Skarf Joint

[rlrhett]

Skarf joints can be done above or below. An excellent diagram of this can be found in Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melvyn Hiscock, © 1998, NBS Publications, Bsingstoke, UK:

So, what are people's experience with using the skarf for necks? Is placing the headstock above or below the neck better? In other words, which is stronger? Easier to make? Easier to glue? Etc. What are people's experience?

Thanks,

[Mattia]

They put slightly different stresses on the joint. I've heard people complain of glue creep in the second version, resulting in a 'hump' under the fretboard, but my first 6-7 guitars were done that way, glued with titebond, and I've never had a problem.

They're both about equally easy to cut, clamp and glue. They both work a charm. The upper option leaves you with a more or less visible grain line across the middle of the headstock, so you really need at least a peghead veneer (and if you want to hide it almost entirely, add a backstrap/veneer to the back of the headstock). Currently, I'm favouring the above method, which seems a touch more popular amoung the acoustic guitar crowd, and I'm going to be doing my first few back veneered headstocks in the near future as well.

[ZoSo_Spencer]

how far up the neck can a scarf joint be? cause i have a nice slab of mahogany thing is when you put it up to a neck on a lp it goes up the the nut so the scarf would have to be a tad further down if i wanted to make a neck out of it.

[doug]

The thicker the headstock slab is the bigger you can make a volute. If you don't want one then 5/8" to 3/4" is plenty thick for the headstock piece. Make sure you do a good job leveling the neck before putting the fingerboard on then it will be fine.

-Doug