Truss Rod A Little Off Center

[pariah223]

after doing multiple test pieces in my jig, and having them all come out good, i went at my neck with the router... and something must have shifted because now the channel is a little off to the right. It is still straight and it is parallel to the center line, but it is maybe 1/16th to the right. What problems could this cause? should i build a new neck now, or is this not the end of the world? I wanna build a new neck just because i am unhappy with myself on this one, but at the same time.. Its my first build and if its not something that should have any real negative impact.. then i might be able to live with myself just because its not visable. Thanks!

[Mattia]

Should be fine, just keep position in mind when carving the neck shape. Question though: is the neck blank not oversize enough for you to be able to move the centerline (ie, the truss rod slot becomes the new centerline)? Or is it a laminated neck blank?

[pariah223]

well the problem is, as has been numerous times in the past.. is that i am following kinkaid's book, and therefore carved the neck before routing the truss rod... which i realize now was a bad idea because then it is a real pain to rout.. I was planning on doing a traditional truss rod so i would have routed it while on the body if i did it his way, and then it wouldnt have been an issue... but i decided to go with a truss rod that went in a flat channel and therefore i had to do my routing off the body. But the neck is all carved and everything and there is no truss rod sticking out of the back of it.. haha. Thanks

[Mattia]

Weird. I mean, I've done it both ways, both can work, but I think the most important thing for building is NOT to follow one person's instructions to the letter, but rather to think about what you want to do, consider whether the order presented makes sense to you (I've got several guitarmaking books in which it doesn't), and adjust your plan accordingly. Just be sure to think everything through before you do it; planning helps.

[Prostheta]

I think planning is the most important thing in any build, Mattia. Actually doing the building is much lower in the list of priorities :-D

[Mattia]

I think planning is the most important thing in any build, Mattia. Actually doing the building is much lower in the list of priorities :-D

well, yes. I'm just encouraging everyone to think through any plans made - even if they're outlined step by step in some book or other :-)

[Prostheta]

Oh totally. Understanding the reasoning behind the steps, and even the ordering promotes better thinking. I'm actually surprised that trussrod channel routing would be done after a neck is shaped....then again, some people develop their building style and methods differently, and there may be a good reason for it. Perhaps if the rod is being fitted through the back of the neck with a fillet, having less wood to rout out makes for a cleaner channel and less use of filleting material.

[pariah223]

following kinkaid's method, it made sense to rout it after it was mounted because his rout goes a little into the body as well. I however decided to go with a different truss rod design last minuit that stops at the neck block. So it wasnt so much poor planning as it was change of plans.