Acoustic Guitar Construction

I have seen two different schools of thought regarding the attachment of the finger board and was wanting to get some opinions on them. #1 has the finger board being attached to the neck prior to gluing the neck to the guitar the second has the neck being glued to the guitar then the finger board is attached. I am planning on doing a dove tail joint for the neck body connection and am leaning towards gluing the FB on after the neck is attached to the guitar. Any comments would be welcome. I have posted some pictures of my progress in the construction log section. Thanks in advance for the help, Tim

It’s important to have the neck set and properly mated to the body “before” the fingerboard is attached, the link below details how to make and use a fingerboard simulator tool. This process helps the maker get this important construction element “spot on” early in the build. Also note that the fingerboard functions somewhat as a template for final neck shaping after it is glued in place. The Martin factory makes 250 a day with the fingerboard fastened ---- in the Martin factory video the comment is that this sequencing assures a more consistent quality product.

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/neckfitpart1.html
http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/ne ... embly.html

Hey Ken, I have looked over your instructions re: neck set several times and have a question. In about the second paragraph you state that "the top is 90 degrees to the the rim at the neck location" then the caption on the fifth picture below that says top to rim angle is 91.3 degrees. Continuing on in section 2 the fifth picture shows a side view of the body with a square resting on it and the caption says "the top at the neck block should be 90 degrees. Everything that I have read indicates that the top to rim angle should be between 91 and 92 degrees, also with the top having a radius, mine is 25', I can't see how you could have a 90 degree top to rim angle anywhere. My understanding is that the angle of the heel is complimentary to the angle of the top/rim and the total of the two should equal 180 degrees. Am I thinking this through correctly or am I missing something?? In regards to the the attachment of the FB, I would think that it would be easier getting the dove tail fitted without the FB attached. This would also allow for any minor adjustments that might be needed after the neck is glued to the body. Thanks for the input, Tim

Your concerns are based on things that I wrote and made popular over the last ten years -- so I am well aware of the concepts ---- part one of four:
http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/neckangle.html

I believe it says "chances are that you'll find its 90 degrees" and the process shows you how to make it right.

As for the FB attachment I think I may have not made myself clear because that is exactly what I explained to you -- why that (pre-fit) is best and how to do it. --- right?

What I have pointed out to you has been used for years to construct 1000's of guitars resulting with properly set necks (including all our kits) --- sometimes a couple of re-reads is all it takes to get things clear and in focus.

Thanks for the clarification. My top to rim angle is at 91.3 degrees so I am thinking that I am on track.