kpcrash Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 On a one piece neck/fb, if a truss rod is to be 1/4" W X 3/8"D X 23.5" L beneath the fretboard... is it safe to assume that since my neck blank is currently 1.5" thick (haven't even cut the shape yet...) that I simply need to subtract .03710" (9.43 mm) from 1.500 (38.10 mm) and make my rout using 1.4629 as a baseline (thickness minus fretboard thickness of 3/8") so that in the end, I would basically have the following... Total Thickness: 1.5000" FB allowance: .03710" "Neck" thickness: 1.4629" Router Depth: 1.4258" This would seem to leave 3/8" for the fretboard and 3/8" between the "bottom" of the fretboard and truss rod rout. Forgive me if this is overly simplistic, but I just want to be doubly sure as Koch and Hiscock are a little blurry here. Further details: Bass Neck, 34" scale Planned 12-15 degree angled headstock Maple Planned purchase of double-action truss rod with headstock adjustment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammoth guitars Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Better recheck your decimal point....3/8" is .375 and .037 is just over 1/32" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted December 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 ha! Good point! Knew something didn't look right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 The only question is, how do you plan to rout and insert the truss rod if the neck is "one piece"? From the back, then fill it in? I know there are several methods people use to construct their necks, but in our shop we attach the fingerboard to the neck shaft which effectively 'covers' the truss rod channel. Of course, by using this method then neck is no longer one piece. Hence, I am curious about your method. Because we don't make one piece necks here (typically) I reserved my comment strictly to the truss rod and related dimensions. Anyway, take an average neck thickness of about 7/8" or in the .800" range around the first fret. Typically we make our fingerboards slightly thick or a heavy 1/4" - 5/16" to start. So let's review the math: LMI style dual action truss rod for reference 1/4" fingerboard + 5/8" thick neck shaft (I'm rounding for this conversation) t-rod channel - 3/8" deep. (don't forget, you may need to go a little deeper than that around the adjusting nut to give it clearance) That leaves roughly about 1/4" under the truss rod (between the active rod and your hand) You're using a 1-1/2" thick piece? You have plenty of thickness then. Hope this helps -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted December 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Thanks Doug. The attempt here is to fashion a neck with the truss rod entering from the back and being filled skunk-stripe style as opposed to covering it with the fretboard. Basic Fender-style "one-piece", just hadn't gone about routing the rod from the back before and really don't want to trash a nice piece of maple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDub Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I think if you're using a double acting rod, you can get away with just leaving the 3'8" for the thickness of the "fingerboard." With a flat bottom rout. With your 1.5" neck blank you should be able to rout the slot 1 1/8" deep. With a traditional fender style rod you need to rout the slot with a high point around the 9th fret if I remember correctly. The ends would be 3/8" from the top of the fretboard, while the middle would be3/4"? This is because a fender rod doesn't actually do the bending, it pulls straight, therefore the slot needs to be higher in the middle to get the neck to bend when the rod is tightened. With a double acting rod, the rod actually bends, so you don't need a curved slot. Make sense?? I just finished a tele build wuth a fender style rod. The slot doesn't go all the way to the nut. You need to drill out from the nut end and body end to install. Not really sure how you would do this with a double acting rod. I suppose you could rout all the way to the nut end, and then fill it with your strip, but that would leave the strip visible all the way to the headstock?? Go luck, and lets see some pics when you get it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Oh, okay. I thought maybe... 3/8" should be plenty for the 'fingerboard'. If I had to make a neck like you are, I would only rout up to the normal sort of point near the headstock. If you plan and measure accurately, drilling into the channel for your adjusting nut from the top side of the headstock should work out fine. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted December 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Thanks again guys - I'll be using a double-action truss since I try to keep some things simple. According to manufacturer specs, 1/8" on top (fingerboard) and 1/8" below are listed as "adequate" so... again, rounded for discussion purposes, my 3/8" fingerboard (+/- 1/16 for sanding) + 3/8" channel depth + 1/8" min. filet behind t-rod = 7/8" neck thickness (or 56/64"). I'm sure I'll take it down just a bit during final sanding/radius. BION the fabled Ibanez Wizard neck measures 47/64" in the middle on my calipers. I think somewhere in the middle here is where I'll end up - since this is a bass neck, I'll not tinker with the measurements too much, but something to think about on the next project I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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