Temporarily attach the top to the body with masking tape.  Then lay a straight edge on the top so that it rests on the top at the head block and runs to the point of the bridge’s location.  Because of the arch in the braces, the straight edge will rise up above the tail block of the instrument.  Measure the distance from the tail block to the bottom of the straight edge.

The tenon in the neck is cut straight into the end of the neck blank, using a specially designed routing jig and a pattern bit.  The top of the tenon is morticed to allow the top of the instrument to be flush with the top of the bare neck. 

The mortice in the head block is cut at an angle to provide the correct neck set angle.  The correct neck set angle allows the plane of the top of the neck to match the angle of the top from the neck joint to the bridge location.  Using a specially designed router morticing jig, which matches the tenoning jig used above, the correct angle is set by shimming the end of the jig above the tailblock to match the measurement taken in the first step. 

The neck is then glued to the body with epoxy, and a small nail is temporarily used to hold the neck in position, until the epoxy cures.

Tags: Greek bouzouki construction

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