Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wade on February 10, 2010 at 4:03pm

You've probably seen this before, but I like taking the slice off the face of the headstock and gluing it to the back- this gives plenty of angle. Just another way of doing things. No rules! Wade
John Drake said:

Hi Clare,


I should say that it can be done without a bar but usually you need either a pretty thick neck which has the head cut thinner for the tuners or a neck which has a fret board applied or a fairly high nut to hold the strings well above the neck as for slide playing. The example below has a thick neck.

You can also use string trees or retainers as used on standard guitars as shown below. eye screw or screw eyes are another method.

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Permalink Reply by Clare on February 11, 2010 at 7:20am

thanks! What is the gizmo called that you got from the farm supply store. I went by Lowe's yesterday and didn't see anything similar and didn't know what to ask for.

Yeah, I know about cutting out a slice of the face, but for a gal with only a scroll saw, it's not going to be easy. For my first build I'm doing a center slot. I'm putting on a 1/4" fretboard, so it'll give enough height. Here is my rough cut slot. I'll drill holes for the tuners, and then smooth out the inside.

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Permalink Reply by John Drake on February 11, 2010 at 9:13am

Hi Clare, With the tuners mounted the way you show in the drawing you have enough down pull on the strings to keep them firmly on the nut without the need to either thin the head down or to use a string tree. Happy building, John D

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Permalink Reply by Clare on February 11, 2010 at 9:39am

Thanks John. The last angle is 8.1 degrees. It might not be the classiest looking, but it is functional. Just went to Lowe's and bought another piece of oak to start on #2. LOL, and I haven't even touched the cigar boxes yet. That's because I can't decide which box to use, and am getting a few more to compare.

John Drake said:

Hi Clare, With the tuners mounted the way you show in the drawing you have enough down pull on the strings to keep them firmly on the nut without the need to either thin the head down or to use a string tree. Happy building, John D

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Permalink Reply by R Johnson on February 11, 2010 at 10:12am

It was called a "strap tie down". I know it came in 1/2, 3/4, 1, 1 1/2, 2 inch sizes

Clare said:

thanks! What is the gizmo called that you got from the farm supply store. I went by Lowe's yesterday and didn't see anything similar and didn't know what to ask for.

Yeah, I know about cutting out a slice of the face, but for a gal with only a scroll saw, it's not going to be easy. For my first build I'm doing a center slot. I'm putting on a 1/4" fretboard, so it'll give enough height. Here is my rough cut slot. I'll drill holes for the tuners, and then smooth out the inside.

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Permalink Reply by Dane Brown on February 11, 2010 at 10:49am

The actual exact width of this first guitar neck I am using or working with is exactly 2 inches wide on the money.....could someone help me with the string layout for using either 3 or 4 strings..like how far in from the edge of the neck to put the first string and the spacing in between.....the strings.......it seems to me just from looking at it, that using only three strings is going to put these strings real far apart in relation to how they are on a standard 6 string guitar.....

Thanks in advance for the help.......

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Permalink Reply by John Drake on February 11, 2010 at 1:28pm

Hi Dane,

If you use the little search box on the home page in the top right corner you will find some information if you input "string Spacing". You will find that a 3 string spacing on 2 x 1 timber will be much wider than a standard guitar. My necks are 42mm or 1 5/8 inch wide which is the finished size of the dressed timber that I use. I centre the middle string and space the other 2 at 7/16 inch either side - this leaves about 3/8 inch at each side to the edge of the neck. For slide this is great but maybe a bit wide for playing if you are used to string spacing on a standard guitar.

For 4 strings people seem to use an inset of 1/8 inch from each side of the neck and then space strings equally. You will find that this is probably still wider than a standard guitar. May be best to pick a guitar that you like the feel of and use the same spacing. You may want to space the thicker base strings slightly wider than equal spacing so that the distance between strings is the same rather than the distance to the centre of each string. Hope this helps. John D

Dane Brown said:

The actual exact width of this first guitar neck I am using or working with is exactly 2 inches wide on the money.....could someone help me with the string layout for using either 3 or 4 strings..like how far in from the edge of the neck to put the first string and the spacing in between.....the strings.......it seems to me just from looking at it, that using only three strings is going to put these strings real far apart in relation to how they are on a standard 6 string guitar.....

Thanks in advance for the help.......

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Permalink Reply by Dane Brown on February 11, 2010 at 11:43pm

John, thanks for the info....your info helped alot and I sure appreciate it.....after I read your answer I decided to cut my neck down some also...I rough cut these pieces myself with a table saw to start with so it will be easy cutting it down some....

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Permalink Reply by Rex on March 23, 2010 at 12:21am

When I was a kid there was this old lady that lived about a mile down the gravel from me, she would take an old saw and bend it on her foot and then play the with an old bow, always that that was a band saw was....

Roosterman said:

Whats a bandsaw??

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Permalink Reply by Grizz on March 23, 2010 at 1:19am

If you have a hand plane you might be able to smooth out the cut with that.

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