tjiscooler Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Hey, im making a 3 piece maple neck and its kind of boring, so I want to do a scarf accent to jazz it up a bit. Ive got a nice piece of 1/8 inch Padoak I want to use. Is that too thick? Ive never done it before. Also it looks quarter-sawn and the grain runs straight up the piece. Is this the right way to align the grain to avoid a weak joint? Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaycee Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 I asked a simillar question the other week...... Great build Rad. Enjoyed the thread. The contrasting scarf piece in necks are becoming more popular with builders on here. have you (or anyone else) had any problems with them, i.e. integrity of the join. I know the answer is going to be "no" they are fine but a little assurance will help. Done correctly the answer is no. Now if you use the wrong wood or orient the grain the wrong way then yes. One thing to consider is that different species of wood contract and expand at different rates. So it is very important to align the grain with the rest of the neck so that the scarf doesn't pull against the other pieces in the neck. I also tend to only use hard woods I would use for fretboards in the scarfs. So this build has bloodwood scarf and lams. The blooodwood I have in the shop is very stable so I trust it to do the right thing. It is not always the case I doubt you would catch me putting Ziricote in a scarf as it is hard to glue and generally unstable. Another one I wouldn't do is oily cocobolo. I have several pieces of cocobolo that are extremely oily and are hard to glue with titebond. I don't use them in necks... only for fretboards and decorations were I can use a good epoxy against them. I wouldn't use mahogany or ash or limba or similar woods in a scarf (although a mahogany/limba/mahogany neck sounds like it would work). It would be a waste of time. The idea is to accent and create lines that flow in the neck while increasing the stability. Use your woodworking instincts when doing this and you will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjiscooler Posted November 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 Thanks! I feel confident the piece I have will do well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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