Laminate Neck - What Do I Need To Know?

[Johnny Foreigner]

so after my recent neck-related fubar (http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=43367&view=findpost&p=470049) I am dipping my toe into the waters of laminate necks.

what i'm after is something like Jaden's GOTM entry: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...st&p=468694

I'm going to be using paduak, bubinga and curly maple - i have enough for 3 necks, so I'm going to rotate the order thus:

is there anything I need to know that might seem obvious to seasoned woodworkers, but may not be to an idiot like me?

[Tim37]

take it easy on your self, the easiest way to prevent a mistake is to not do anything. atleast you gave it one hell of a try

[Johnny Foreigner]

take it easy on your self, the easiest way to prevent a mistake is to not do anything. atleast you gave it one hell of a try

eh?

[WezV]

just wood choice considerations really.

Bubinga can be a bitch to carve... but it feels great when done so stick with it!

Padauk can stain other woods orange, especially maple... you may want to finish off the carve with scrapers rather than sandpaper as it will help keep those lines nice and clean

[RestorationAD]

Take care when you are planing your laminates. When you run them through the jointer a lot of times the wood will splinter and chip one direction and run smooth the other. When I find the direction it runs smooth I mark it and try to align all the pieces oriented in the same direction.

If you don't sometimes the spoke shave will cut one lam smooth and chip up the one right next to it. Then you will be forced to shape it with a sander...

one other note:

Colored woods next to maple. Be careful sanding them as you discolor the maple ...

[Johnny Foreigner]

see - that discoloring the maple thing is something that would never have occurred to me. cheers, fellas.

anything that can be done to minimize discoloration? avoid sanding entirely?

[Johnny Foreigner]

I could also go

and eliminate the problem entirely.

[RestorationAD]

see - that discoloring the maple thing is something that would never have occurred to me. cheers, fellas.

anything that can be done to minimize discoloration? avoid sanding entirely?

I am careful when sanding and clean up with a scraper often. Then at the end I use a razor blade as a scraper to clean up the maple. The final sanding is always done with mineral spirits... or some oil mixture.

Contrast is what you should shoot for as IMHO it looks better. Just because it is difficult doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. When the woods are too close in color the effect is lessened. Strength, Stability and Aesthetics that is why I laminate.

[RestorationAD]

see - that discoloring the maple thing is something that would never have occurred to me. cheers, fellas.

anything that can be done to minimize discoloration? avoid sanding entirely?

I am careful when sanding and clean up with a scraper often. Then at the end I use a razor blade as a scraper to clean up the maple. The final sanding is always done with mineral spirits... or some oil mixture.

Contrast is what you should shoot for as IMHO it looks better. Just because it is difficult doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. When the woods are too close in color the effect is lessened. Strength, Stability and Aesthetics that is why I laminate.

[Johnny Foreigner]

ok, so I'll give it a go with my original plans.

and if it all goes tits up, at least I can still paint over the discoloration and have usable necks.

[Johnny Foreigner]

taste question:

do I go with 3 woods per neck as originally planned:

or 2 woods per neck:

??

[darkshadow54321]

To my taste:

For three woods, #3 is the nicest, followed by #1. Not a fan of #2.

For two woods, #3 is a classic and very nice combo, the other two also look good but #2 has the edge (difficult to say without seeing the actual woods).

Personally, I'd either do 3 woods #3 or two woods #3.

Edited August 3, 2010 by darkshadow54321

[Johnny Foreigner]

To my taste:

For three woods, #3 is the nicest, followed by #1. Not a fan of #2.

For two woods, #3 is a classic and very nice combo, the other two also look good but #2 has the edge (difficult to say without seeing the actual woods).

Personally, I'd either do 3 woods #3 or two woods #3.

i'm going to be doing 3 necks, so it's either 2 woods or 3 woods, and I'll do all three necks that style.

[darkshadow54321]

i'm going to be doing 3 necks, so it's either 2 woods or 3 woods, and I'll do all three necks that style.

Ah right. Dunno then.

I suppose if you like both designs equally go for the one that is most complicated as it's good practice. 3 woods!

[Buter]

IMHO, 2 contrasting woods work the best in lamintated necks/bodies. I feel that 3 different woods in the lam can make things look a bit contrived.

If you feel that further detailt is needed, use veneers as thin pinlines.

If you decide that you need/want 3 woods in your neck construction, try to tie the different woods into the body construction so that it looks planned, not indulgent.

Just my .02

Cheers

B

[WezV]

i like 3 woods in 5 piece necks - but the contrast needs to be there... which i dont think you will have with bubinga and padauk

mine tend to be maple/wenge/body wood/wenge/maple

[postal]

I use 2 or 3 usually

Just depends on what I have laying around at the time.

2 woods, I tend to go with more layers, and 1 wood tends to be thin (1/4") but with a thicker stripe in the center.

Mixing not only the number of woods, and colors, but also the lamination thickness can give interesting visual results.

I try for strong contrast.

Dont put mahogany next to walnut.... I'm working on one now, and it's "bland" from the color contrast. Too late now.... Gonna use it anyway.

I do not taper my laminates.. They are all even thickness from nut to heel.

Do plan on you number of lams, and thickness of your lams so you dont cut through the outer lam from the neck taper....

Thats important!

Nothing looks worse than a multi lam neck where the outside layer was cut through from the neck taper.... Plan so the outside lam is INSIDE the nut width... and OUTSIDE the fretboard width at last fret.....

Edited August 14, 2010 by postal