Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ben on January 3, 2011 at 12:11am

I'll jump in here...I don't taper. A major influence of that is my lack of tools. Making a consistent taper is really hard. Plus, 4 strings fit nicely on a 1x2...very banjo like (also non-tapered). The 6 string lap steel I made is also not tapered so that there's a bit more room between strings at the nut end.

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Permalink Reply by Jason W. on January 3, 2011 at 3:52am

I've only tapered a banjo uke neck I made a while back. It was my first time trying it and I only had a belt sander at the time. It worked but was slightly lopsided. I've done no tapers since then, but would like to try some more.

 

Non-tapered is just easier and I don't see a whole lot of reason for a taper on a 4-string instrument.

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Permalink Reply by Mister Scott on January 3, 2011 at 4:39am

That's kind of how I look at it, too.

Jason W. said:

Non-tapered is just easier and I don't see a whole lot of reason for a taper on a 4-string instrument.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Werner on January 3, 2011 at 5:11am

I have not used a taper for up to four strings; string spacing seems fine on my four-string resonator.

 

However, I have tapered both my mandola and my uke; I followed the dimensions listed for these instruments on various sites.  

I did it the slow and painful way; marked it out and attacked the wood with a rasp and then files and finally sanding.

(Same technique I used to make longbows)

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Mister Scott on January 3, 2011 at 5:15am

I tried doing it with a handsaw. It only turned out so-so. i think next time, I need to make sure i have a LOT of spare space at the pocket end of the neck.

Mark Werner said:

I did it the slow and painful way; marked it out and attacked the wood with a rasp and then files and finally sanding. (Same technique I used to make longbows)

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Huntz Meyer on January 3, 2011 at 7:06am

I've been tapering them lately (sides and bottom) since that is what my customer(s) are requesting. Rough cut on a band saw, then rasp, spokeshave, sandpaper.  Works fine.  Nut width determined by overhang, string pack diameters, and spacing.  The bridge/tailpiece end I generally have a material size constraint -- 1-1/2 fretboard and tailpiece stock, but I do workaround if need be.  My six stringer I laminated together stock for a wider fretboard.

Huntz 

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Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on January 3, 2011 at 7:26am

I think if you play either slide or on the lower part(first position) no barr chords or leads it makes sense not to taper. lap steel guitars are not tapered. However since I play up and down the neck the upper frets which are closer together it gets awkward to play. Especially shorter scale lengths.

Don 

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Permalink Reply by Robert Featherstone on November 12, 2015 at 3:38am

Those were my thoughts, too! Thanks for sharing!

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on November 12, 2015 at 6:34am

I taper everything these days (3, 4 & 5) stringers. I even tapered a short 20" scale CBG. My favorite player these days is the taper-neck three stringer.

I find the taper neck a little easier to play when fretting notes. For slide it doesn't matter much.

Once I had completed a simple taper fixture that fit into the slide groove on my table saw, cutting tapers became pretty much an no-brainer.

Oh, yea. A tapered neck looks good on most boxes.

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Permalink Reply by Thumper on November 17, 2015 at 6:00am

Hey Tom, how about a pic of your tapering device?

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on November 17, 2015 at 11:08am

Hi Thumper.

I'm away from home at the moment, but will drive back on Wednesday. I'll get a photo posted by Thursday. The taper jig for the table saw is actually quite simple, but is all that is needed.

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Permalink Reply by Rooster on November 12, 2015 at 11:51am

I think it is just personal preference. I started tapering my necks on my last few builds and like the way they are turning out. Here is a pic of a 4 stringer I'm working on at the moment. It is tapered on the sides and has a slight taper on the back of the neck. It will also have a slight back angle when mounted in the box.

Richey Kay has some great How-to's on here on tapering fretboards and necks with nothing more then hand tools ;-)

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