Floyd and heel size

[Axewielder]

Does anyone know what the heel size of the USA Charvels with factory OFR's was, past and present?

I have a replica body routed for an OFR that has the 2 3/16 heel, and am wondering if I will encounter fret margin issues if I don't expand it to 2 1/4" and put a model series neck on instead of a strat neck (I'm ultra-finicky about fret margin).

[Bengal65]

Does anyone know what the heel size of the USA Charvels with factory OFR's was, past and present?

I have a replica body routed for an OFR that has the 2 3/16 heel, and am wondering if I will encounter fret margin issues if I don't expand it to 2 1/4" and put a model series neck on instead of a strat neck (I'm ultra-finicky about fret margin).

You should have no problems. All of my builds are with 2-3/16" heels. Charvel's ranged (past) from 2-1/8" to 2-1/4". My new Natural is 2-1/8" representing the old, old, almost Pre-Pro dimensions.

[Axewielder]

You should have no problems. All of my builds are with 2-3/16" heels. Charvel's ranged (past) from 2-1/8" to 2-1/4". My new Natural is 2-1/8" representing the old, old, almost Pre-Pro dimensions.

I'd be curious what your fret margin was from the outside edge of the E strings to the edge of the fret at the 12th fret. 2.5 mm is barely enough for me, and I prefer 3.0 mm or more. My guess is you are somewhere around 2.5 mm if you have a Floyd on there.

One idea I had was to spec out a binding when I build the neck. That would allow the frets to be cut a little longer. I'm not sure how that would look on a strathead neck, though. I may have to go the pointy route instead.

[slash]

Binding will not change the width of the neck or frets. The neck is routed for the binding so you actually have less fretboard surface than without binding. Make sense?

[Axewielder]

Binding will not change the width of the neck or frets. The neck is routed for the binding so you actually have less fretboard surface than without binding. Make sense?

I wondered if that might actually be the case, yeah that makes perfect sense.

[Bengal65]

My guess is you are somewhere around 2.5 mm if you have a Floyd on there.

Yes, they are Floyd's. I'll have to check. What I do is "eyeball" the string alignment before I drill the holes for the neck. I have no idea what the actual dimensions are, as if the string doesn't come off the neck when fretting or bending I'm satisfied.

[Axewielder]

Yes, they are Floyd's. I'll have to check. What I do is "eyeball" the string alignment before I drill the holes for the neck. I have no idea what the actual dimensions are, as if the string doesn't come off the neck when fretting or bending I'm satisfied.

I've had fret margin issues with three of my guitars, so now I'm really anal about it. The Floyd Rose Pro is my best option, I think. An R3 nut will help a little bit, too.