HELP! Untight four bolt neck !!!

[Calif De Funk]

Hello,

I searched the forum regarding this issue but I didn´t find anything. The thing is I got my Japan Vintage Jazz Bass back from my brother. Soon I noticed the neck was not tight. It moved up and down if slightly forced, when having it in a playing position, even though it is a four bolt neck!

I disassembled the neck and I could see one of the bolt holes was worn so I installed a wooden plug by using wood glue. Than I let it dry and drilled a pilot hole. I did the same thing with all 4 holes ´cause I thought I might as well do it now that was working with this.

Finally I installed the neck back and I felt the bullets were turning tightly down as I was using a screwdriver and I thought the job was done. Surprisingly the neck was just as untight as before! I installed a shim on the bass side of the neck pocket since there was a little gap; still the same, the neck was untight. I would really appreciate an advice before I go bananas. I would let my luthier do this job but I can´t afford it for the time being. And I have to admit, it would feel great if I could fix this myself. So feel free to give me some help.

 

[nateo]

When you take the neck off do the screws slide freely through the holes in the neck pocket? Sometimes on cheap basses they'll drill the hole through the neck pocket and into the heel in one operation. It's all fine and good so long as you clamp the neck in place firmly while installing the bolts, but if you're relying on the bolts to pull the joint tight it's not going to work (because the bolts are pulling on the pocket just as much as they're pulling on the neck heel). To do that you need to drill the neck pocket holes slightly larger.

Try taking the neck off and seeing if you can slide the screws through the neck pocket holes. If you have to turn them to get them through then that's likely part of the problem. Simply drill them out until the screws slide through without twisting and then reinstall your neck. The screws should let you tighten up the joint.

Of course, be careful about overtightening the screws. The last thing you want is to crack the heel or the pocket.

-Nate

 

[SBassman]

This may be considered a hack kind of answer, so take it with a grain of salt, but:

If I ran out of ideas, I'd put a thin layer of wood glue under the heal. While wood glue is strong, the bond Can be broken, so you won't be out of luck if you ever need to out and out replace the neck. But, that thin layer should completely stop any other kind of movement.

 

[Calif De Funk]

When you take the neck off do the screws slide freely through the holes in the neck pocket? Sometimes on cheap basses they'll drill the hole through the neck pocket and into the heel in one operation. It's all fine and good so long as you clamp the neck in place firmly while installing the bolts, but if you're relying on the bolts to pull the joint tight it's not going to work (because the bolts are pulling on the pocket just as much as they're pulling on the neck heel). To do that you need to drill the neck pocket holes slightly larger.

Try taking the neck off and seeing if you can slide the screws through the neck pocket holes. If you have to turn them to get them through then that's likely part of the problem. Simply drill them out until the screws slide through without twisting and then reinstall your neck. The screws should let you tighten up the joint.

Of course, be careful about overtightening the screws. The last thing you want is to crack the heel or the pocket.

-Nate

Thank you guys. Nateo, now that you mentioned the pocket holes, they are a little tight, so I have to turn the bolts though them! I am going to drill them a bit and I´ll be back here and tell you how it worked out.