Jehle Posted July 23, 2003 Report Share Posted July 23, 2003 I'm working on my latest project now. It feels good to be back in the shop and making sawdust again. No pictures yet, but they will come. Anyway, I was looking at a friends G&L bass the other day and really liked the way the neck was made. It was a 3 piece neck. I'm not sure of the order here, but I imagine that it goes something like this: The back was two pieces of maple which had been routed for the truss rod (1/2 the channel on each piece), and then glued together. The truss rod is dropped in, and then the finger board is put on top as normal. Shape the neck as usuall... The effect is the feel of a one piece maple neck with no skunk stripe. Really nice feel, a clean look, and it seems like it would be a breeze to set up a simple fence to do the route. Any opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted July 23, 2003 Report Share Posted July 23, 2003 The neck on this guitar was suppose to be 3 piece's but ended up being four because of the design of the headstock wing. I like the way they feel when they are built like that verse's the old scarf joint for the headstock design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted July 24, 2003 Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 I actually prefer the look of a multipiece neck made with several kinds of wood. In order to route the truss rod groove you can do it the same way as on a one piece neck, just glue up your pieces first. Perhaps you are concerned about tear out from the router because of the two different grains? You could always make it a three piece neck, routing the groove in the middle piece without having to worry to much about grain direction contrasts. I had absolutely no problem routing the truss channel in a seven piece bass neck, routing grooves for carbon fiber rods was also easy as pie, even though the CF grooves crossed the "seams" of the different laminated pieces. Peace, Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cr_XD Posted July 24, 2003 Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 once a local luthiere showed one guitar he built and had a three piece mapple neck, he told it was better holding the tension of the strings, is there any kind of explanation, i just didn´t ask cos i didn´t want to look like a fool (would have been my 99999999 question that day ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted July 24, 2003 Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 Kramer used to use multi piece Maple necks back in the day, the center piece was always perfectly quartersawn maple, while the outside pieces were regular flatsawn. the only problem was the headstock part was lik 4-5pieces and were subject to breaking at the slightest bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchool Posted July 24, 2003 Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 I made a neck-through neck with three quartersawn maple laminates. And I added 2 other for the headstock. But the join looks good and I think it's harder to break than the wood itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted July 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 Thanks for the link Brian, and for all the reply's everyone. So, I'm not completely crazy for the idea afterall. I think it makes more sense to glue first and then route the channel. There would be a natural center line to work from and any tear out would be hidden when the fretboard goes on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted July 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 once a local luthiere showed one guitar he built and had a three piece mapple neck, he told it was better holding the tension of the strings, is there any kind of explanation, i just didn´t ask cos i didn´t want to look like a fool (would have been my 99999999 question that day ) Probably because the glue is stronger than the wood itself. It would act similar to a reinforcement rod, but it's just the fact that the glue join is stronger than the wood, so it wont bend as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted July 24, 2003 Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 Plus like Scott's explaination of the Kramers the different grains of wood working together strengthen up the neck since they are flowing in a different direction so it would be much harder for the neck to warp or bow once it is completed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted July 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 Plus like Scott's explaination of the Kramers the different grains of wood working together strengthen up the neck since they are flowing in a different direction so it would be much harder for the neck to warp or bow once it is completed. Right, I suppose the same would also apply to guitar bodies as well. I had thought about making a slab out of 3 thin slabs. It would be "fancy plywood" basically. The upper and lower sheets would be horizontal grain, and the center would be vertical grain. It wouldn't warp or "cup" like some that I've seen, but I'm not sure how that would effect the tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted July 24, 2003 Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 I would not recommend putting the griain at right angles to acheive a stronger neck. The end grain will be pretty funky to work with. I used a seven peice neck with a neck thru headless bass, it is a longer scale than usual (34.5") is a 5 string and I also use heavy guage flatwound strings, so needless to say there is a tremendous amount of pressure being exertedn on the neck. Yet it is straight as an arrow and stiff as steel, don't forgot I also used carbon fiber rods inside of the neck. The advantage of the different grain angles does not come from the grain being in completely different angles, although that would help. I think that merely having slightly different grain orientations of the laminates provide greater strength than all grain running in the same direction. good luck, ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullmuzzler Posted July 24, 2003 Report Share Posted July 24, 2003 This reply might be just a little bit off-topic, but I would like to know if the person who made this guitar The neck on this guitar was suppose to be 3 piece's but ended up being four because of the design of the headstock wing. I like the way they feel when they are built like that verse's the old scarf joint for the headstock design. has the template for the AANJ 7-string body and would like to post on this site or send it by e-mail? Thanx mullmuzzler | OSSMT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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