Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mark Lindsay on December 21, 2012 at 10:21am

I use method 1. It's worked great.

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Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on December 21, 2012 at 2:28pm

Hi Matt,

I have done it both ways, and both ways work well. However, some people prefer method "No1" because it hides the "ugly" scarf joint line under the fretboard. The fretboard will also add a bit of strength to the joint. However, if you don't mind the "ugly" scarf joint line, the "No 2" method works just as well; and if you plan to widen you headstock by gluing on side boards (aka "wings"), then it is the better way. The sideboards, glued onto either side of the headstock, increases the amount of space on the headstock for mounting tuners. The sideboards will also add strength to the scarf joint. If you want to hide the scarf joint line, you can always laminate it with a 2mm thick piece of wood or plywood laminate, as some builder do.

I have been calling the "No 1" method the "short head scarf joint" and the "No 2" method the "long head scarf joint" for lack of a better way to describe them. The length of the resulting headstock can also be a concern if your lengths of wood is limited. For instance, if you buy a 6 foot length of wood to build two identical instruments, then you have 36" per neck. If you plan to do neck-thru designs with a long scale length (24" to 26"), then you have a lot less wood to work with compared to building a short 20" scale length. So, in this example, the short head scarf joint would make more conservative use of you neck wood. A bolt-on neck might also save some neck wood, but may require more wood to strengthen the sound box. If you build a long head scarf joint, then cut off the excess length of headstock you don't need, you may find you are stuck with only enough neck wood to build a short scale instrument.

Hope this helps.

-Rand.

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Permalink Reply by Matt Quinney on December 21, 2012 at 4:02pm

Thanks!  You mentioned a few things I hadn't thought of to keep in mind.  Since I hadn't planned on wings, I'll probanly use No 1.  Now I just have to get up the courage to cut wood!  :)

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on December 28, 2012 at 4:34am

Just remember on method No.1 the fretboard has to lie PERFECTLY flat if it is to be fretted, otherwise, if it is the slightest bit wrong, string buzzing will occur - method No.2  would be "safer" for this reason... done both! (-:

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Permalink Reply by Busyhands Slim on December 28, 2012 at 6:09am

but you have to plane or sand the neck surface flat anyway. So, I do it after the head is glued on and before the fingerboard is glued on.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas "Duck" Petry on December 21, 2012 at 6:40pm

I'm doing my first scarf joint neck build right now and went with the #1 style for the added strength of the fingerboard over the joint. So far, so good, Though I find the flat neck version more to my liking, this may grow on me.

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Permalink Reply by Busyhands Slim on December 21, 2012 at 8:52pm

When I got interested in building guitars (a long time ago), the only book that was available was Irving Sloan's "Classical Guitar Construction". His plans show a No. 1 type joint as the standard method for classical guitars (though he mentions others, IIRC).

I've built two necks that way because I prefer to have the joint reinforced by the fretboard. It also makes it easier to shape the headstock, since you can just glue on a wider piece of wood, rather than messing with "wings".

BTW: To me, cutting the 15 degree angle is the biggest hassle in building a guitar. I don't have a miter box, so I made a fixture I can clamp the boards onto that keeps things in place while I push them across the table saw. Still no fun, though.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Lindsay on December 21, 2012 at 10:17pm

I have used a table saw, miter saw, radial arm saw, and a band saw to cut scarf joints, and by far my favorite tool is the table saw. I get a much cleaner cut that I know is square. I made a jig that attaches to my miter gauge that sets and holds the neck blank at the 11° angle I prefer while I'm cutting it. I also just use a wider piece of stock for my headstock rather than play around with gluing on wings - I also plane the headstock stock down to 5/8" before I even cut the scarf joint angle on it.

Here's one of my necks before shaping and before I put the fretboard on it. You can easily see which method I use.

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Permalink Reply by David McQueen on December 22, 2012 at 2:54pm

From what I have see, number 2 is standard on scarf jointed necks on guitars. What you are missing there is the head veneer that goes on top. This hides the joint.

I am using number 2 with a head veneer and a fairly long headstock ( 6" ) on my builds. This is for four stringers . So far no joint failures at all. After I do the joint, I thin everything down so that the final headstock thickness with veneer is just over a half inch.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on December 22, 2012 at 3:37pm

Another advantage to using #2 is that if you use the style of tuning pegs that have the threaded barrel, it sort of ends up acting as a bolt, and adds some structural strength to the joint. On a 4 string model, two of them closest to the nut would most likely wind up being mounted through both pieces of the wood. The ones closer to the end of the head stock would only go through the headstock piece.

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Permalink Reply by Madurobob on December 23, 2012 at 6:34pm

I use #2 almost exclusively.  I typically add wings to the headstock, so the joint is all but invisible.  And, one benefit I like is you can slip the headstock piece back (to the right in your pic) and easily create a headstock that is thinner than your neck material.  That is, if you have a 3/4" thick neck, you can adjust the scarf joint to give you a 1/2" thick headstock.  Once you cut the headstock to length you may have an inch or so on the end of the headstock that is 3/4" thick, but that knocks down easily with a bench plane.  Thats a more delicate operation if you opt for scarf joint #1. 

Also, when you use #1 you have to be very careful to line up the joint just right to maintain a flat bed for the fretboard.  if you don't, you may have a *lot* of planing to do.  With #2 you just eyball the headstock thickness you want and clamp away - eliminates the need for precision.

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on December 23, 2012 at 9:33pm

Number 1 every time for me. The fretboard significantly adds to the strength. not just a bit - although the fretboard is relatively thin, it's placed right where the maximum bending stresses are, on the outside edge of the joint, so really good for resisting knocks and shocks.  Also, it gives you a nice clean headstock with no visible joint across it. Even with the thinnest, cleanest glueline, a joint across the headstock is not a great look, and it looks much better with the glueline on the back of the neck..if it's done right you can hardly see it anyway.

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