Swapping Fender bass necks

[smcd]

A friend of mine posted this in another messageboard. I was wondering if any of you here had some advice for him -



Okay, so I'm replacing the neck on two basses: a Squier P-Bass neck onto a no-name P-Bass style body; and a PRS J-Bass neck (w/ a Tele Bass headstock) onto a '70s' Fender Jazz Bass body.

The problem is that both necks have been installoed on other basses and the screw holes on the necks don't correspond with the pilot holes on the bodies. It's pretty close, but not quite close enough. Should I plug the holes in the necks and drill new holes, or widen the pilot holes in the bodies?

Also, the Fender Jazz Bass has that '70s' three bolt neck plate, with neck pitch adjustment screw... should I scrap all that and go with a traditional four bolt plate?



Thanks for any advice.

[Craig_S]

Drill out the holes and plug them with pieces of hard wood dowel.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by Craig_S

Drill out the holes and plug them with pieces of hard wood dowel.

Agreed. Don't mess with the screw holes in the body. I believe they should be tight and hold the screws from any sideways movement.

Be very careful if you drill the neck holes with a hand held electric drill. It can slip out of control quickly. Pick out the right bit and practice in a piece of scrap wood first. Mark the drill bit with masking tape to get the right depth. You don't want to drill right through the fingerboard. I drill the holes about 1/16" longer than the dowel which I cut to length beforehand.

You can buy grooved dowels in packages at Home Depot. I use 1/4". Carpenters glue works well to hold them solidly and being water based they expand and give a tight bond.

[smcd]

Incredibly helpful. Thank you!!

Originally Posted by 62bass

Agreed. Don't mess with the screw holes in the body. I believe they should be tight and hold the screws from any sideways movement.

Be very careful if you drill the neck holes with a hand held electric drill. It can slip out of control quickly. Pick out the right bit and practice in a piece of scrap wood first. Mark the drill bit with masking tape to get the right depth. You don't want to drill right through the fingerboard. I drill the holes about 1/16" longer than the dowel which I cut to length beforehand.

You can buy grooved dowels in packages at Home Depot. I use 1/4". Carpenters glue works well to hold them solidly and being water based they expand and give a tight bond.