I am thinking about doing an eight string Cigar box mandolin (CBM) and had a (few) question(s). I was wondering, do I need to do a truss rod in order to counter act the force of all those strings on the neck? I'm going to be doing a red oak, through box neck. Any help will be appreciated.
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I built one without reinforcement a while ago and it worked. The neck is fairly chunky, laminated from two pieces of mahogany and a piece of oak, and it has a thick oak fret board.
No bowing whatsoever. So it is possible. But if I built another one, I'd use a truss rod so I could make a thinner & more elegant neck...
And you'll definitely have to brace the top so it can withstand the downward pressure of 8 strings!
Have fun!
Even if the neck is 1/4 sawn and has a substantial fingerboard, if it was me (and I've built many mandolins) I would reinforce the neck. Also consider the extra downward force on the top too.
Taff