krazyderek Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 Well my local supplier only has an oak section for quatersawn, the rest of the woods u have to sift through hundreds of boards to find the grain u want. But these oak peices look really nice, so i was woundering if i could use them as a neck? How would they be tonewise and also in terms of weight? Me and guitarfrenzy already talked about laminating some basswood (or other light woods) in there to lighten it up, or inlaying some hudge chunks of basswood (or other light woods) on either side of the truss rod channel, or should u inlay it from the the back of the neck so the fingerboard would sit on a nice peice of quatersawn oak?? i guess i'm to stubburn/lazy to sift through the stacks of maple they have there... and oak is cheaper.. so just woundering what u guys might think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 You can use quartered oak, but be warned it isn't the most stable timber under constant load (ie - string pressure) and it has huuuuge pores to fill. I know a guy who has succesfully used it for at least two guitars (neck and body) and is pleased with it. It is pretty heavy though If you don't want to root through the maple for quartered stock, then don't - most Fender's use flatsawn maple, and do just fine. The extra stability of quartersawn is nice, but it isn't essential, unless you are using highly figured wood which is prone to movement. That said, I'd get digging through that maple - you may find some nice flame or birdseye and be able to pickup a pretty bargain. That's what I'd be doing if there was a decent hardwood dealer any where near me... BTW Steer clear of quilt for neck timber, no matter how pretty it is, it's a disaster waiting to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 Most, if not all, the current Oak is a lot different than Oak from over 30 years ago. It just doesn't seem to be very tight grained anymore. They probably speed up the growing process of the trees. I have a bunch of pretty damn old Oak, off old furniture. Not even good furniture, this stuff was underneath the fabric, etc. Some couches from the 1940's and even a real sleazy looking red sofa/bed thing from the early 70's. Got all these dense-grained oak pieces out of these things. Most of it is warped, but it's very done with warping now. Haven't made any necks with it, but have some of the bigger pieces on standy-by in case I decide to do that. I also have some boxes of more current oak flooring pieces and it's like 2 totally different woods. The modern pieces are very porous, whereas the old stuff is hardly porous at all. Next time you're driving down the road and there's a shitty old couch out in someone's trash, it might very well have some oak pieces better suited for a guitar than the pretty stuff at the lumber yard/hardwood dealer. Out of some other furniture, I have gotten all these pieces of what seems very much to be Alder wood. Does anyone know if it was common to use alder in cheap furniture in the past ? I don't have a lot, and am being careful how I use it. I think it could come in very handy for making "fill-in" pieces on alder guitar bodys, such as converting a Trem bridge to a hardtail, etc. It's old and super unlikely to warp. Every new piece of wood I ever bought, ended up changing shape quite a lot after a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arrowheadguitars Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 I would suggest that while it may be that older pieces of wood are less likely to warp without anything being done to them as they have done a fair amount of drying etc. over the years, what you can't predict is what will happen when you cut them. you may reveal an area of hidden tension which will cause huge amounts of twisting or bending, regardless of how old it is, as when you cut it the cut face will dry and shrink and the rest will stay as it was. you'll only know how good it's going to be when it settles. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted August 29, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 ok, just making sure here, flat sawn the grain runs perpendicular to quatersawn right? then what do u call the stuff that has the 45degree angle or so on the grain? that's what i see most often on fender necks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arrowheadguitars Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 not quite - when a log is quartersawn it is done so as many pieces as possible are cut with the grain running vertically through the plank (so end on the planks radiate out from the centre) - when it is flatsawn it's all cut one slice after the other so you get some planks (in the middle)which are essentially quartersawn and others which have the grain at an angle (towards the outsides) etc. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 Exactly, flatsawn is easier for them to cut, but we need quartersawn for necks, but when your searching around you can find some lumber that is essentially quartersawn because it just lined up that way, but you'll have to do more digging around to find them. But yeah, if oak would work.. I can get tons of it.. but, unfortunately it's looking gloom and doom so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted August 29, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 oh well, i picked up a sweet peice of flatsawn tiger maple today it was already joined and planed down to 38x1x2 3/4 and it had some nice figuring going thru it looks just like a couple necks i watched a luthier make around here, and it was only 5$!! i think god just felt like giving me a present today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emanuel Ravelli Posted August 30, 2003 Report Share Posted August 30, 2003 Please excuse my ignorance-I've owned a few guitars, but am just a wannabe player with zero guitar/luthier knowledge. Question: How much actual tone variation is ther between maple, oak, rosewood,etc., necks(?) My point: Since guitars are taking all sorts of shapes, it seems to me that if a mfg. could make a strong (titanium?) rod, that a clear plastic neck would be possible, or has this already been pioneered and warped before it got onto the market? Is a totally clear plastic guitar conceivable? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted August 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2003 u could have a truss rod made of adamantium (woohoo wolverine!!) and the neck/entire guitar was made mostly out of some clear plastic the neck would probably still warp/ twist, the strength comes mostly from the wood, the truss rod just helps out a little and makes it possible to get the neck precisely where u want it......... unless of course they could make something like transparent aliminium that scotty meanchan's in Star Trek IV - the voyage home, cause necks have been made entirely out of aluminium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted August 30, 2003 Report Share Posted August 30, 2003 Question: How much actual tone variation is ther between maple, oak, rosewood,etc., necks(?) While you have to take into account the strength issue which Titanium would work like you suggested, the different woods have different property's for transfer of vibrations back to the body as well as feedback to the strings from reverberation. Similarly different body woods can cause a completely different sound as well depending on the amount of density and also the way the actual wood cells are formed and filled. For a little more about the differences found in say an older Les Paul read the bottom of this page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emanuel Ravelli Posted August 30, 2003 Report Share Posted August 30, 2003 Very enlightening! Thanks, guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roli Posted August 30, 2003 Report Share Posted August 30, 2003 WOW! So it means solidbodies are actually hollowbodies in a tricky way. Good ol' mahogany coffee table of mine, I see your destiny... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 30, 2003 Report Share Posted August 30, 2003 The 'halfway inbetween' -sawn, where it's not flat or quartered, is called riftsawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 ok, just making sure here, flat sawn the grain runs perpendicular to quatersawn right? then what do u call the stuff that has the 45degree angle or so on the grain? that's what i see most often on fender necks yeah , come to think of it , every fender or squier i have ever seen has had the grain like that , and guess what..... they all have a slightly twisted neck. laminate necks are the way to go methinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyunsu Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 hi.. i made my first guitar use oak neck & rosewood fingerboard.. my neck is gratification. this is my all hand made neck, body http://www.my-guitar.com/htmlboard/data/so...9/140/clean.wmv is sound sample... my guitar body is bubinga ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 wow I take it that the lighter one is the oak one? thats preaty inpressive! and nothing is wrong with it at all? how long have you had it? If I find some old oak I think I might make a neck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 wow I take it that the lighter one is the oak one? thats preaty inpressive! and nothing is wrong with it at all? how long have you had it? If I find some old oak I think I might make a neck! BTW welcome! Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyunsu Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 my guitar making is 8 months working, only weekend working.. yet not finished.. it is need some next work. oak is klin dried wood.. and 1 years air dired in my home. i think oak woodwoking is difficult than maple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 That looks super welcome to the forum too! And yes your correct, Oak is a much harder wood then Maple so it would be harder to shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 What makes oak harder to work with, at least for me, is that it's hardness varies, even on the same piece. For example, you sand it on a drum sander, and put a certain amount of pressure on it, then move the piece a bit, and suddenly there's an area that's softer, and then sands much faster. I had that trouble when I made a few oak pickguards, but with each one, I started to learn how to deal with the inconsistancy of the wood better. hyunsu, your neck looks great. I'd like to know how this oak neck compares to a maple neck, in terms of tone, weight, feel, etc. Looking at it, I'm surprised how "normal" it looks. I had thought a Strat type neck made of oak, would really stand out as looking different, but it doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 I think it looks great, mabey oaks the way foward! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyunsu Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 thank .. it is my persnal think.. oak is better weight than maple. but tone is clear and than maple and good tone. and my another neck is rosewood neck.. rosewood neck is better than oak.. and next time i will make sapelewood .. i'm not skill to english.. sorry... my oak neck's history and my teacher's home page is http://www.almaguitar.com he give me many help.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 I swear I can smell oak dust when I look at those pics. Those boards look exactly like the old oak I have after I plane them flat. I've been turning them into sanding blocks, so far. I think I might bring my idea to make an oak steinberger type guitar back form the dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted September 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 is that wax in the truss rod channel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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