Mickguard Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Okay, before I go and make a huge mistake...I'm getting to route the truss rod channel. This is my first neck build I'm using a two-way trussrod. Am I right in thinking that I route a STRAIGHT channel --that is NO curve --for this type of trussrod? And the flat end goes on top, right? Should the flat bar be flush with the level of the wood or should it be slightly recessed? Which part do I want to have beneath the nut-- the end of the adjusting nut (very end of the entire trussrod assembly) or the end of the rods (i.e., the block where the the flat bar and the round bar are welded together)? The neck is a telecaster type with an added maple fingerboard. Trussrod access will be at the headstock. This is an existing fretboard I pulled off an old neck-- I'm thinking of converting the nut to a zero fret and adding a string guide nut at the very end of the board. If the neck part works out, I'll eventually replace the fingerboard with something better . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Yes. Straight channel, flat end on top, flush with the wood, and I tend to install the rods so that the very end of the adjustment nut (assuming an 1/8" allen key type adjuster) flush with the end of the fingerboard itself for Gibbo-type boards. Nothing under the nut. Look at Matt (GuitarFrenzy's) strat tutorial for shots of where he puts his truss rods; that's about where I put 'em. Also, as a semi-aside, if you think you'll be slotting your own boards at some point in future, I'd buy some fingerboard blanks from madinter.com (spain) now, since they're so cheap, and let them acclimatize/dry fully at yours while you wait. But you didn't ask about that. Ahem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Yes. Straight channel, flat end on top, flush with the wood, and I tend to install the rods so that the very end of the adjustment nut (assuming an 1/8" allen key type adjuster) flush with the end of the fingerboard itself for Gibbo-type boards. Nothing under the nut. Look at Matt (GuitarFrenzy's) strat tutorial for shots of where he puts his truss rods; that's about where I put 'em. Also, as a semi-aside, if you think you'll be slotting your own boards at some point in future, I'd buy some fingerboard blanks from madinter.com (spain) now, since they're so cheap, and let them acclimatize/dry fully at yours while you wait. But you didn't ask about that. Ahem. Well, not so long ago I said I'd never (try to) build my own neck, so never say never I guess...still, I'm pretty happy with the preslotted, preradiused boards I have from LMII --I just didn't order a 25.5" scale, and that's what I'm working on right now. Thanks for the quick response...I'll be posting pics soon... Oh, and an aside, I found flat carbon fiber rods here -- 4 euros for a meter, 10mm x 2.7 mm. So I'm not going with the kite rod idea, at least not this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 I found flat carbon fiber rods here -- 4 euros for a meter, 10mm x 2.7 mm. Do you mind sharing the source? I’ve been looking for a good (reasonably priced and a bit longer) source of CF in Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 I found flat carbon fiber rods here -- 4 euros for a meter, 10mm x 2.7 mm. Do you mind sharing the source? I’ve been looking for a good (reasonably priced and a bit longer) source of CF in Europe. Local hardware store! Couldn't believe it...only thing is, they're white, not black...don't know how that will affect the tone though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 I found flat carbon fiber rods here -- 4 euros for a meter, 10mm x 2.7 mm. Do you mind sharing the source? I’ve been looking for a good (reasonably priced and a bit longer) source of CF in Europe. Local hardware store! Couldn't believe it...only thing is, they're white, not black...don't know how that will affect the tone though... That's not carbon fibre, that's fibreglass. Very different properties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 That's not carbon fibre, that's fibreglass. Very different properties. Well, they call it "composite"...so I don't think it's fiberglass. It's probably not graphite...does the same splinter thing as CF though...so who knows what it is? It's definitely lightweight--we'll see if it does the job... I think I will go with the kite rods next time though --I didn't use them this time because I want to find a round-bottom bit that will match the radius first. As for the truss rod route, that went just fine --except I think I routed too far, that is I went ahead and routed a channel for the entire truss rod, adjustment nut included...I was so focused on getting the measurements right, that I didn't realize it until was done...I guess I got confused between the Fender style and Gibson style... is that going to be a big deal? Since I'll be gluing the fingerboard on there, it shouldn't matter, right? Might not look exactly like a Fender, but that's not my goal. I'm going to update my progress thread in a minute... Anyway, the point of this neck is to give me a chance to make mistakes.... it's going to be a bolt on of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 (edited) Shouldn't matter. And fibreglass rods are composites of fibreglass strands and resin, just as CF rods are composites of CF strands and resin, either pressed or pultruded. I've never seen any white CF, anywhere. Seems unlikely they'd dye it. I do have a bunch of white fibreglass kite rods, though, useful as go-bars. As for routing too far, rod'll work regardless, you just might need to get a bit creative with truss rod covers... Edited May 11, 2006 by Mattia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Shouldn't matter. And fibreglass rods are composites of fibreglass strands and resin, just as CF rods are composites of CF strands and resin, either pressed or pultruded. I've never seen any white CF, anywhere. Seems unlikely they'd dye it. I do have a bunch of white fibreglass kite rods, though, useful as go-bars. As for routing too far, rod'll work regardless, you just might need to get a bit creative with truss rod covers... Hmm, well here's hoping they provide some of the features of CF, nice to experiment. I'm still going to have to drill an access hole for the adjustment nut, so it actually shouldn't show at all --the fingerboard I'm using has an extension of a good 10 mm past the nut, so there'll be about 5 mm to drill through. Although I'm a big fan of truss rod covers...anything to hide the horror Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Heh. Truss Rod Covers: pickguards for headstocks! As for what they'll provide, well, if you had a CF bar, it'd be pretty easy to compare properties (measure deflection under the same load, weight). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 As for what they'll provide, well, if you had a CF bar, it'd be pretty easy to compare properties (measure deflection under the same load, weight). I was able to compare it to the CF kite rods I have (and these were labeled as CF ), so they give the same kind of stiffness as that, at least forward/back, i.e., in the direction of the pull of the strings. Side to side, I'd say they give far less support --but I don't know how important that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Anyway...I looked at my neck-in-progress again...I don't think I made a mistake after all...it's just me getting confused. It looked wrong because I haven't shaped the headstock or the slope or anything. Duh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 As long as I'm in learning mode...I'm tempted to remove the bars I put in there and use the real CF rods instead. Especially now that I've learned what epoxy can do (first time I ever used the stuff) But since I used epoxy to glue the composite bars in there--does that mean I should give up on removing them? I've read that I can use acetone to soften the epoxy, but wil that harm the wood in some way? The composite sands really easily, and since the CF rods are wider, I could conceivably sand/scrap the bars out too. Or should I just spare myself the bother and leave the neck as is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Heat will release epoxy quite well, but it might be tricky getting them out in one piece. You could just route the bars out, but WEAR A RESPIRATOR. You could just leave it alone, see how it works for you, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted May 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Heat will release epoxy quite well, but it might be tricky getting them out in one piece. You could just route the bars out, but WEAR A RESPIRATOR. You could just leave it alone, see how it works for you, though... I always wear a respirator, no worries there. But yeah, I should just leave well enough alone...I'll have plenty of time to play with the CF tubes later. Like I said, this one's more for practice than anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 I agree. Leave them in. Fibre glass should stiffen the neck considerable. If they are in place and everything looks nice I don’t think (think is the key word here) that you will get any problem with the fibre glass rods. Fibre glass (or the raisin) is a little sensitive to UV-light, but you will not get any problems with that in this case. Can’t think of any other problems you might run into. And if the rods feel about as stiff as the graphite rods, they will probably work in the same way. And an extra bonus: You can test it for us and we can learn from your experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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