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I am building a guitar and i need a piece of wood for the body that is about 35" x 25" x 3". I cannot seem to find wood this big. Can any one point me in the right direction? Also, I can't find where it tells you how to do a neck through body on teh project guitars site. Can any one point me to that also? Thanks.

-RAF

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Why dont you just glue enough wood together?

and hear's a good neck thru Tutorial

http://mcs.acidpit.org/viewtopic.php?t=1188

!!METAL MATT!! :D

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From the size of the piece of wood you're talking about, it sounds more like you want to do a one-piece guitar, not a neck-through. A neck-through is when you have a single board (or laminate) down the middle of the guitar that is perhaps 3-4 inches wide with separate wings, each 5-8" wide glued on the sides to make the body.

Making a one-piece is a lot harder than a neck-through.

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From the size of the piece of wood you're talking about, it sounds more like you want to do a one-piece guitar, not a neck-through. A neck-through is when you have a single board (or laminate) down the middle of the guitar that is perhaps 3-4 inches wide with separate wings, each 5-8" wide glued on the sides to make the body.

Making a one-piece is a lot harder than a neck-through.

I definitely want a neck through the size of the wood is for the body alone because it is a weird shape and has to be that big to compensate for the angles.

-RAF

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if it was ME...i would maple for the neck and mahogany for the body...and if it is a tue neck through...then you only need enough maple for the neck and two pieces of mahogany for the body at about 16" by 25" by 3"...but 3" is too thick for a guitar of any variety...it will feel like you are playing a boat

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if it was ME...i would maple for the neck and mahogany for the body...and if it is a tue neck through...then you only need enough maple for the neck and two pieces of mahogany for the body at about 16" by 25" by 3"...but 3" is too thick for a guitar of any variety...it will feel like you are playing a boat

Ya that sounds good to me. Where can I find wood with 16x25x3 dimensions? And what dimensions should the piece for the neck be if its gonna be neck through....sorry foor all the questions, its my first guitar building experience.

-RAF

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Where can I find wood with 16x25x3 dimensions? And what dimensions should the piece for the neck be if its gonna be neck through....sorry for all the questions, its my first guitar building experience.

bartcopy.jpg

What you need to do is make proper use of the search button on this site. There is more info hidden in these threads then "dumb" questions you possibly can come up with.

There is also a great tutorial section on the main site. Spotted it yet????

Also great section about where you can get your resources (wood, parts, the lot).

Spend some time reading about guitars, and how to build them. Still confused, buy some of the great books about it, out there.

Cause if you have to ask question like you're currently posting..........well then this is an accident waiting to happen.

notcooed4.jpg

Just my $20.

Edited by RGGR
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ok ok i get it...jump down my throught will ya...lol. I have been researching a lot over the past few weeks and i didnt realize that the forum had a search thing. so i will def try it out. The site was very helpful for ideas but there was a lot of gaps in some of the information. And don't worry i intend to do a hell of a lot more research b4 i start even buying wood for it. Some of the stuff I have found doesn't answer some of my questions, but i will check out the search first next time. Thanks for all the input tho i do appreciate it. And thanks for lettin me know that there is a search thing.

-RAF

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Don't let 'em get you down :D. Unless you're planning on doing some really weird kind of detail carve that removes a LOT of wood you don't want three inches thick... Most guitars are between an inch and a half and two inches. Also, most body blanks are around 20"x16"... if you're really planning on making a guitar with a 35"x25" body blank, you're likely to get something pretty unplayable...

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@Wrath - What are your plans to begin with, mate?

What guitar are you after?

Strat, LP, Ibanez RG.........just to get idea what you are trying to accomplish.

You said you want a neck through.......have you thought of set neck, or bolt on.

What type of sound are you after........what kinda scale length are you after?

What kind of pup combo? Single of Humbuckers??

What kinda control, and electronics.

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My friend you are looking for very expensive pieces of wood. When you get thicker than 8/4 (approx 2") and wider than 8". Count on prices taking a big jump, and your choices decreasing greatly. My advise would be to draw a plan up (prefer CAD, if not possible scan in a pic). Then let some folks around here look them over. They can point you in the right direction, and probably save you a lot of money.

If you insist on those dimensions. Look locally for wood dealers (shipping will kill on a piece of that size). Khaya (african mahogany) can be had at that size and thickness, just count on a hefty price tag and wasting a lot of wood.

Peace, Rich

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I've found poplar that big, and it would be an ok tonewood. You might be able to find walnut that size locally too.

I wish I could find a sawmill locally and talk them into selling me some wood.

The spooky thing about buying 16/4, at least to me. You never really can tell how well it is dried or how it will look after you cut it up. You are paying more per. board foot for ruff thick boards. Than you would for Premium sanded boards that are right where you need them. I buy thick stuff for thick neck blocks, but it has to be monitored for a spell before I am willing to work with it. If I wanted to dry a piece and resaw for smaller parts. I would go for raw logs, and try to get a fair price. That is a chunk of work though, and does require space.

Peace, Rich

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I can safely say that if your guitar is three feet -wide-, you will have a hell of a time playing it. Also, don't forget the guitar stand, because a strap won't suffice-- it might break.

If you absolutely insist on going forward, mahogany is prob your best bet; it's a good tonewood, and you're more likely to find mahogany in that size (for a reasonable price) than most other woods.

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  • 2 weeks later...
@Wrath - What are your plans to begin with, mate?

What guitar are you after?

Strat, LP, Ibanez RG.........just to get idea what you are trying to accomplish.

You said you want a neck through.......have you thought of set neck, or bolt on.

What type of sound are you after........what kinda scale length are you after?

What kind of pup combo? Single of Humbuckers??

What kinda control, and electronics.

Im goin for an oversized v with some crazy lookin cuts. I like the way neck thrus sound and play over bolt on and set. im lookin for metal sound. prolly 25.5 scale length. dual hums. 1 tone 1 volume and 3 way toggle switch.

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Crazy looking V, hey?

Still holding on idea of using one big chunk of wood......as you're complicating the matter by trying to make the whole guitar (neck and body) out of one piece. Much easier (and mostly done) is making neck blank and wings seperately and marrying them up somewhere in the built process.

Would be cool to built guitar out of one piece.....but agrivation during built you could do without.

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Do you have a drawing of your design that you can post? I'm afraid a 3'x2' body, no matter how much wood you cut out, will be horribly uncomfortable to play (as skibum said). Also, as has been pointed out, for a neckthrough you don't use a single piece of wood for the body, you use at least two pieces with the neck wood sticking through the middle - if you have a single piece with the neck glued to it, it's a set neck.

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