GuitarMaestro Posted December 22, 2003 Report Share Posted December 22, 2003 Hi! I have a very nice curly maple one-piece neck-through guitar neck blank, which was very hard to find and very expensive. I did this because I wanted to build a neck without any laminations(except for the fingerboard which will be Rosewood). In the last days I was getting more and more doubts if the wood will be stable/stiff enough without inserting a Wenge or Bubinga center piece. Is there any way to tell if this is needed or not? Thanks in advance, Marcel Knapp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nordic Gawd Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 well if its nice dont butcher it and put laminates in the middle. just put some carbon steel rods in there on either sides of the truss rod. No worries! ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 well if its nice dont butcher it and put laminates in the middle. just put some carbon steel rods in there on either sides of the truss rod. No worries! ;-) Carbon steel? Did you mean Carbon Fiber? I think westhemann mentioned he used these in his carved top's neck. If you do use these read the precautions. The idea of those splinters getting stabbed into my heart scares the crap out of me . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nordic Gawd Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 i think you can use carbon steel too. i would never use carbon fiber...... just the idea of breathing that in is quite frighening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 Yeah, I too think you can use the carbon steel... but I wonder about the weight of two extra 18" lengths. Would it be too neck heavy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 As long as its flame isf fine. Quilted maple is not good for necks. Matbe this should be pinned. It has become a FAQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nordic Gawd Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 i was about to say that but then realized ed roman said it. and shuddered and held back in fear of being WHIPPED. birdseye apparently is very good for necks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nordic Gawd Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 so if the curly maple has some birds eye in it. i think you should be ok/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 i think you can use carbon steel too. i would never use carbon fiber...... just the idea of breathing that in is quite frighening You don`t want just carbon steel rod.It weighs a ton and bends very easily.Carbon steel rod is just plain steel rod in most cases.It will bend which is why long long ago...they used square stock.Adjustable truss rods are carbon steel,but the threaded tension makes them stronger. It is carbon fiber you would want,it is already cut to length so you don`t have to worry about splinters.It is very rigid . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 carbon fibre is great.wear gloves if you are worried.but the main thing is just buy the right length.i think they suggest a hacksaw if you must cut it by the way it is much more rigid than steel,per weight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 Birdseye Maple comes from Eastern Hardrock Maple trees, found up and down the East Coast region. Quilted Maple usually comes from Western Big Leaf Maple, usually found in the Pacific Northwest sector. Two different trees, two different densities, hardnesses, etc. Just two different woods really. I have several highly figured (upcharged) Birdseye Maple necks (Warmoth). They've remained very stable and I love them very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nordic Gawd Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 sorry. listen to the pros here. Drak knows what hes talkin bout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJohn Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 Yeahn you can use it.Like Drak I had a Warmoth figured neck,great feel.Though the carbon reinforcement isn't a bad idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted December 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 Thanks for your answers guys. Several things: 1. The maple I have is curly flame maple. It has NO birdseyes and is NOT quilted, but I dont know if it is Eastern or Western maple. It was sold to me as hard maple however. Is there any way to tell what kind of maple it is? 2. I dont understand your panic concerning the carbon fibre rods....I have several of them here and to me they seem very rigid and stable and it would not be easy to rip single fibres from them. And as long as you sometimes smoke, there is no reason to not sometimes inhalate some carbon fibres.... Greets, Marcel Knapp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted December 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 Okay....I asked the shop I got the neck blank from and they told me that it is Western Bigleaf Maple, which they say is not as hard as Eastern maple but still very tough. The piece I have is quatersawn. Do you think I should go with carbon fibre rods or with a Wenge center piece or use the blank as it is? Thanks in advance, Marcel Knapp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 From what I have read, Western Big Leaf is considered "Soft Maple". Soft Maple can be used to build guitars but I have not personally seen it used for a neck. This is only a guess - but I would think that it would be OK to use since woods like mahagony are suitable for a neck. If it were me, I would rather put some insurance in there in the form of rods or a laminate. I like laminated necks so that would probably be the way I would go. Good luck. By the way - do you have any pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted December 23, 2003 Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 Do you think I should go with carbon fibre rods or with a Wenge center piece or use the blank as it is? I would stick someform of rienforcement in a Western Maple neck, maybe the carbon fibre rods INSIDE the neck, so you can keep the look of the flamed Maple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted December 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2003 Thanks for the answers! Do you think it would be enough to put a 12mm wide piece of Wenge in the center of the neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted December 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2003 opinions please.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannoG Posted December 24, 2003 Report Share Posted December 24, 2003 I found some Western maple boards that were quite pretty and cheap. I bought them knowing they were not real strong (and some look a little unstable) , thinking I'd figure something out. Right now my plan is to make a laminated neck or two from them with a center section from a harder wood and even then add CF bars. If your wood is fairly straight/dense, I'd go with just the carbon fibre reinforcement. Or maybe I'll save them for a lam body... just can't pass up cheap figured wood... Let us know how it turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted December 24, 2003 Report Share Posted December 24, 2003 Do you think it would be enough to put a 12mm wide piece of Wenge in the center of the neck? My vote would be yes. Also - you don't need to have a laminated body for a laminated neck (I think someone was suggesting you save it for a laminated body?) - they look great on any body just as long as you don't use weird colors that don't match well. How about pics of that wood? I love looking at figured maple. It's kinda like wood-porn for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannoG Posted December 24, 2003 Report Share Posted December 24, 2003 I'm hip to the woodporn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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