Fix neck to the body

fixing the neck to body...

What's happening sounds like the very common problem of the screws threading into the body because the holes get paint in them when the finish is applied .Because of this, the screws are tightening against the plate before the neck is pulled down tight against the pocket. You want the screws to pass freely through the holes in the body and thread into the neck only.Remove the neck and enlarge the holes in the body just enough so that they go through without threading.This will pull the neck flush against the pocket.Tighten the screws firmly.Don't worry,you won't bend the neck plate.

Try this.

1) Position the neck's heel into the neck pocket.

2) Use your right hand palm to press and support the heel inside the neck pocket.

3) Use your right hand fingers to squeeze and hold the neck plate in position.

4) Use your left hand for the screwdriver and screw in the bottom screw closest to the lower cutaway of the body all the way down but not overly tight.

5) Next screw in the top screw closest to the upper horn of the body all the way down but not overly tight.

6) With your right palm and fingers still grabbing and squeezing the neck joint, check if there are paper-sized gaps in between. If there are, loosen both screws a bit and then tighten again squeezing the neck joint even tighter.

7) When there are no more gaps, screw in the bottom screw near the top horn and then the top screw near the lower cutaway in your case since the strings were tocuhing the frets.

8) String up and check if the string height returns back to normal.

9) If it everything is OK, grab the neck near the headstock with your right hand and the left hand holding against the lower horn and give the neck a firm and quick tug towards you. You may or may not hear a "creak" sound. If you do, tighten all the 4 neck plate screws a bit more tighter.

I hope my procedure helps.