Mahogany Neck, What Head?

[feylya]

I picked up a nice piece of Brazilian mahogany for my neck neck through but the question is should I have a scarf joint or glue an extra piece to the bottom of the head?

I'm more than likely going to have a volute on it too...

Also, can anyone remember a tutorial on how to make a double action truss rod? I can't seem to find it

Edited November 1, 2004 by feylya

[Devon Headen]

I've never seen one. I wouldn't try to make one if I was you. It's quite a bit more complicated, and they're not very expensive. I can't figure out exactly how everything is threaded on the double acting rods. I never really look at them close, because as soon as the package arrives the rod basically goes in the neck.

[feylya]

It seems to be fairly simple tbh. If I could just find the tutorial. It was basically a piece of thread rod cut in half and welded.

I could spend about €6 to make one or €20 to buy one

[feylya]

What are people's opinions on All Parts fret wire?

[rhoads56]

It seems to be fairly simple tbh. If I could just find the tutorial. It was basically a piece of thread rod cut in half and welded.

I could spend about €6 to make one or €20 to buy one

Buying the reverse thread die, will cost you more than four truss rods. Why bother??

[feylya]

You don't actually need the reverse die. You can make one from a length of threaded rod, no thread cutting required!!!

[Devon Headen]

It seems to be fairly simple tbh. If I could just find the tutorial. It was basically a piece of thread rod cut in half and welded.

I could spend about €6 to make one or €20 to buy one

Anybody got a double acting rod they can take a look at real quick? Just from glancing (never really studied as mentioned before) I thought the threads were reversed in some spots. Maybe I'm an ignoramous.

Edit: beaten to it.. I knew there were reverse threads. Plus I reread your post when I was through. Have you ever seen a double acting rod before? If all you did was weld the two pieces at the end, you'd have no way to adjust it. That's what the brass ends are for (at least they're brass on the StewMac version).

Edited November 2, 2004 by Devon Headen

[feylya]

It ended up with something like this:

Pretty damned easy to make if you ask me!

Edited November 2, 2004 by feylya

[Phil Mailloux]

This is a picture of a one-way rod my friend.

[feylya]

Well, it's something incredibly like that.... Still, a one-way will do me

[Phil Mailloux]

Well, it's something incredibly like that.... Still, a one-way will do me

'

One-way IS good enough for most jobs anyway

If you're in it to save a few bucks you can make youself a 1$ truss rod by just making a compression rod out of a threaded rod a nut and some sort of anchor.

That's my plan for my next instrument.

[feylya]

tbh, a threaded rod is only a couple of euros and a few hours work. It'll be far easier to install too, just a straight channel.

[rhoads56]

tbh, a threaded rod is only a couple of euros and a few hours work. It'll be far easier to install too, just a straight channel.

There are design flaws with the "plan" picture you have provided.

Surely a premade $10 truss rod is easier than a "few hours work".

A single threaded rod still works in a straight channel, if you havent researched this enough to realise that, you would be best buying a truss rod pre-made.

[feylya]

For a truss rod, I'd be looking at about €20.

And I'm still trying to find that tutorial that that guy made.

[feylya]

HA, seems that I'm an idiot. I read in Martin Koch's book :o

Anyways, back to the main question. Should I make a glued on peghead with a scarf joint or should I make my neck thicker and cut my head like Gibsons?

[mushy the shroom]

I wouldn't do a scarf-joint if I were you. If you can find thick enough wood, there is no advantage to do a scarf. Measure out the 11 degree (or so) headstock angle, and gigure out how thick a piece of wood you're going to need, then cut it on it's side so you get a *kinda* hockey stick shape. Then break out the spokeshave and router :-)

[DannoG]

Scarf joints do have a serious advantage-greater strength-than a one piece neck. The short grain in a one piece is a weak point where the angle occurs. However, if you are just starting in guitar-making, a one piece is easier and if the guitar is taken care of it shouldn't matter. Drop it and that's another matter...

[feylya]

Nice one. So, I have a piece of wood that two inches thick. Can I just glue a piece to the bottom of it then cut the head? Will it still be strong enough?

[DannoG]

Not sure what you mean by "just glue a piece to the bottom of it then cut the head".

Do you intend to make angle cuts before gluing up to make a scarf joint? Or are you just going to glue two slabs together to get a thicker chunk?

[feylya]

Time for some lovely ASCII art

Neck blank

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Something like that if you can understand it. The head would be cut from the thickest bit on the right. I won't be doing a scarf joint due to the advice here.

Edited November 4, 2004 by feylya