Posted by Alan Hawkins on August 11, 2010 at 11:32pm
It is a little rough, but over all it looks like what I had in my head. Next time I will start with a better box. This one was already falling apart when I got it and my ham-handed building skills did not help matters.
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Het Alan, you asked about woods. Readily available (e.g., Loews) I've used maple and red oak. Maple is the most tight grained and traditional for necks, can't go wrong with that. But I like the look of red oak. Lots of people say poplar, I haven't tried it. Recently I checked craigslist and found saw mills in my area, have gotten other kinds (walnut, spalted maple).
@Ronnie - Agreed! My first build is marred by my lack of proper tools. Now I am looking into a smaller table top band saw (much to my wifes chagrin) a dremel and maybe a belt sander. Only problem is my "small winter hobby" is starting to get expensive.
Looks great Alan. Love the handle on top. Looks like you've been getting you sound hole screens at Wally World. I've used them too! You'll always love your first build, but always strive to make the 'perfect' one.
I have my next neck laid out for cutting today (I'm at my in-laws place and Pops has more power tools than me.) I have a nice piece picked and it seems to be perfectly striaght. What I have a red wood that I am using, what woods do you guys use most?
Couple of other tricks I learned (less important than good bracing): Before cutting, look for the natural bow of the neck board. Then choose the fretboard side so that the natural bow is a back bow (away from the fretboard). Also, you can try to change the angle that the neck makes with the body, so that the neck points a bit backward. Do this by having the bridge end of the neck a bit closer to the face of the body, or the headstock end of the neck (where it meets the body) a bit further from the face of the body. The ultimate (which I've never done) is to add a truss rod.
AH! That makes sense. Yeah, now that I see how the overall deal works I want to use a better box and make a more structured neck. Acquiring a Dremel is high on my list also.
Thanks! It sounds really cool until I press a string, I seem to have a bow in the neck making it low where the body meets the neck. I have changed a few things to even it out but I am still tweaking it a bit.
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Yeah, looking at a press and a band saw. Got the Dremel coming and a soldering iron for the wiring.
I have my next neck laid out for cutting today (I'm at my in-laws place and Pops has more power tools than me.) I have a nice piece picked and it seems to be perfectly striaght. What I have a red wood that I am using, what woods do you guys use most?