how can i prevent neck bowing?

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Permalink Reply by Thorsten Hinrichsen on June 6, 2012 at 5:03pm

I attended a cbg builder course with Elmar from Vienna (the Flatpup maker) - he made a narrow but deep (3 cm) neck with light wood (pine!), no additional fretboard, Stratocaster scale - it works well. He took light strings and the guitar has a perfect sound and is playable (not very comfortable but it is really okay). It has turned out to be a great sounding instrument (and really no reinforcement).

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Permalink Reply by Don Barnhill on June 6, 2012 at 5:45pm

The constant load on a neck from the strings pulling, with humidity/temp and years goin by. I'd put in a truss rod of some type for the far distant future when one of great grandchildren goes my great grandfather built this? ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Order99 on June 13, 2012 at 10:16pm

I've heard of some builders who router space for an actual piece of steel flatbar behind the fretboard. Bound to be weighty, but i'll bet you could stick a set of base strings on one...

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Permalink Reply by Tim Latham on June 13, 2012 at 10:42pm

I like to cut a slot out down the middle and use fiber glass rawson to embed (The stuff to fix a fiber glass fender from Napa.  I just don’t use the cloth) a 1/2x1/2 steel tube.  I do plug the ends of the tube so it is hollow.  I don’t know about the wate factor, might fell heavy to someone who really knows guitars.  I’ve had real guitar players use them and go nuts over the boxes and never said anything about the wate.   All my guitars stay in tune and resonate really well.

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on June 13, 2012 at 11:16pm

I've been thinking about giving extruded aluminum T a try. There is a  1 1/2"x5/16"x1/8" tap in type that might work as fretboard and bracing in one.

Example of the product.

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Permalink Reply by wormil on June 14, 2012 at 1:25am

That particular aluminum T is countertop edging and is designed to bend, it wouldn't be much use as a truss; not sure how you would fret it either. Make a cool fretboard for a slide though.

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on June 14, 2012 at 8:06am

LOL Yeah I was definitely thinking fretless.

That was just the first tap in T extrusion that came up to show as an example of the profile. I would probably look for a 6061-T6 alloy for building.

It would be easy to attach, kinda like putting in a really big fret.

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Permalink Reply by wormil on June 14, 2012 at 3:24pm

I have a piece of 1.5 x .125 aluminum bar stock left over from some long ago project, I considered using it as a fretboard if I get around to making a slide. I might also make an interesting truss if laminated between two pieces of wood.

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Permalink Reply by Wade on June 14, 2012 at 9:31pm

truss rods are great, but I could see the instrument becoming unbalanced and very neck heavy - unless you add some counterweight in the box. Find some wood that has the grain running close to perpendicular to the fretboard IIIIII and you should be alright. I can find wood with this sort of grain at Home Depot in maybe 1 of every 10 or 12 pieces.

Wade

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