Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David McQueen on May 1, 2013 at 8:37am

Lowes sells 1x2x36" oak. Those are the gross dimensions. Actual planed diemsions are 1 1/2" x 3/4" x 36" ( or 48"), perfect for what you want. They also sell 1/4" x 2" oak, which you can use for a fret board.
They sell the same dimensions in poplar. Maple you have to hunt a bit. You might have to buy a four foot or six foot piece and cut to get a maple neck. I have not seen 1/4" stock to make maple fret boards there.
When you are buying, check to see that it is straight. I have gone through whole piles to get a couple of necks.

Permalink Reply by Lennox Gavin on May 2, 2013 at 2:16pm

Thanks for the info

Permalink Reply by Michael Recchione on May 1, 2013 at 8:42am

Welcome to the obsession!  Yes, you can buy your neck blanks at Lowes or HD.  You would buy 1"x2" hardwood stock, which is sold by the foot.  (1"x2" stock is actually 3/4"x1.5", which is perfect for a cbg neck blank).  Yes, they'll cut it to length for you if you need them to.  Around here (NJ), the hardwoods sold at HD and Lowes are maple, oak and poplar.  I've used maple and poplar for necks.  Poplar is easier to work, and strong enough if you don't have too many strings (3 is fine), or if you laminate a fingerboard on it.  Maple is stronger, less prone to bend, but harder to work.  A lot of people use oak, which is also strong and more difficult to work than poplar.  I don't use it because I find it ugly on a guitar, but that's just me.

Permalink Reply by Lennox Gavin on May 2, 2013 at 2:16pm

Thanks for helping the rookie

Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on May 1, 2013 at 8:56am

Lowes and home depot is good for pre -cut oak stock, i like Rockler.com for maple and exotic`s for fretboards...they come in pre-cut pieces. If you have a local sawmill near by ..also a great place for neck woods. Rip apart shipping pallets, old table legs are usually hardwoods. When your bit by the building bug everything you look at is either a body or parts for a build...lol.

Permalink Reply by Michael Recchione on May 1, 2013 at 9:22am

I think a lot depends on what part of the country you live in.  Home Depot does carry maple around here.  Also - do you have any lumberyards nearby, that carry furniture-grade woods?  You usually have to buy by the board foot, and some will rip the boards for you.  But learning to do that yourself is a really useful skill if you want to graduate from Borg-quality stuff.

Permalink Reply by Marcus P. Clarke on May 1, 2013 at 9:24am

Both Lowes and Home depot carry 1 X 2's they have maple oak and sometimes Hickory. they also have 1/4" X 2 pieces I use for the fret boards. Hope that helps

Permalink Reply by Lennox Gavin on May 2, 2013 at 2:16pm

Thanks for the help

Permalink Reply by Lennox Gavin on May 2, 2013 at 2:19pm

thank you it does help

Permalink Reply by Mark Kortuem on May 1, 2013 at 11:48am

I use 1 x 1 poplar from the dowel rack at Menards. It is a true 1 x 1. Find a straight one and go for it. For me, the 1-1/2 wide puts the strings too far apart. Here are some examples of what I make.

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• 002.JPG, 3.2 MB
• 102_1228.JPG, 3 MB

Permalink Reply by HarleyTodd on May 2, 2013 at 1:12pm

Nice builds mark, can you do a picture of your head and tuners? Are those silver grommets the strings go into?

Permalink Reply by Mark Kortuem on May 3, 2013 at 5:19am

Yes those are grommets or eyelets. I purchased them at Walmart in the craft section. You can get them at the lumber stores too. Some of them are brass colored too.  I made the head buy cutting the neck at an angle of 12 deg., then gluing the drop off on the bottom. I made the holes for the tuners 1/4", although the shaft measures 6mm/.236 in.  The holes for the grommets is 1/2. I slathered glue on the grommets and clamped them in till they were dry.  It is May 3 and is snowing in Minnesota.

Attachments:

• 006.JPG, 3 MB
• 007.JPG, 3 MB
• 008.JPG, 3 MB

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