Vince D Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 I recently found a long piece of ebony for very cheap and I am planing a on making a guitar with a through neck with it. Should I get a truss rod for it, or is the ebony enough. I use light strings so there wont be that much force pulling it. I just dont want to have to go throuhg all the troble of chiseling out the long slot. Vincent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 I dont have an aswer for you but, are you sure? I think some one on here figured it that the neck through itself if made entirely of ebony would weigh about 18 pounds. That's with no wings. Hope you have a strong back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 I'd hate to see an ebony neck without a truss rod. Why take the risk when using a high quality wood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Up-right bases have THICK ebony fretboards and no truss. the ebony fretboard serves as the truss. But when I say thick.... i mean THICK. Go look at an upright bass. So it's do-able... but why would you want to? Cut it up, sell laminates for laminate necks. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Yea, upright bass necks are about 2.5"-3" thick and about 2.5' long. Its a lot easier to get by with no truss rod when you have a neck that long and that thick, with about 3/4" of the thickness being the ebony fingerboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 You should specify what kind of Ebony. African Ebony is not a really good choice for a neck wood (I am talking stability and how it reacts to humidity changes). If it is Macassar it would be a nice neck wood. If you make ANY neck a truss rod is a good idea period (IMO). Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 (edited) Ebony may be hard and heavy but its also very brittle. It chips and can actually shatter under the right stresses. Making an entire neck would be a very slow process with much sharpening and replacing of blades in between. Its also a very messy process, dust gets everywhere. Turning it into FB blanks would be the way to go. I sure would like some of this for a fretboard. Edited August 10, 2006 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 You'll still need a truss rod to get the best action, though with ebony in the neck it will probably never again need to be tweeked. Playing wear and changes in temperature and humidity can cause all woods to change their reaction to string pull, so yeah...go with a truss rod. With careful planning and execution, you can cut the slot using a table saw. Forget the chisel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince D Posted August 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 (edited) Thanks for your opinon ill get the truss rod. It is Macassar Ebony and i got it for a good deal like 15$. The reason why im not making fingerboards out of it is becasue wont be making any guitars for a while probably, because my really mom wants me to make a highboy for the house, and school is starting. Thanks, Vincent Edited August 10, 2006 by Vince D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Thanks for your opinon ill get the truss rod. It is Macassar Ebony and i got it for a good deal like 15$. The reason why im not making fingerboards out of it is becasue wont be making any guitars for a while probably, because my really mom wants me to make a highboy for the house, and school is starting. Thanks, Vincent Macassar should make a great neck. It is much more workable than African Ebony. I would really like to hear back on how it works out for you. Keep us posted. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
low end fuzz Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 id suggest a truss rod; ebony IS hard as steel, and if its bone dry prolly would never move; but everyone knows how long ebony takes to dry; its ok to use it prematurely on thin(ner) sections like fingerboards because the neck will stop any warp that could happen to it; but as a main structure you could have problems as soon as the humidity changes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.