Archtop Neck Fitting

[Philip Secrist]

I am building my first arch top. I am ready to fit the neck. With a straight edge placed on the frets (before cutting the neck extension to fit the neck flush with the top in the neck block area), the distance from the top to the straight edge measures about 1-1/32" (see pic).  Is this where I should be at this point? It looks like the neck will drop in another 1/8" after cutting the neck extension to bring the neck flush against the top in the neck block area.  In Benedetto's video, he cuts into the the fret extension the amount required to leave 1-inch between the straight edge and the top at the bridge location. I am already there before cutting into the neck extension and will probably end up closer to 7/8" at the bridge, since, as you can see in the pic that I have about 1/8 inch gap between the neck extension and the top.  In Frank Finocchio;s video, he sets the neck angle placing a 3/4" block on the neck block and a 7/8" block at the bridge location, places a straight edge on the two blocks and then measure the angle between the side at the neck joint and the straight edge to get the neck angle for routing the dovetail.  This is the method I used and it gave me a neck angle of 3.5 degrees but it will leave me about 7/8" at the bridge, which makes sense with Frank's method, but it is not the 1-inch height that Bob Benedetto shows in his video.  So, I am a bit confused and am not sure what the final height should be at the bridge with the neck fit to the top. The bridge I bought is 1" high at the lowest setting. If I end up with a distance of 7/8" at the bridge am I in trouble?  Do I need to chisel my neck angle to achieve a 1 inch gap? Do I lower the bridge sadde?  Any help is appreciated?

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

Bridge height is one of the parameters you can choose to make the instrument sound the way you like. Whatever you choose it 7/8" or 1" is a choice of design. If you have a 1" bridge and don't want to modify it, then make your neck angle such as it fits the 1" bridge. That would be my approach, but I'm no archtop master, so please wait a bit some more experimented builder's advice.

[Ned Knepp]

I'm not expert either but I don't know that 1/8th of an inch is going to make that much difference as long as you have the string height you need to get the action you want. You should figure on leaving some adjustment room on the bridge when you finish setting up the guitar. With a 1 inch tall bridge and a 7/8th's height on the fingerboard you probably will not have much if any room to adjust the bridge lower if you need to once there is tension on the guitar.

  You are not going to need to remove very much from the heel to get 1/8 th of an inch at the bridge so I think I would adjust the heel now before I finished setting the neck which should give some room to adjust the string height on the bridge.

 As Pierre-Antoine said "please wait a bit..."

[William F.Eden]

I myself have not built an Archtop guitar as yet but I have built some arch top Mandolins and if the bridge is adjustable I can't see what the differents would be .I always  Set my strait edge angle 1\16th below the top of the center of the bridge on the Mandolins that seems to be just right and it gives you some room for ajustments with out having the bridge turned up  to hi. Now getting back to that guitar of your's if every thing is now were you want it why don't you just make a new extension piece to fit the top or am I missing something hear? If i were doing it I would first get the neck on the pitch i was looking for and then I would make the piece for the extension to fit. Good luck it looks as though you are making a veary nice job so for . Bill........... 

[Mark Dobbins]

Benedetto cuts his neck angle at 4 1/2 degrees, which would give you the extra height ,this info comes from his book making an archtop guitar by Robert Benedetto, page 89

[Rodney Smith]

Set your neck to fit the bridge you have, with the bridge in place adjusted about half way up a straight edge on the fretted fingerboard

should hit the bridge about 1/8" below the top