I want to build a 3 stringer and have some neck confusion. The first neck I built had a 10 degrees angle but you can not really lay the thing down without the neck getting all the force on it in the wrong direction. So the next one I built had a straight neck with a thick fret board which with the nut gave it some angle down to the strings as well I put the tuners into a slot in the neck so they were half way down into the neck giving more angle.

 I now want to build a fretless which will reduce the angle down to the tuners. I know some things like a strat have some special holdown since the angle down to the tuners is not steep enough.

 Any ideas of how much angle is needed to hold the strings down tigh on the nut. Also I have the tuners in the middle of the neck so the 2 outside strings move into the middle of the neck, and I am using metal strings, if this has relavence. I am thinking , well enough angle to hold the strings tight onto the nut, but how do I figure out how much is enough.

 I wanted to ask this as I did not want to build it and find out it sucks and have to build another neck or figure out some sort of hindsight fix.          Cheers Ron.  

You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!

Join Cigar Box Nation

Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • Doh! Sorry Josh, thought you did. My bad.

    Hmmm, now who was that?

    -Wes

    Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) said:
    Wes does his just a little different than mine but both are perfectly adequate. The drawback with the way I do a scarf is that you'll have a glue line across your peg head if you don't use a veneer. Wes's method will put the glue line in the middle of the back of the neck. Just depends on what your preference is.

    Wes Yates said:
    Here's how I'm doing a scarf. Josh Gayou and I do this as well as others. I do a 13deg angle


    -WY
  • Wes does his just a little different than mine but both are perfectly adequate. The drawback with the way I do a scarf is that you'll have a glue line across your peg head if you don't use a veneer. Wes's method will put the glue line in the middle of the back of the neck. Just depends on what your preference is.
    Wes Yates said:
    Here's how I'm doing a scarf. Josh Gayou and I do this as well as others. I do a 13deg angle



    -WY
  • yes, but that is dog ass ugly.

    Mungo Park said:
    I think this photo shows it the best:
    http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/sn852070-1?context=user
    The neck does not seen to have a steep angle but it does have these screws in it which I think is to hold the strings down tight against the nut.
    thanks for the help, Ron.
  • figger out what works for you and do than.... I do thinks both way with good results... extreme scarf joint angles for "lute" looking neck.... extremely flat scarf joints for paddle head... no scarf joints (0) angle for fend style heads... all ok....

    the best,

    Wichita Sam
  • Hmm....Why so far up the neck and not at the head?
  • Here's how I'm doing a scarf. Josh Gayou and I do this as well as others. I do a 13deg angle

    -WY
  • I think I got a feel for it now an I am good to go, now to make it to the "shop".
    Cheers Ron.
  • You could just cut about an 1/8" er off of the the top of your head stock and then just use Ukulele tuners. They are shorter than guitar tuners .... like 5/8ths er so.


    Matt
  • I never use a scarf joint or angle the neck anymore
    Too much work and i try to stick to simple hand tools

    I make a neck similar to the one that Mungo linked you to except I add wood to the bottom

    If I need more of an angle I cut the slot deeper and add thicker wood to the bottom

    I like simple designs though
  • These are the first two I built. Both striaght, no neck angle. Picture are fuzzy cause quite frankly, my camera sucks But either way you get the idea

This reply was deleted.