Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Callousfingaz on November 23, 2015 at 8:59pm

Thanks for the reply. One more question (for now)!

Do I want the neck going through the body to actually touch the top of the lid? Or do I want some airspace? I haven't been able to find a definite answer anywhere.

Thanks again

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Permalink Reply by Sean on November 24, 2015 at 4:07am

There isn't an answer because you could do it 'all' ways. Neck to to top, neck to the bottom, through the middle, all the above... You could brace around the sides or front and attach the neck to that if the body is strong enough for the strings and bridge.

For the 1.5" square you have, I'd probably do a through-the-middle or middle + bottom brace. Wayfinder's image shows strings behind the body (more or less). This way would leave plenty of room for pickup routing too. Should make it a quick build, and Bocote makes gorgeous necks. 

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Permalink Reply by Callousfingaz on November 24, 2015 at 5:39pm

Through the middle was actually what I was thinking. Cutting the neck down and running it through the center.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Walter on November 24, 2015 at 4:17am

I've used bocote often. it's a slippery slope. it is so beautiful because of the grain pattern, however this grain pattern is caused by the large amounts of SAP wood present. My advice: Use titebond 3 when gluing, or epoxy. rough up surface and wipe down with acetone. Do not use a oil based finish, it will not dry on the sap. use a waterbase finish. ( I used a nice piece of bocote for a fretboard, cut and book matched. I sprayed it with minwax poly gloss. two weeks later it was still not dry, had to sand it off and start over. good luck, it's worth it. ) PS....StewMac fretboard oil is a very good choice.

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Permalink Reply by Callousfingaz on November 24, 2015 at 5:41pm

Good to know! I actually had thought about using a gloss on it. Good to not make that mistake!

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Walter on November 25, 2015 at 3:08am

My brother gifted me with a large and long piece of bocote, and after some troublesome events, i did some research and just wanted to throw out a fun fact. most bocote comes from mexico and is very hard. to this day, they still cut the trees the same way. with two mules on opposite sides and a length of "rope saw" between them. then they just have the mules go back and forth. it's beautiful wood.

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Permalink Reply by Callousfingaz on November 25, 2015 at 9:24pm

Thanks everyone for the tips!

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