Opinions On Maple Neck Blank

[davewarner]

Hey,

I'm still in the process of getting the wood together for my first build. I've chosen to obtain the wood rough cut from local/regional sawmills and learn the skills to process the wood and create my own blanks.

Here is a picture of a maple neck blank I'm working on. The piece is 4-5" wide and about 1" thick. I'll be working it down to 3/4" thick and planning to glue a fretboard to it.

What do you guys think of the grain orientation? Any reason this wouldn't make a good neck? Until I started cleaning the board up I thought it was more flat-sawn, but this board looks a lot closer to quarter-sawn. Is this an example of a rift cut?

The board has some light birds eye figuring which I think might come out more as the neck is shaped.

Thanks!

Dave

[Prostheta]

Well, if it's nice and dry you should be okay. Using quartersawn is a better option, but that board looks fine to use. You could always splice in a stiff centre laminate and flip the bits perhaps. Still - looks good to me.

How long has it been dried for?

[erikbojerik]

45°....that is as rift sawn as you can get. The risk of using a rift-sawn neck is twist. I'd exchange it for one more flatsawn or quartered....if you must use it, rip it down the middle and spin one piece 180°, joint the surfaces and glue it up with or without a center lam.

[guitar2005]

45°....that is as rift sawn as you can get. The risk of using a rift-sawn neck is twist. I'd exchange it for one more flatsawn or quartered....if you must use it, rip it down the middle and spin one piece 180°, joint the surfaces and glue it up with or without a center lam.

+1

[davewarner]

How long has it been dried for?

I don't know how long it was dried, but it was kiln-dried. On my meter the moisture content comes in at 9-10% which I think is about right for my shop (kept at 45% R.H.).

[Prostheta]

Knowing how long it was sat would be good. Kiln-drying isn't the be-all and end all but 9-10% isn't bad by any means. Perhaps leave it a month or two whilst you shop for a central laminate? ;-D

Depending on how you rotate one half of the neck 180° (if you do so) you'll get a different look also. If the annular rings are perpendicular to the surface, you'll get rays and straighter, finer grain lines ---> |/////|\\\\\| <--- top bit is your fingerboard. Flatsawn will leave the grain more pronounced.

Personally - at 8-10cm wide - I would cut a piece off the (right-hand side in your picture) piece and keep it for a central laminate in a future project, divide the remainder and pop in a nice central piece. Are you putting the rod in from the top, or the bottom with a fillet?

I think that for your first build, it's an admirable piece to work with. Exchange it as Erik suggested (if you can) and if you can't flip em, or if you feel saucy, flip and laminate.

Edited May 14, 2008 by Prostheta

[fryovanni]

Take a picture of the other end.

[Xanthus]

I might be partial to flipping it, throwing a veneer in the middle, and calling it a day. Like Prostheta's wonderful backslash diagram, because it's pretty perfectly 45 degrees riftsawn, the grain would look pretty unique, when you carve it.

[Bryan316]

Definitely of the Slice-And-Flip camp here. And adding a walnut or cherry center laminate will add more stability and counteracting grain. And look more badass.

Now... Fender headstock, or scarf joint headstock?

[Prostheta]

If it's 3/4" thick, it sounds too thin to go Fender-style...aren't they usually from 1" thick blanks?

[killemall8]

If it's 3/4" thick, it sounds too thin to go Fender-style...aren't they usually from 1" thick blanks?

only if it is a 1 piece neck and fretboard. if your using a fretboard, thats the average thickness.

[Southpa]

Heres a decent piece of wood for a couple solid necks.

Its a chunk of near quartersawn Honduras mahogany handrail I got from a guy at work. It was sitting on his bench for months and we got to talking about my "hobby" and said, "here, do something with that, I'd rather see it be useful to someone" And so it shall. Funny, I'm on guitar-from-scratch number four and have yet to pay for any wood.

And just to add to everyone else, yes, your board is definitely a "rip 'n flip". Maple can be VERY unforgiving when it decides to move. Quartersawn wood expands and contracts evenly. Flatsawn maple will cup across the grain but its still widely used for necks as that dimension is negligible. It just doesn't happen on a piece that narrow and thick.

http://www3.telus.net/Alsplace/Wood/quarter.jpg

[fryovanni]

If you look at the grain at the other end of this blank. Is the orientation pretty much the same as the end you show in the pic? Is the grain extreamly straight along the length of the blank?(longtitudinal being straight is more significant in terms of dimensional stability).

I would not disagree with what is being said, that grain oriented at 45 degrees is less than ideal, but then again it is just that not ideal. MANY times I see responces where the common opinion seems to be, it is not perfect it shouldn't be a big deal. Seems general opinion has become pretty firm on orientation.

Given the longtitudinal grain is very straight and true, and the orientation throughout the length of the board is spot on 45 degrees. What would the most extream difference in dimensional change be in relation to the fret plane (assuming a radical increase of say 3% moisture, in service)? Kinda thinking aloud here, but I will go dig up some numbers on average in service dimesnional change.

Peace,Rich

So average in service dimensional changes per. in given a 1% change in moisture.

Radial-.00165"

Tangential-.00353"

So given perfectly quartersawn wood, and a 1% change in moisture.

Max width @ about 2.5"- .004125"

Max thickness(thick neck .95" , w/1/4" FB) @.7"- .002471

Same but flawlessly flatsawn.

Max @ width-.008825"

Max @ thickness-.001155"

Long grain is going to be something like .0033" along 24" Assuming long grain is straight on the money.

So at 45 degree orientation what would we see?

Edited May 16, 2008 by fryovanni

[Prostheta]

You would see some numbers. More and more numbers.

Twist.

[davewarner]

Thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions. A few general replies

- Yes, the grain leaves the board at much the same angle on the other end. It's a straight 45 deg along the length.

- I'm planing for a scarf joint. Trying to follow along and build the guitar from Martin Koch's book.

- I like the flip idea. I have both black locust and cherry that would make nice laminate pieces.

- I got a whole stick 8+' so I have some room to experiment.

In trying to keep this first build pretty straightforward, I had also purchased some basic Rock Maple. This board is more flat sawn and I think I'll use it instead. Here is a blank of the Rock Maple (1" thick x 5" wide):

I'm not sure what to make of some of the small off color spots (in between some of the grain lines). Are those mineral pockets, light spalting, normal?

- Dave

[ihocky2]

Try sanding it or something to show fresh grain, I can't tell if those are burn marks from a saw or not.

[Prostheta]

It looks possible to split it three ways....you say it's 4-5" wide, I think you can happily manage this:

edit: ^^^ should say 3" rather than 2.5"!! ^^^

Basically, take the part that is perpendicular to the quarter in your piece and cut it out so you have an 1" x 1" piece and flip it 90° onto the quarter, leaving you two symmetrical pieces either side. You can then laminate two pieces of whatever you would like to use either side of the quartered piece. This should (losses notwithstanding) leave you with a 1" x 3" thick blank, with the width being extended by whatever laminations you might use. The birdseye you mentioned as being in there shouldn't be affected as I believe they show on both quartered and flat, near equally. I don't use birdseye really, so someone more experienced with it may be able to comment further on this.

If you consider this approach, I would mark up the centre of the flattest quarter either side and mark the lines up as the board may not have been cut parallel to the rings. Measure measure measure and measure again!

Edited May 18, 2008 by Prostheta