Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on July 19, 2011 at 2:09pm

Steven,

I'm using 8-ply lauan plywood, glued so that the combined width is about 1 1-2" or so. No bending or twisting issues as of yet. My guess is that 2" lam oak should work just fine, as oak is a much stiffer wood. Many people here use 1x2 red oak from the big box DIY stores with great result. Several of my commercial acoustic and electric guitars have laminate necks. Most commercial guitar companies use mahogany, maple, or other straight grain hardwoods for necks if they don't use laminate. If you want to amplify the natural sound of the box with a magnetic pickup, then the stiffest / thickest wood you can get will work. Recall that Les Paul used a 4x4 piece of pine for his original Log!

Don't waste the walnut for a solid neck; use it for a fretboard, if you have the capability / tools to slice it thin.

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on July 20, 2011 at 2:29am

Poplar carves like butter but might not take the tension depending on scale length and tuning.  Oak takes the strain, but can be a booger to carve.  My latest neck is a piece of curly maple and I like that a lot.

 

As important, or more important than the type of hardwood can be where you cut relief for the box lid and/or pickup and how it is reinforced.  I'm learning this the hard way.  On my 2nd guitar I improved my design, but I still get a little bow in the oak neck.  On my 6th guitar, I completely fudged it up and I'm converting to a bolt-on neck from a thru neck design.  Argh!

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Permalink Reply by Steven from a nice place... on July 20, 2011 at 9:16am

thanks all for the advice so far...

Oily... I wish i had the ability to resaw the walnut. if i could, I'd laminate it with the left over ash I had from the same bookcase project and make a nice striped neck.

 

Kevin...That's always my intent. I love the look of oiled walnut... but didn't want to have to replace a neck in a few months becase it started warping on me.

 

E D...I do have some nice curly maple...but i'm reserving that for another porject that's in my head. I've also got some great aged wormy chestnut that's i'd love to get resawn for a resinator guitar (either cb or other). what did you mean about cutting relief for the neck? i was thinking about doing a through neck, bolting it on at the back of the box and at a healpiece i was planning on includign on my neck.

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on July 20, 2011 at 1:30pm

If you don't use a thick fingerboard, the you should cut the neck inside the box so you can close the lid and make no contact between the two except at the perimeter of the box. That can weaken the neck and allow it to bow

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Permalink Reply by Steven from a nice place... on July 20, 2011 at 3:04pm

my original plans did call for about a 1/16th" gap between the though neck and the top with some thinning out under the bridge. I haven't decided yet if i want to overlap my fingerboard on the top yet... thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on July 21, 2011 at 2:56am

To your last question, I would say it depends. . .

 

I took the recommendation of another builder to join the neck and box around the 24th fret to ensure you can reach all the high notes you wish.  So if your fingerboard is going to overlap further, then OK. If not, then do you want to play those high notes that could be out of easy reach?

 

To me, it looks cool, but I don't know if it sounds any better.  You're cutting out or altering the soundboard and that could affect volume and tone.  Maybe.  It is a cigar box after all.

 

It is a good excuse to build more than one guitar.  Try it both ways and see which you like better.  It's like asking someone in Florida if you should like Chicago or New York pizza better.

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Permalink Reply by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on July 21, 2011 at 3:42am

Just a little response to what E D said.

It isn't essential to cut into or touch the box lid by having the fretboard extend beyond the edge of the box. One I am finishing now has the fretboard extending by over 30mm, but there is a very slight gap between the fretboard and the box lid, which is only cut on the side to let the neck in. The only thing is that if the frets themselves extend on to that portion you probably need a good stiff piece of wood for the fretboard (I am using ebony) and put something in the gap between the fretboard and the neck when you are putting the frets in so that you don't snap off the end of the fretboard (which, I'm sure we would all agree, would not look pretty).

Just a thought.

E D said:

To your last question, I would say it depends. . .

 

To me, it looks cool, but I don't know if it sounds any better.  You're cutting out or altering the soundboard and that could affect volume and tone.  Maybe.  It is a cigar box after all.

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on July 21, 2011 at 4:49am

. . .sayeth the viola player.  Nice clarification and a suggestion I'm likely to use in the future.  :)

Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw said:

Just a little response to what E D said.

It isn't essential to cut into or touch the box lid by having the fretboard extend beyond the edge of the box. One I am finishing now has the fretboard extending by over 30mm, but there is a very slight gap between the fretboard and the box lid, which is only cut on the side to let the neck in. The only thing is that if the frets themselves extend on to that portion you probably need a good stiff piece of wood for the fretboard (I am using ebony) and put something in the gap between the fretboard and the neck when you are putting the frets in so that you don't snap off the end of the fretboard (which, I'm sure we would all agree, would not look pretty).

Just a thought.

E D said:

To your last question, I would say it depends. . .

 

To me, it looks cool, but I don't know if it sounds any better.  You're cutting out or altering the soundboard and that could affect volume and tone.  Maybe.  It is a cigar box after all.

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Permalink Reply by Steven from a nice place... on July 21, 2011 at 8:49am

i personally don't really play any guitar much higher than the 12th fret unless i'm using a slide. (i like the deeper tones... i think in a previous life i was a bass man). so pressure on the fretboard isn't really much of an issue. i also plan on putting the fretting the board before final instalation. (a tip i got from a lutier friend of mine). i have an archtop that has the board extending about 2 inches into the body and suspended over the top by about a 1/16th or so (made by the aformentioned friend). I love the look of it and it really sounds great. i'm using dave's design as a "template" (and i use that term loosly) for my build.

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