The Double Tenon Neck Joint
The purpose of this article is to explain how to attach the neck of the guitar to the body without any glue at all. I believe this neck joint was first conceived by Dana Bourgeois (hat’s off to him!). However, as far as I know, no source gave the reader any specifics or measurements on the method. I though it would be a good idea to share this information with other Luthiers who would like to try the joint and, perhaps, incorporate it into their own instruments. Why would you want a neck joint that contained no glue? Simply put, it allows for extremely easy adjustment of the playing action at any age of the guitar. All instruments, at some time, require a neck reset. This joint allows that to be done in a matter of minutes rather than hours. The joint also eliminates the dreaded popsicle brace and replaces it with a piece of wood that is wider than the fretboard, thereby eliminating the possibility of cracks developing along the fingerboard line into the top (as seen on most instruments over twenty years old). How does it sound? I could detect no audible difference in the way my instruments sound with the double tenon joint as compared to a straight bolt on with a glued fretboard. I see no downside to using this joinery method. I have adopted it for all of my instruments. Enough of the history and reasons for the joint. Let’s talk about how to do it.