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Through neck and Mag pup

On my first build and having not done enough research I have ordered some bits which commit me to a neck through. I will be making the box (3mm ply with pine sides) which will be 1.5 inches deep and the magnetic pickup on order will require that the one inch thick section of neck within the body is carved out to make room. I'm concerned about possible neck bend so has anyone any tips on strengthening? One that springs to mind is a pair of loop shaped drawer handles screwed onto the neck sides just below the top to curve around the pickup or cut a piece of steel plate with a cutout to fit the pickup screwed onto the top of the neck

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Collins on November 25, 2015 at 9:35pm

Yes. I was hoping to avoid having to do this but until I get the pickup in my hand I can't get an idea on dimensions. The box design I was hoping to use is a softwood perimeter, about 1.5" square section with the inside rebated to take the ply (so that the "plyness" is concealed). Then the outside wood is shaped to have curved corners and edges. (Think Samsung phone). Not much room to play with hence my thoughts on going sideways with neck reinforcement. I think some tests with some scrap wood are required before I commit my neck blank to the saw.

Thinking about the above layout the offset to the through brace increases the lever arm that the string tension acts on considerably. I also want to keep the bottom of the box lively.

Maybe shopping for a flat pup soon :-(

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on November 26, 2015 at 3:39am

With only 1 1/2 inches to play with,it might be easier to add a 3/8 thick vertical stiffener along both sides ,scalloped around the pup and ALMOST touching the bottom,laminated this way,3/4 strings should be ok i'm sure,do your scallops with curves instead of corners,should be good to go

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Collins on December 1, 2015 at 11:04pm

Thanks Glen. Yes, nothing is fixed in stone yet so I'm just waiting for a bridge to arrive from China on the proverbial slow boat so I can see how it will all fit together.

Tony

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Permalink Reply by JL on December 3, 2015 at 12:42am

Shane posted a video recently (cant find it rats) showing he adds more wood to the sides of the neck where it is hidden inside the box to support the cutout for a mag-pup