Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on March 17, 2011 at 2:55am

Depends. What kind of fretboards? Are you building a 3,4,5,6 string guitar? I make those scales in 3 and 4 string and use no truss rod unless I really want to make sure the neck never bends.

 

Needs more info.

 

-WY

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Permalink Reply by Michael Fred Johnson on March 17, 2011 at 3:49am

Like WY I dont bother with a truss rod on three string CBG's. On the six string I built I used a piece of flat steel bar epoxy glued into a slot in the neck.This is simple and cheap ! (see photo on my page)

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Permalink Reply by tal bluver on March 17, 2011 at 4:19am

I wanna make a 6 string guitar.

 

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Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on March 17, 2011 at 4:24am

See MFJ above. I do the steel bar like he does. Works REALLY well unless you want to make an adjustable neck. If you haven't made a 6 string guitar neck before, I would either read up REALLY well or buy one. I bought and have no regrets.

 

-WY

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on March 17, 2011 at 5:50am

I'd use a double acting trussrod, which allows you to adjust both the regular relief and back-bow.  Having said that, a simple steel bar dropped into a tight rout in the neck and epoxied in is a pretty good reinforcement, but you won't get any adjustability of course.

 

The length of the trussrod depends on how long the neck itself is and how you are fixing the neck into the guitar. If you're making a 6 string and you've not done this before, I strongly recommend doing a simple full-size working drawing so you can figure out exactly how long the neck is, how you'll fix it to the body and where the trussrod will need to run and which end of the beck  to put the adjuster.

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Permalink Reply by tal bluver on March 17, 2011 at 9:12am

I dont know...

its a bit like cheating for me.. I like the chellenge

Wes "Moanin' Mule" Yates said:

See MFJ above. I do the steel bar like he does. Works REALLY well unless you want to make an adjustable neck. If you haven't made a 6 string guitar neck before, I would either read up REALLY well or buy one. I bought and have no regrets.

 

-WY

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Permalink Reply by Glaze on March 18, 2011 at 12:02am

Tal

 

My favorite is the single action truss rod that Fender and Gibson used in the 50's.  A few of the high end guitar builders prefer the vintage style truss rod because they say it sounds better and it works really well.  I agree.  I have found that the vintage style truss rod on the best high end guitars rings out louder and has more sustain than the double action truss rod designs.  The double action truss rod has less sustain and does not ring out as loud, but it 'does sound good' of course and it works very well as a truss rod.  

 

A good book to buy if you want a more in depth description of how to make your own neck with this style of truss rod is:  Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melvyn Hiscock.  I do not know if this book it's still in print  

 

A solid square piece of cold rolled steel epoxied into the neck has to sound good and would be very stable, but it will be heavier than a vintage style truss rod.  Some players are very particular about being able to set an exact amount of relief in the neck and a non adjustable truss rod will not let you do this.  A stable neck that stays flat or very close to it is a good thing, so this is a good idea.  Would be great for a player who does many different tunings and likes a straight neck that is very stable.       

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Glaze on March 18, 2011 at 12:25am

Mr. Johnson and Mr. Yates

 

Are you using a 3/8" square cold rolled steel bar for the six string necks?  I have played a guitar with this type of design but the bar was not epoxied into the neck.  

Michael Fred Johnson said:

Like WY I dont bother with a truss rod on three string CBG's. On the six string I built I used a piece of flat steel bar epoxy glued into a slot in the neck.This is simple and cheap ! (see photo on my page)

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Permalink Reply by Michael Fred Johnson on March 18, 2011 at 1:13am

I used 14 x 5 mm (7/16 x 3/16") mild steel flat bar fitted so that the long dimension is perpendicular to the underside of the fretboard.

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