Tutorial - How to Shim Your Guitar Neck and Nut

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Welcome to Crimson Guitars ru-vid.com
In this episode, Ben, explains how to repair a kit guitar by putting a shim underneath the neck and another under the nut. He discusses whether or not this is a good idea and the history of 'shimming'.
If you have any questions about this repair or any other repair you are undertaking, or have any suggestions to improve this repair, please leave a comment below.
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:01 The background of shimming in the Fender franchise
2:44 Looking at the guitar - shim or recess?
3:17 Off with the strings
4:02 We find out what's wrong with the nut
4:36 Off with the neck
5:36 Maple veneer for the shim, cut, file, and create an angle with levelling beam
12:54 It is a perfect fit
13:21 Marking the holes in the shim
15:17 Removing the nut
16:57 How to shim a nut
20:38 Gluing the shimmed nut onto the neck
20:50 Putting the guitar back together
22:31 New strings
24:45 Adjusting the bridge to get more height on the strings
25:21 Using the under string radius gauge to find the radius
26:00 Using the Crimson Guitars fret rocker to check the frets. And they are not level!
27:44 Shimmed nut too high now so Crimson Guitars nut slotting file comes into play
30:20 Conclusion
______________________________________________________________________
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Stay tuned and stay awesome!

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Опубликовано:

23 сен 2015

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Комментарии : 286

@scillyautomatic 5 лет назад

The Super Glue / masking tape method was worth the price of admission. Learned how to shim at the same time. This was a good day.

@arbnag5006 4 года назад

wonder if double sided tape would work also??

@AnthonyMonaghan 5 лет назад

A little tip that I found helped...drill, or make the holes in the shim before sanding it down. Less prone to splitting the finished shim. Thanks.

@arbnag5006 4 года назад

great idea!!

@DTGuitarTech 3 года назад

@CrimsonGuitars Ben, you are an absolute hero. Use used this method today to make a tapered neck shim 1mm down to zero. 0.77 degrees. Absolutely fantastic. Worked a treat. I even worked out the trigonometry.

@MakeSomething 8 лет назад

I love the masking tape trick!

@joebob344 7 лет назад

I never thought of using veneer. Here I am rough cutting a small piece of scrap with a hacksaw then making the outline of the neck with a pen, then hand sanding forever. Glad I saw this video. Thanks!!!

@nunoandrademusicspace7590 7 лет назад

Super video about the shim. I researched online, and it's the best video about it. I used your idea to make 2 shims already and great results. I did cut the veneer with a strong Xacto knife and a straight piece of wood as a ruler in a few passes, then fine tune it with a sand block (a straight piece of wood sanded on a piece of window glass for straightness, then glued sandpaper over maskingtape). perfect. thanks

@ciri151 8 лет назад

that stringing method is really cool!! I'm learning something from you everyday :D

@rym5225 7 лет назад

Holy hell my brain was just shattered by your restringing method. briliant. also love your neck shim making method. I'll never curse the heavens again while tediously sanding one on the disc sander!

@WoodesosGuitarMods 8 лет назад

Really enjoyed this video. Super fun looking guitar there also:-) I see some new tools I need to order immediately from your store. So far, I'm super pleased with them all!

@vangogle1 4 года назад

Love watching you work. Bought some tools and neck holder from you couple years ago. I used to be a finish carpenter and we used to cut our own shims to install doors. Used my 12" Dewalt compound saw. Take 2x4 about 8 in long and set in against back fence parallel to saw blade. Set blade angle to 1/2, or 1 or 2 degree, etc angle. Cut shims 8 in long at what ever angle you set. They go down to feather edge without having to do any sanding at all. If 1/2 degree isn't small enough, you can just angle the wood a bit to get however thin you need. In you case use a piece of maple as thick as the width of the neck pocket and just a little longer than you need but long enough to hand on to it while cutting. Could make several different angled shims at a time.

@stevepethel6843 2 года назад

Great story on Leo collecting business cards as shims. You definitely go 1000 percent to please your clients . the care you have taken on this neck shim shows highest quality skill ...you have made the highest quality shim on earth . You go beyond the good repair to ZENITH

@spelillo 4 года назад

Hi there from Spain, first of all, I have watched a lot of your videos, and I love them all! I am learning a lot from you so, thank you very much! One thing I realized in this one is that when you are adjusting string heights with the radius gauge, first you check under the strings, but then you move over to adjust G string. That is incorrect, you have to do this allways with the gauge UNDER the strings!! This is a thing that I have been working on recently, I drew in CAE software the strings, and when you have a prefect radius under the strings (the one that really matters) over the strings you are never going to have anything similar to a radius between all 6 strings, just because individual string gauge is not increasing to adapt to that radius. Sorry if it´s difficult to understand and sorry for my poor English! I have checked that several times! Just imagine you swap the G string by a low E string, if you adjust the radius underneath the strings, over them this new 3rd string is going to be higher than all other 5 strings!!

@philfyphil 8 лет назад

Thanks for doing this Ben, you did a great job and the guitar now plays as it should. Although the frets weren't great, the build quality and feel of the neck is superb and after your fix it is now a great guitar with nice low action. It was also great to meet you and have the tour of your soon to be finished new workshop (very impressive). I may well see you again soon on one of your build a guitar workshops as building one from scratch is my ultimate dream. Whilst building and finishing a guitar from an unfinished Warmoth neck and body requires a lot of work and care, it's still not quite the same as doing everything from scratch. I have a Les Paul, Strat, Line 6 Variax and another self build more traditional Telecaster, but this is my most played guitar now. Cheers, Phil.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars 8 лет назад

It was our pleasure, I'm glad she's all better now :) I appreciated the chance to work on a repair for a change.. Christopher being off ill meant I couldn't delegate as I'm 'supposed to' and this video was the result. You are more than welcome back for a course.. Studio 2 will be up and running in about a month and it will be awesome :) the post of a discount still stands as well!

@phlopalopagus 7 лет назад

About how much was that kit. Its really nice and I love Orange so I was shell shocked. Very classy.

@philfyphil 7 лет назад

Phlop Alopagus it was about £1,000 for everything. I could have purchased a USA Telecaster but the point of it is I always wanted to make my own guitar (I actually made two) and I did all the finishing as well. It also has 2 custom mini humbuckers to make it a little different, and it sounds and plays beautifully. :-)

@phlopalopagus 7 лет назад

Ive never seen any stock tele for a grand look half as nice as your kit. That was the far better option I would say!

@philfyphil 7 лет назад

Phlop Alopagus thanks very much! :-)

@MrWopwink Год назад

I followed this on a Squier I just bought and it worked great, so thanks for that.

@pipercub45 8 лет назад

What a great way to put on strings! Thanks for that lesson. It is also nice to see that you are not perfect when making guitars i.e. not checking for fret rocking. Your presentation is as fun as ever.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars 8 лет назад

Nobody is perfect :) when I'm filming the distraction of that process does sometimes mean I completely forget basic steps at times, infuriatingly it's on camera :( thanks for your support.

@chrisstolle5664 5 лет назад

The masking tape and half pencil trick are genious!

@lion39 8 лет назад

Excellent instructional video Ben! Love learning new tricks and techniques. Cheers!

@zwip778 8 лет назад

Super relaxing to watch your work, thank you.

@jasont.9559 8 лет назад

A paper punch is awesome for making the holes. Works great.

@budude2 8 лет назад

Wow - perfect timing - I just picked up a poorly put together kit guitar and for whatever reason the builder had taken *out* material from the inside of the pocket leaving the action at about 1/4" or so... I will use this to fix the silly thing - thanks!

@CrimsonCustomGuitars 8 лет назад

Here are the exact times when Ben talks about different things in the video, enjoy: 1:08 - The background of shimming in the Fender franchise 2:44 - Looking at the guitar 3:15 - Tutorial begins 4:02 - We find out what's wrong with the nut 5:36 - Marking out veneer for the shim 6:21 - Tidying up the shim 9:44 - Creating the angle of the shim using a plane 9:59 - Creating the angle of the shim using a file 10:10 - Creating the angle of the shim using a levelling beam 13:10 - Drilling the holes in the shim 15:17 - Taking off the nut 16:52 - How to shim a nut 20:36 - Gluing the shimmed nut onto the neck 20:50 - Putting the guitar back together 22:12 - Taking a look at the once we're done shimming it 22:29 - Putting strings on the guitar 24:44 - Adjusting the bridge to get more height on the strings 25:18 - Using the understring radius gauge to find the radius 25:59 - Checking how level the frets are using the Crimson Guitars fret rocker 27:51 - Adjusting the height of our newly shimmed nut using the Crimson Guitars nut slotting file 29:18 - Accurately testing the action of the nut

@mathewdavies6472 5 лет назад

Hi Ben, I have a few bolt on neck guitars and a few require a shim just to raise the neck height as the saddles are bottoming out on the bridge plate. The bodies on both guitar are Alder with Maple necks, I have access to wood veneers of many species so would there be a difference in sound with an Ash shim compared to an oak shim or would it not matter, many thanks, love the videos

@richarde3378 Год назад

Just what I was looking to learn! Thanks, Crimson Guitars! :)

@jessicahux9443 8 лет назад

I was so happy to see you make a wedge shim. I have been preaching for years about that way of shimming. Why go to th trouble of getting a nice tight pocket and then turn around and ruin it by using a business card for a shim. I bought a Schecter 5 string in a pawn shop that the neck was in a bowed condition and the truss rod would not adjust. I removed the neck and put it in some clamps to remove the memory and tightened down the truss rod. After a couple of days I reinstalled and set the relief and intonation. This one is a six bolt neck so my shim was longer than the one you made. I used a sander to shape mine and it worked quite well. I only use this guitar at church as I play in a Praise and Worship band. It plays and sounds great and it only cost me $160 for the guitar.

@bassfishingwiththeantichri2921 4 года назад

The pimp who owns that guitar will be so happy he'll probably have Ginger take care of you around back. "Chicka bow wow!"

@karol_p 3 года назад

Thanks Ben, I just made a neck shim for my crappy Squier Jaguar using your instructions and it's no longer crappy:) Best video on shims. Stewmac thing is way to pricey.

@CrimsonCustomGuitars 3 года назад

My pleasure! Glad she is no longer crappy! B

@AliBuchan 6 лет назад

Your videos are a joy to watch and a work of art. Thanks.

@GuitarLava 8 лет назад

Just what I needed for my project guitar! Thumbs up

@ErnieLeblanc 8 лет назад

Geeze! Showing the actual "WORK!" - Jolly Good Job!

@cvanhetkaar96 11 месяцев назад

Love your “tape trick” to hold the shim-to-be down to the workbench!!

@jmanzemail 3 года назад

You do such a nice job with all those tools... I LOVE your workshop it's AWESOME! 😎

@willkupers 8 лет назад

Thanks, this video comes in just about the right time. I have to shim a telecaster and was thinking about it to do it this way, by making a wedge shape. Because I don't like the idea with the credit card, Same reasons you've said in the video, I just didn't know how to do this, and how to make the wedge, That masking tape trick is genius. Thanks again.

@erikjoven2388 6 лет назад

Little late to the party here - but that tape/super glue trick is excellent. Solves a lot of problems - nice one Ben!

@blazingday8596 7 лет назад

Sir, I applaud you. Good work and very educating.

@thomashall2418 3 года назад

Thank you Ben for the information and the tutorial. Much appreciated

@tomblake3780 4 года назад

Thx... The masking tape trick works extremely well!

@budandbean1 8 лет назад

This was really great, thanks so much! Cheers Ben.

@PinetopJackson 6 лет назад

Great video, and great story about Leo Fender and his business cards!

@clicks59 6 лет назад

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Great explanation.

@chuckHart70 6 лет назад

I thought I subscribed dang it...... You sir are great. That string changing method was simply brilliant. I thought I wa using a good method till I saw that!

@jakethebard 8 лет назад

I love this video by the way. In fact I just decided a couple days ago that I needed to shim the neck on my guitar. And as it turns out i'm fresh out of veneers... Looks like a trip to the woodworkers shop for me today! (Because you know you REALLY have to twist my arm to drive to heaven on earth haha)

@infiniteandroid 8 лет назад

Thank you so much !! you saved my SG!!

@blackjackmcgack 8 лет назад

Handy!! Nice work Ben!!

@fusion-music 8 лет назад

You arre right about fender. It has taken artist's like yourself to shake the up a little and think about craftsmanship.

@bobwarnerjustwetwomusic1146 6 лет назад

a very interesting and informative repair.....well done and thank-you...much enjoyed!!!!

@johnroberts838 6 лет назад

Brilliant Video, just Subscribed! Melbourne, Australia.

@TheJesterboy1969 2 года назад

Wow! This was great!

@sper 5 лет назад

awesome! best i've seen on youtube!

@CaelM8000 Год назад

He's the only luthier I'd ever want working on my guitars.

@MaxRiley 6 лет назад

I watched 30 minutes video and the end job was cut out.. I would have liked to see the action after all that..

@dis.infectant 4 года назад

Totally. Zero payoff.

@drzainnas Год назад

Hi Ben thank you for another educational video and exciting. Regarding the old strings what do you think about recycling them and even making a profit toward a new goals!! Thank you Ben again and please keep doing what you do because you are leaving your prints for generations. Kind Regards from ENGLAND 👍

@phlopalopagus 7 лет назад

I find it odd that you never run your drill in reverse. It makes a cleaner hole and doesn't chip out. Give it a try next time your drilling something as thin as that shim.

@arkkupitkanen1073 2 года назад

I used angle saw machine and cut different angle shims from piece of maple. Took few seconds. A piece of tape and a bit sanding. You can drill the holes first to the wood block.

@freeelectron8261 6 лет назад

Love these CG tuts. I'd love to have Ben setup my guitars but alas I live in a land down under. I'll just have to watch and learn to do it myself.

@yukomko 8 лет назад

Many thanks! Very useful video!

@covinhas87 7 лет назад

did you finish this nut adjuster prototype? Looks something interesting for my tools.

@dp9550 4 года назад

Thank you at last!!! ,, all I see on you tube is people putting pick's, little pieces of wood credit cards tinfoil , tape... you name it they put it in there , what pisses me off is the people that leave comments are following by example.

@VAdu56 6 лет назад

bravo ! c' est très bien pensé, expliqué et filmé !! on comprend bien la subtilité du scotch, et de la colle qui, évite le double face !

@augustwilke4262 2 года назад

I used a leather punch to punch the bolt holes worked great without any tearout

@metaloutlander 3 года назад

I just bought a warmoth also. Like this warmoth the fret job was so bad, I went and got it plek'd. Works way better now.

@strangersun7721 2 года назад

Great video. Lots of helpful stuff here. Is the nut shim strongly recommended by you? I haven't heard of that being done in my limited research on neck shims.

@viktortulbya2107 8 лет назад

hey Ben, a few seconds into the question and i thought why not sand the back of the neck a little? at an angle and give it more relief? id return a guitar like that.

@walterrider1612 8 лет назад

thank you Ben

@stevejones4618 6 лет назад

Any tips for getting an even slope? Done a few testers and seem to have trouble - tend to be a similar width to the middle and then drop off to the end rather than smooth from end to end. Using a levelling beam with the shim tape and glued to a wood block as in the video.

@blackjackmcgack 8 лет назад

Have you ever heard of Jarrah? a New Zealand wood i think, and is it any good for guitars?? Thanks! Also what other woods that aren't that well known are good for guitars?

@demondik 7 лет назад

I string my guitars the same way! It's so much faster than winding the whole thing!

@DeVivoCarlo 8 лет назад

Hi Ben, greatings from Italy here. Thank you a lot for all your great lessons and tutorials. There is only one question I would like to ask you. You've put a shim under the nut and it ended up being too high, to resolve that problem instead of shaving down the nut you made the string slot a lot deeper. I always thought that strings must pass through their slots the least possible to avoid tuning issues. Is that correct or isn't it that important? Because at the end, the strings are so deep in the slots you can't even see them on the top of the nut. Thank you

@Bad_Phil 8 лет назад

I have never seen that stringing method before! Does that help with slippage after they are stretched out perhaps?

@wildbillhackett 5 лет назад

The Graph Tech nut is probably tusq. What I'm doing right now is gluing the bottom of a tusq nut to an old tusq saddle (laying on its side). It seems the perfect solution.

@johnwiltse7869 8 лет назад

I put the handle of the file in the vise and move the piece I'm working on. I feel that it gives me more control on small pieces

@frmcf 8 лет назад

+Crimson Custom Guitars Oh my word, I want that nut file! When will they be available?

@bigthewig9624 7 лет назад

great video . Ben could post some basic measurements of the working device you have clamped in your vice. I want to make one. thanks

@joepipino 3 месяца назад

I have the same guitar and am in the process of fixing it and am looking for a bridge for it 12 string.

@KyleMonizMusic 2 года назад

That guitar is so sick

@6minus3minus2 2 года назад

Could you say what grit of sandpaper you used for the shim? I want to tackle this project this weekend.

@ChrisJones-tm5ji Год назад

Great video. I know I'm late to the party but just wanted to ask how you know what thickness to make the shim?

@chucknowakowski6676 8 лет назад

I've seen people use a small block of wood to knock out nut, seems less damage potential to nut.....

@ThePedroDB Год назад

I know this is a 'repair' video but I can't help thinking that beautifully made shim (great method BTW!) looks rather 'fugly' when installed and viewed from the side. Putting a slight angle on the neck heel would have provided a much cleaner finish. The nut shim on the other hand was pure genius and pretty much invisible

@jeffter2471 7 лет назад

great vid.

@toolguyslayer1 2 года назад

2401 yeah and the old luthier told me that one day he did two three four turns on each one and would wind up with seven turns on the last one basically taking up all the space on the peg relative to his size cool video

@ReverendHellbilly 4 года назад

I always thought of warmouth as the best of the best. Very sad day for me. Cheers great vid

@whitemaneric4548 4 года назад

I’m in the same boat for neck high. but my neck pocket needs milling some 3/16” or shave the neck.....? What’s better to remove material from , the pocket or neck ?

@fusion-music 8 лет назад

The other way is the put in a "micro tilt" which is my preferred method and it doesnt affect the "fender" tone. The 4 bolts and socket for the neck plus the micro tilt contact give plenty of connection to the guitar for tone. Old steel strings by the way should saved whole and used to make the snare for a cajon. At least now we can recycle our strings rather than them going into landfills. I thought you would have put some glass paper on the bench to do your shim sides. Dont think id like to clean out wood from the fret file. Great video Ben.

@kwstikas82 8 лет назад

how can you tell in advance the angle of the shim that you need? I guess you go for a "universal shim" and then you calibrate with the action adjustment (bridge & nut)?

@im5150247 6 лет назад

Ok, I have a question, how about if you use two pieces of wood to aproximate s shim, say one 1mm at the back, and say, 0.5 in the middle to fiil in the pocket? Thanx..

@MrFrenchHarp 8 лет назад

Is there a way to measure the neck or body to check the angle of the neck to determine if it needs to shimmed or not? I mean, other than the reason you used a shim in this video ( which was a great reason ) I just wonder when you should determine the bolt on guitar needs shimming and how to use a tool or measure to gauge things to determine how much against what should be perfect. BTW, using a means of measuring this amount, what is considered the correct angle on say a Strat guitar? Is it ONLY when you are running out of room with your saddles?

@JamesWalshBristolKids 6 лет назад

Hi Ben. Old strings are now recycled by D'Addario. Check the Players web site.

@KozmykJ 7 лет назад

My oh my!! The things one learns on the Interwebs. My go to material for shimming my bass necks has long been TDK Cassette Case Insert... not an easy thing to find in this day and age. Luckily it hasn't needed doing often. Hard cardboard (self tapering) ;^) But tapered maple veneer... very posh. One does indeed approve.

@stevenedwards4470 7 лет назад

Given the way things worked out, was the nut shim redundant?

@grieverrule 4 года назад

28.40 - when is this nut slot file going to be available?

@bigsteve9291 8 лет назад

can you shim the front of the neck pocket as well ben my neck seems to be higher at the back checked it all pocket clean nothing i can see his stopping it

@caseykittel 4 месяца назад

I have seen a few fender factory shim jobs over the years, but not very many. Should we make it sound like it’s most fenders?

@James-fu8fj 2 месяца назад

When I have to shim a neck, I have went to now strips of mahogany to full pocket size mahogany shims I have them tapered different thicknesses. I have quarter halves and all different thickness with a little marker. I put what the caliper tells me the thicknesses are and they are very, very hardto cut out I don’t know it’s my stupid thinking, but it makes me think the car guitar has a lot better sound neck body to me I don’t know. It’s probably just like I said my stupid thinking. Good luck guys.

@thomaslau9631 4 года назад

Also need to adjust the trust rod?? And check the nut height.

@collinwilfeard2884 4 года назад

What kind of guitar is this? Its really beautiful

@douglasthompson8927 Год назад

I have a stratoblaster that seems to have a loose neck..if I shim it will that stiffing the neck ?

@walterkersting9922 7 лет назад

Guitar string clippings make exellent probes for cleaning out power washer nozzles or carberator jets.

@ebikes2xs159 5 месяцев назад

I bought a new USA Kramer and it had a piece of sandpaper for a neck shim. I used pre made maple shims; stewmac and others make tapered ones with holes already in them in various thicknesses.

@deweyoogwey 5 месяцев назад

i do that as well with my jim root strat. wasn’t a fan of the big headstock and replace with the modern style fender headstock with one piece of sandpaper as a neck shim. without it, it sounds like having dead frets or a fret buzz or a sitar.

@swingarmer 3 года назад

I want to fix a neck with a floyd rose locking nut. I want to convert it back to a regular/traditional nut on this fender neck. It's going in a hardtail strat body. Does anyone know where I might get some pointers?