bman10030 Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 ok, im having a lot of trouble with making a neck from scratch, i tried to follow the tutorials but i am completely lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 ok, im having a lot of trouble with making a neck from scratch, i tried to follow the tutorials but i am completely lost. Noted, Do you have a question about some aspect of making the neck? Or are you just feeling a bit frustrated and wanted to vent. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bman10030 Posted December 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 i have questions, yes. im confused as to how your supposed to construct it is it one piece of a middle that you put the trussrod in then skunk stripe a piece of koa over, then put a fretboard whihc is laminate over the neck? and the tutorials i erad were too unclear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova9 Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 Ok, you've got two options, do you want a skunk stripe or not? Skunk stripes were usually used for necks that didn't have a separate fretboard (all-maple necks on fenders). If it's your first build, I'd go with a separate fretboard, it's the simplest solution. If you don't want a skunk stripe, then you take your neck blank, rout out the truss rod channel in the centre to the right depth (not all the way through), then glue the fretboard which is a separate piece of wood to the top of that, sealing off the top of the truss rod hole. If you do want a skunk stripe, then rout all the way through the neck blank, creating a slot down the middle that's the length of your truss rod. Then glue in the skunk stripe in the bottom, making sure there's still a slot the right depth for the truss rod. Then once that's in, you've got pretty much the same situation as in the first option, drop the truss rod in the channel, and glue the separate fretboar on top. This is easiest if you're using a double action rod like a StewMac hot rod, which needs only a straight channel. Makes life much simpler than routing a curved one. Trust me, for your first build, use a straight channel rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bman10030 Posted December 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 ok, thanks, i definately want the skunk stripe, i love the look of that i also love the look of a maple fretboard is that possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova9 Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 ok, thanks, i definately want the skunk stripe, i love the look of that i also love the look of a maple fretboard is that possible? Yes, like I said, I'd recommend gluing a separate maple fretboard on rather than trying to make the neck and fretboard out of one piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 (edited) You'd be doing yourself a big favor by reading Melvyn Hiscock's book, Make Your Own Electric Guitar before you go further. Have fun! Edited December 11, 2007 by Rick500 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bman10030 Posted December 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 ok is it possible to actually buy a maple fretboard piece like designed for a fretboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 First thing you need to buy is Melvyn Hiscock's book. It will make you life 1000 times easier. Everything you could need to know is in there. Second, Stewart MacDonald sells preslotted, pre-radiused fretboards, as well as other suppliers. Defintely buy the book though, it is worth the $20 or so that it costs, and then some. I bought mine at Barnes and Knoble, so local book stores do carry it, but usually only 1 or 2 copies on hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 After reading your posts, you need to get a book as Rick500 mention, and do some more homework. You can also find link to suppliers of parts and materials for your project on the main site and in the tutorial section. A good book will give you a more well rounded understanding of the neck itself, tools, jigs, and even material selection. It seems like the tutorial route is leaving too many gaps in your understanding, or is confusing because some things are assumed to be understood. Read through a good book on the process, then bring your questions and hopefully we can clairify. Good luck with your research, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bman10030 Posted December 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 trust me, i have been doing homework its just i recently decided id build my own neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 Not to be a smart a$$, but there is doing your homework, and doing your homework correctly. The methods on installing truss rods and how to make fretboards are some of the basic principles. While routing the truss rod channel is not overly simple, it is not overly difficult either. You just need to know what style truss rod you have and what type of channel it needs. If your homework has revealed that information to you, then you need to find better sources. Like said before, get Melvyn Hiscock's book. It will tell you everything you need to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bman10030 Posted December 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 Not to be a smart a$$, but there is doing your homework, and doing your homework correctly. The methods on installing truss rods and how to make fretboards are some of the basic principles. While routing the truss rod channel is not overly simple, it is not overly difficult either. You just need to know what style truss rod you have and what type of channel it needs. If your homework has revealed that information to you, then you need to find better sources. Like said before, get Melvyn Hiscock's book. It will tell you everything you need to know. ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 Not to be a smart a$$, but there is doing your homework, and doing your homework correctly. The methods on installing truss rods and how to make fretboards are some of the basic principles. While routing the truss rod channel is not overly simple, it is not overly difficult either. You just need to know what style truss rod you have and what type of channel it needs. If your homework has revealed that information to you, then you need to find better sources. Like said before, get Melvyn Hiscock's book. It will tell you everything you need to know. ok? I think what everyone's really trying to tell you is that you probably haven't really studied enough (even if you seem to want to think you have, it's obvious to the people who have "done their homework" that you haven't) . You've made the decision to build your own guitar wich is a great step into a very rewarding hobby. Now it takes a lot of studying to get the concepts right. The information you're seeking is definitely on the main site (we all know this because most of us have built our first guitars at some point, and most of us got the information there). Now read all the tutorials on neck making and use the search function to look up threads where it is also explained. The easiest way is probably to just get Hiscocks book for 20 bucks (not a very big invesment in money, but a huge investment in knowledge). In there all your questions will be answered. If you don't wanna get the book, fine you can do without it, I completed my first two builds with information only found on this site. Welcome to the forum btw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 ok, im having a lot of trouble with making a neck from scratch, i tried to follow the tutorials but i am completely lost. i also love the look of a maple fretboard is that possible? is it possible to actually buy a maple fretboard piece like designed for a fretboard trust me, i have been doing homework its just i recently decided id build my own neck. Everyone is trying to help point you in the right direction. From comments I quoted from your posts, it seems like your having a devil of a time following the tutorials. Which is understandable, especially since you have just started looking into the idea. A good book is a usually going to be more complete in explaining concepts, and give you a solid foundation as well as a handy place to look for answers with pictures and diagrams when things are a bit confusing. I keep several books around for reference, and am regularly going back to them for research (I also would recommend the wood handbook which is put out by the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Lab., it is a very handy book covering many topics related to wood and working with wood). It will all start to make sense shortly, you just need the right source for your info. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bman10030 Posted December 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 ok, im having a lot of trouble with making a neck from scratch, i tried to follow the tutorials but i am completely lost. i also love the look of a maple fretboard is that possible? is it possible to actually buy a maple fretboard piece like designed for a fretboard trust me, i have been doing homework its just i recently decided id build my own neck. Everyone is trying to help point you in the right direction. From comments I quoted from your posts, it seems like your having a devil of a time following the tutorials. Which is understandable, especially since you have just started looking into the idea. A good book is a usually going to be more complete in explaining concepts, and give you a solid foundation as well as a handy place to look for answers with pictures and diagrams when things are a bit confusing. I keep several books around for reference, and am regularly going back to them for research (I also would recommend the wood handbook which is put out by the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Lab., it is a very handy book covering many topics related to wood and working with wood). It will all start to make sense shortly, you just need the right source for your info. Peace,Rich ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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