deal as I could simply adjust it. Any ideas to get this straight before I continue installing the truss rod and fretboard? Pics file size are too big on my phone to attach, but from end to end there's probably a good 1 to 2mm bow.

Plane it flat.


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A scarfed head is very hard to jig up so it doesn't shift while you are gluing it - the glue acts as a lubricant and you have perfect high school physics demonstration of a wedge. Its not uncommon for the head to be shifted slightly with respect to the neck stick itself. I just use a long sanding beam or a carpenter's level with double stick tape on it to sand the fretboard surface perfectly flat before gluing the f/b on.

I don't want to have to use the truss rod to do any correction to the neck - it should be adjusted to neutral and the neck should be straight.

I find gluing a scarfed head is actually pretty simple with the assistance of some tape like StewMac’s binding tape. Clamp it dry, apply the tape (two layers) firmly (stretching it across the joint). If you don’t overdo the amount of titebond, it’s enough to keep it all aligned until the glue grabs while you clamp. A bit of extra insurance for horizontal alignment is provided by clamping the neck shaft down to a flat surface with the fingerboard plane perpendicular to it.

That, or drill two small holes and use a couple of toothpicks in the waste areas.



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