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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on July 25, 2013 at 3:38am

Hmmm...can you tell where the "bending" is occurring? In my experience in the past, the bowing or bending occurs primarily on the part of the neck that I have notched to make room for the lid, not on the part of the neck where the frets are. Is this a neck that goes all the way through the body? Is the tail piece part of the neck wood, or did you add an additional tail piece?

Pics might help.

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on July 25, 2013 at 3:48am

yeah    your  constriction  description  may  help   alot  .      if  you attached  a   neck  to  the front  of the  box    you  may be  getting  a  ;'pivot  point   "  and  not  really  a bow   , or   a warp  in  the neck itself . 

strengthening  the  neck   all  you    can  and  beyond   ,   wont help  a pivot 

  your  bracing  may  be  the issue  .   

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Tom Lauten on July 25, 2013 at 6:01am

I see what you mean. I had a look, listen and bend and it seems that everywhere is a problem. The neck ends where it meets the box, it is a butt fit. It is held on by 3mm thick aluminum angle brackets on the sides and a flat plate on the bottom of the heel. These are screwed into the neck and bolt into the bottom and edge of the aluminum box. The box is also made from 3mm thick ali plate. I think I will have to support everything I can, brace everywhere and then just live with it.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Lauten on July 25, 2013 at 6:11am

I think my mistake was getting too ambitious with my design and using an off the shelf stock part (the neck) to see it through with. I should have designed a custom neck, with a truss rod and a fingerboard over it. The basic, stock, fretted neck just isn't up to what I need it to do. I just hope I can brace the neck as it is enough to make it stable and playable as I am in love with the design and how the rest of it has come out.

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on July 25, 2013 at 6:21am

pictures  would  help  if  ya  got em  ;-)

 

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Permalink Reply by Tom Lauten on July 25, 2013 at 6:25am

I'll take some in the next day or so, thanks guys!

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Permalink Reply by terry harris on July 25, 2013 at 8:54am

I've been using the off the rack Gitty necks but I've been routing out and putting in carbon fiber rods, 1/8"x3/8", with epoxy in the slot, fretboard on top. Works great for stiffening the neck up. Also using the CF rod on the extension that stubbs out of the body that I bolt the neck on to. I really think this has helped the tone too.

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Permalink Reply by Pascal on July 25, 2013 at 10:10am

so the neck is through the box? or butted against the box?

have two strings on a cheap ass pine neck with no warping what so ever here and that is some serious soft wood.

this one, re-strung as two stringer:

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/didley-bow-jarrod?context=user

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Permalink Reply by Tom Lauten on July 25, 2013 at 10:21am

The neck and heel is butted against the box and screwed in from the inside of the box, by angle on the sides of the neck and by a plate across the bottom of the heel and along the back of the box. Basically only the top of the neck, the fingerboard surface, has not not be used to attach the neck to the box.

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Permalink Reply by Pascal on July 25, 2013 at 10:43am

think you have a warping box than instead of the neck. bracing the neck will not help you in this.

the neck on my excample is all the way through the box.

you cut the neck? looks like Gitty's necks where made to go through the box.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on July 25, 2013 at 2:45pm

I concur. Neck thru is the way to go until you have quite a bit of experience. Don't overestimate the strength of the box

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Permalink Reply by Tom Lauten on July 25, 2013 at 10:38pm

Well, I've designed a drop in, welded aluminum brace to strengthen the butt joint and stiffen the box. Basically it is a rectangular, aluminum box section extension of the neck and mount for the bridge. I think it will do a lot in that it takes all the support work away from the box.

I think the best way to think of these creations, for me, from this point on is that the guitar is the neck, from tuners to bridge/tail piece....the box is but a shroud. For me that will be a better mindset to start with.

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