Hello all from rainy UK
I am part way through build number 2 and wanted to get some guiden e if possible. The neck on my piece of hardwood needed adjusting to fit in a slim guitar box. I then had too adjust the adjustment. You see where this is going :)
So im now at a point where im questioning the strength of my neck. Please see pics attached i have some ideas but wondering what you guys think. Does it even need it? Strengthening i mean.
Thanks joe
hey all thought I would update, still not finished other things like work and family been getting in the way of the build. however I have finally soldered the volume pot (or at least what I thought was a volume pot) to input jack and pickup. Tested it by plugging it into an amp and holding it over another guitar and we have volume :D The Soldering was a bitch.
Then fixed the pickup to the neck ran into problem ended up supergluing to the wood, after fighting with the screws for a day or two.
The tunning peg fitment went well, the screws I bought fitted, what a relief. Fitted one string to double check string height etc. All good. Plugged it in, still smug with myself for having volume, went to turn it down......Nooooo its a bloody Tone Pot.
Just a side note but I make my 3 stringers 35mm wide x 30 mm depth and D shape the back of the neck from a straight through 45mm x 40mm blank. My strings have 12mm spacing and run parallel up my fretboard.
I chose this size of neck from roughly taking the size of my fingers making an OK hand shape gesture and guessing the diameter of the hole made from my index finger and thumb touching each other.
I drop my string spacing to 10mm or 9mm for 4 stingers and have 4 mm side spacing (33/35mm) bringing the depth down slightly to 28mm.
If I wanted a +23 inch scale length 4/5/6/7/? Stringed instrument I would seriously consider a truss rod or bracing rod.
Thanks for all the replys guys. Im going to leave adding a brace. Took it to a guitar builder when buying some fret wire he reckons ill be fine to mot add a brace. So just going to press on with it
Hey man, I'm new to this hobby but it looks to me like the neck is plenty strong. I'm working on a build right now that has a neck with two deep notches needed for some internals the guy wants installed. I've had to install additional support in the box just to support the neck witch is only 3/8" thick. If I can I'll send pictures.
Here is an easy answer for you, add more wood to the sides of the neck inside the box to restore the strength.
Shane posted a video a while back about how he does mag pups, the part of the neck inside the box has a block of wood glued to each side, so that it looks paddle shaped and the cut-out for the pup doesn't have to go all the way across.
I'd say go for it with braces as JL illustrated unless your box was one of a kind. As you tension the strings it will either "hinge" at the thin spot or not, only one way to find out!
Thankfully, CB Nation is a great fount of information regarding things like this, and many other questions which often arise during a build. Jobo, this will be a learning experience for you no matter how you decide to resolve your question. I have used the "wing" method described above to attach a a couple of hard-tail bridges, where the screw holes are wider than the neck, or too close to secure the screws. Worked great. If I had a hinging/bending issue with the neck, I might consider adding an external wooden brace on the outside of the back of the box, glued and screwed through the back into the neck. Not as visually pleasing as a flat surface on the "tummy side" of the guitar, but if it saves the playability of the guitar and keeps it from being a wall-hanger, it might be a route to ponder. As Wayfinder opined, I, too, have laid aside necks that I built that were not bend-proof, or wrongly cut, and started a new one. But I save them to try to salvage for a subsequent build. I have cut down through-the-box necks and used the shortened neck on a bolt-on build. I have glued a box-length 1 X 2 brace under the suspect neck and used it in a deeper box. I learned something valuable in every trial and error. Still building, still learning. I am impressed with the time and energy you put into your hand tool wood removal. I see some of the pics of some builder's workshops and tools, and think that I need to enhance my selection of wood destructing weapons. Then I read posts from new builders like yourself, doing an awful lot without power tools, and am reminded that I have a pretty fair arsenal that others work without. Hope your decision results in an interesting and good playing git. Keep buildin'!
That's pretty thin, but a lot depends on what it is made of. Ia the neck a hard wood like oak or maple?
Another factor is strings. How many? What gauge?
If the neck is hard wood and a 3-stringer I doubt that would have any problems. If it's a 4-stringer with medium or light strings, then you still should be okay.
It looks like the neck actually touches the bottom of the box. You could glue the neck to the bottom of the box to gain a little additional strength.
If it were mine, I would string it up and give it a try. If you want to be cautious, then glue the neck down.
Replies
hey all thought I would update, still not finished other things like work and family been getting in the way of the build. however I have finally soldered the volume pot (or at least what I thought was a volume pot) to input jack and pickup. Tested it by plugging it into an amp and holding it over another guitar and we have volume :D The Soldering was a bitch.
Then fixed the pickup to the neck ran into problem ended up supergluing to the wood, after fighting with the screws for a day or two.
The tunning peg fitment went well, the screws I bought fitted, what a relief. Fitted one string to double check string height etc. All good. Plugged it in, still smug with myself for having volume, went to turn it down......Nooooo its a bloody Tone Pot.
So I have left:
Joe
Just a side note but I make my 3 stringers 35mm wide x 30 mm depth and D shape the back of the neck from a straight through 45mm x 40mm blank.
My strings have 12mm spacing and run parallel up my fretboard.
I chose this size of neck from roughly taking the size of my fingers making an OK hand shape gesture and guessing the diameter of the hole made from my index finger and thumb touching each other.
I drop my string spacing to 10mm or 9mm for 4 stingers and have 4 mm side spacing (33/35mm) bringing the depth down slightly to 28mm.
If I wanted a +23 inch scale length 4/5/6/7/? Stringed instrument I would seriously consider a truss rod or bracing rod.
Hey man, I'm new to this hobby but it looks to me like the neck is plenty strong. I'm working on a build right now that has a neck with two deep notches needed for some internals the guy wants installed. I've had to install additional support in the box just to support the neck witch is only 3/8" thick. If I can I'll send pictures.
Here is an easy answer for you, add more wood to the sides of the neck inside the box to restore the strength.
Shane posted a video a while back about how he does mag pups, the part of the neck inside the box has a block of wood glued to each side, so that it looks paddle shaped and the cut-out for the pup doesn't have to go all the way across.
sort of like this:
Thankfully, CB Nation is a great fount of information regarding things like this, and many other questions which often arise during a build. Jobo, this will be a learning experience for you no matter how you decide to resolve your question. I have used the "wing" method described above to attach a a couple of hard-tail bridges, where the screw holes are wider than the neck, or too close to secure the screws. Worked great. If I had a hinging/bending issue with the neck, I might consider adding an external wooden brace on the outside of the back of the box, glued and screwed through the back into the neck. Not as visually pleasing as a flat surface on the "tummy side" of the guitar, but if it saves the playability of the guitar and keeps it from being a wall-hanger, it might be a route to ponder. As Wayfinder opined, I, too, have laid aside necks that I built that were not bend-proof, or wrongly cut, and started a new one. But I save them to try to salvage for a subsequent build. I have cut down through-the-box necks and used the shortened neck on a bolt-on build. I have glued a box-length 1 X 2 brace under the suspect neck and used it in a deeper box. I learned something valuable in every trial and error. Still building, still learning. I am impressed with the time and energy you put into your hand tool wood removal. I see some of the pics of some builder's workshops and tools, and think that I need to enhance my selection of wood destructing weapons. Then I read posts from new builders like yourself, doing an awful lot without power tools, and am reminded that I have a pretty fair arsenal that others work without. Hope your decision results in an interesting and good playing git. Keep buildin'!
That's pretty thin, but a lot depends on what it is made of. Ia the neck a hard wood like oak or maple?
Another factor is strings. How many? What gauge?
If the neck is hard wood and a 3-stringer I doubt that would have any problems. If it's a 4-stringer with medium or light strings, then you still should be okay.
It looks like the neck actually touches the bottom of the box. You could glue the neck to the bottom of the box to gain a little additional strength.
If it were mine, I would string it up and give it a try. If you want to be cautious, then glue the neck down.
Good luck
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