Truss Rod Routing On Fender Style Necks

[Rich C]

I'm going to be attempting to build a strat style neck and I've been doing some reading and planning. I have a bunch of rough cut 1 1/4 hard maple that's been sitting around for a while and I thought this would be a good way to take a stab at guitar building. I've printed out a 2D Strat neck routing template and I've started to make a template out of hard board. I'll then use that to make an MDF template.

The one thing I'm not sure about right now (I'm sure there will be more in the future) is whether the truss rod channel needs to be arched or if it can be a straight route. If I don't need to, I'd rather not spend the time making an arched jig, but I will if it's really needed.

Can anyone let me know if it's needed, and if not, are there pro's and cons?

Thanks,

Rich

[Batfink]

It depends on the type of rod you'll be using. Most 'two way' rods, like Stew Macs Hotrods, use a flat channel but 'traditonal' single anchor rods need a curved channel.

[supplebanana]

not if you use something like this - Hot Rod

but if you use a traditional rod like this - Fender style or this - Gibson Style, then yes you probably will need a curved channel

[Rich C]

Thanks.. I didn't think about looking at the instructions for the truss rods. It also looks like the Martin style require a flat channel. Are there con's to using the hot rod style?

[RDub]

It depends on the type of neck you're making. If you're planning a one piece neck, with the fretboard being the same material as the neck, you'll need to rout from behind, and do the curved rout and a one way traditional rod.. Hiscock's book details this style neck very well. If you want a seperate fretboard, you can use a truss rod like the Stew Mac or Martin, and put in a straight rout.

[Rich C]

Thanks.. I'll be making a neck (or necks) with a top routed truss rod channel and a separate finger board. Thanks for the help.