82DeanZ Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 Hi all, I was taking a look at my maple neck blank before starting to work with it and I noticed that it has a slight twist. The blank is 13/16 by 4 by 27 inches. I have a 4 in joiner and a 13 in planer. Would either of these help? The blank has a great birdseye figure and I'd hate to throw it away, but I will if I have to. Thanks in advance for your advice. Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 You should be able to use your jointer and flatten one side. Set it for a really light cut (1/64") and take as many passes as needed to flatten it. Then send it through your planer to make it an even thickness (again 1/64" passes). Don't worry if you do not hit the entire surface just make sure you flatten the fingerbaord area and plane the heel area. The reast of the board will be cut away and shaped. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted October 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 Myka, Thank you so much for the advice. It's good to know I don't have to throw out this nice birdseye blank. I'll give it a shot with the jointer and planer then. You make stunning guitars by the way. Thanks again. Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 (edited) I know this sounds strange, but its a pretty thin neck blank you've got there, and I wouldn't want you to lose it because you went too thin. Myka is totally right in everything he says, but I wanted to add one thing. When planing a board that's twisted, you'll basically have one end be the "straight" end, where the other end will show the twist. If you can control it, try to make the headstock end be the area where you plane the twist out, leaving the butt end almost as-is. If you think about it, the headstock end is going to be cut away anyways, and necks are thinner at the lower frets than they are at the heel. All this can be controlled by how you're feeding the blank through the planer and jointer. If you don't have a long stage (pre-blade) on the jointer, it may just lessen the twist with each pass, but not totally flatten it, since the blank will "corkscrew" a little as it goes across the stage. In that case, try to focus equal downward pressure "post-blade" as soon as there's enough material passed through. Then you'll be taking the twist out of the back half, not the front half. And keep them marked on the side so you always know. Edited October 12, 2004 by frank falbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted October 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 Frank, Thanks for the suggestion. I was a bit concerned about using the planer due to the "corkscrew effect" as you suggest. I'm sure that's why Myka suggested using the jointer first then using the planer. I think your idea of applying post-blade pressure on the jointer is a good one and I'll use it. I really have nothing to lose so I'll give it shot just the same. I'll look at this as a learning experience. Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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