" Reply by John on March 6, 2010 at 10:26am
What Shane describes is actually how a "real" guitar/bass neck with a truss rod functions. It has a bit of "back-bow", which then evens out with string pull, which in turn keeps the string height lower/more controlled.
In my first build (now taken apart to add a pickup) I added a fingerboard made of laminate flooring--you know--Pergo. Very hard, very resonate, but difficult to cut without marring the edge of the "finish" a bit. However, I like it and will probably continue to refine the process, since I have quite a bit of that stuff laying around from a home improvement project.
My second build coming up is a Macanudo box with two 3/4" X 1" strips of redwood laminated together (then shaped down) for the neck. Now, the redwood is easy to work with because it's so soft, but it would make a terrible finger board. Enter the Pergo flooring again.
Also, in keeping with the original question in this thread, glueing a finger board and/or laminating up a neck helps with rigidity and unwanted bowing."
Comments
What Shane describes is actually how a "real" guitar/bass neck with a truss rod functions. It has a bit of "back-bow", which then evens out with string pull, which in turn keeps the string height lower/more controlled.
In my first build (now taken apart to add a pickup) I added a fingerboard made of laminate flooring--you know--Pergo. Very hard, very resonate, but difficult to cut without marring the edge of the "finish" a bit. However, I like it and will probably continue to refine the process, since I have quite a bit of that stuff laying around from a home improvement project.
My second build coming up is a Macanudo box with two 3/4" X 1" strips of redwood laminated together (then shaped down) for the neck. Now, the redwood is easy to work with because it's so soft, but it would make a terrible finger board. Enter the Pergo flooring again.
Also, in keeping with the original question in this thread, glueing a finger board and/or laminating up a neck helps with rigidity and unwanted bowing."