Super String-End Feeler Gauges
Last time we learned to crash expensive Mars probes. We also learned to stop worrying and love getting our string-height ‘close enough’. Well, this week I want to talk about getting some measurements a little more close.
Neck relief is something that we can’t typically measure with a ruler. Or, to put it differently, if we can measure relief with a ruler, we probably have way too much relief. When we’re talking about measurements smaller than .012” (.3mm) a ruler is not the best tool for the job.
Feeler gauges are the solution that’s usually offered. And they work just fine. Get yourself a set of feeler gauges from eBay (affiliate link) and you’re in good shape.
Or, there’s another alternative.
In all of my Sketchy Setups books, I offer the advice of building your own set of feeler gauges from string-ends. Think about it: plain guitar strings are manufactured to very close tolerances. If you save the snipped-off ends of the plain strings you can get yourself some very useful sizes for setting relief. Keep the ends and stick a piece of tape on to act as a label (and prevent them getting lost so easily).
Super String-End Feeler Gauges. Super useful.
From your 8, 9, and 10 gauge electric strings you’ll get the following:
.008, .011, .014
.009, .011, .016
.010, .013, .017
Acoustic strings will fill in some of those gaps for you and, if you have friends who play different gauges to you, you can build out a set pretty easily. Adventurous types, playing adventurous string brands and gauges can build this stuff out even more. I’ve built up pretty much everything from .007 to .020 and I use them all the time for these jobs.
Really. I have at least three sets of real feeler gauges but I much prefer the string-end gauges. They’re easier and faster.
Easier? In some cases, yes. For instance, if you’re using the string itself as a straight edge for checking relief (capo-ed at 1 and fretted at 17th or so), the stiffness and wider footprint of a real feeler gauge can ‘deflect’ the string. The Super String-End feeler gauge makes it easy to see if it fits that gap or if it’s too big.
They’re also great for measuring first-fret clearance when slotting the nut. Super String-End feeler gauges. Super easy. Actually, because I like these so much, I sacrificed a couple of the smaller gauges from a real set of feelers and cut them way down so I could use them more easily for setup work. You can see the .006 and .004" 'slivers' in the photo above.
Now, I’ll leave this by giving my usual reminder that we’re not building Mars probes here. Yes, the smaller measurements involved in neck relief tend to require a little more precision but don’t go nuts here. You don’t need to buy a laser interferometer to set up your neck.
So, for instance, if you’re hoping to set your neck to .006” relief but your smallest string-end is a .008”, just eyeball it. Set it to .008”, assess the gap with your eyes and brain and make a guess at .006” Or get some real feeler gauges if you really want but I’d put money on your eyes and brain doing the job just as well in this scenario.
Now, I sit back and wait for the Mars probe building guitarists to email me. 😄
This article written by Gerry Hayes and first published at hazeguitars.com
