Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Swamp Dawg Primal Music on July 19, 2012 at 2:43am

A scarf joint and fretboard will make a better playing git.

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Permalink Reply by Ben on July 19, 2012 at 3:45am

I find that the "playability" has absolutely nothing to do with a scarf or not. Yes, scarf joints can look pretty but it isn't necessary. The fretboard will give you a little bit of height so you might want to make sure you have a string tree to keep the tension across the nut. Heck, Fender makes a pretty playable guitar! If you're worried about strength, using a 2 or 3 piece laminate neck will be far for useful than a scarf joint. These are just observations from my experiences.

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Permalink Reply by Swamp Dawg Primal Music on July 19, 2012 at 6:03am

Adding tension to the strings breaking over the nut without using a string tree leads to more reliable tuning, especially when bending, so a scarf joint does make a difference, not to say that fenders can't be set up to play well with a bit of work. I've used string trees, screw heads and eye bolts to hold strings down, though none are the best for tuning or keeping tuned.

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Permalink Reply by Ben on July 20, 2012 at 1:53am

I'm very interested in the physics of this. Would you say that a guitar with a capo on it can't have accurate tuning and string bending? Yes, it needs to be adjusted, but I've found that ease/accuracy of tuning and string bending comes from a well made, smoothly operating nut. Yes, if you use a string tree to clamp the strings down behing the nut, you'll probably get some snags, etc. I mostly build angled headstocks now but that's because they're pretty...

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on July 19, 2012 at 4:01am

For simplicity's sake just do a 'cut back' Fender style headstock - the fretboard will help you get that bit more break angle over the nut. A scarf jointed "Gibson" style headstock does nothing for the strength or playabiity; Playability is down to the accurate making of the fretboard, fretting and the action.

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Permalink Reply by wormil on July 19, 2012 at 11:52am

Scarf joints are actually very simple but then I have a tablesaw. You can also do them with a handsaw and clean up with a hand plane. After you've done one you'll like them for the simplicity plus they offer a lot of opportunity for embellishment.  Just make sure you get enough angle, somewhere around 13 degrees is pretty good.

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Permalink Reply by Brian Kay on July 19, 2012 at 12:54pm

thanks for the input guys.  i have ~ 5 ft neck stock, so i'm going to try making a scarf joint at least once(i can afford to screw up twice).  do you recommend putting the 5" headstock piece over the neck or under? - ive seen arguments for both...

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Permalink Reply by wormil on July 19, 2012 at 4:24pm

I put them under, not sure if there is a compelling reason for one over the other.

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Permalink Reply by Richard G Caudill on July 19, 2012 at 6:03pm

I put em top .. seems to make a stronger joint ,, plus u hide it with the fretboard

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on July 19, 2012 at 6:52pm

With scarf joints, either way will work..I prefer the 'headstock over' way..as the joint is hidden..and more importantly reinforced, by the fretboard.  Doing it the other way you'll have a visible joint in the headstock, which you can cover with a headstock veneer if you want to. You don't need anything fancy to cut the angle, just a sharp handsaw will do - it's the clean-up you do before gluing that makes for a good joint - in this respect my bench sander is great..but handtools, a steady hand and sharp eye will do the job.

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Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on July 19, 2012 at 6:54pm

Hi all...

As I have no table saw, a few of my instruments were made with scarf joints done with hand tools. It can be done, but these days I prefer to spare myself the effort and instead build "slotted straight head stocks". I find they provide more of a break angle over the nut than a straight headstock and so I rarely have to use string trees. To make the slot, I drill a series of holes using ever increasing sized drill bits until the holes almost meet, then I use a chisel to cut out the rest of the scrap wood in the area where the slot should be, and then I clean up the slot with a wood rasp, files and sand paper. However, on my last 12 or 15 instruments, most of the necks were built up by laminating together maybe 6 or 7 slats of 0.5cm by 3.0cm cherry trimwood. I have found that by cutting the inner 2 (or 3) slats about 12cm short, I can leave space for the slot so I don't have to bother cutting the slot. Then, I plug the end of the slot by gluing 2 ( or 3) one inch pieces of trim wood together to form a "plug", and after that has dried, glue it into place at the head end of the slot. I tend to simplify my designs so they are easier to build, yet perform well. You might want to check out my paddle box stick dulcimer designs, especially if you don't have cigar boxes to work with, or if you would like to build stick dulcimers with their traditional body design.

-Rand.

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on July 20, 2012 at 12:07am

Just use a string tree to apply your downward pressure at the peghead. For myself i hardly ever use a scarf joint, i like using the string tree`s and step down peghead or a pocket style.

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