Rocket

1 hour ago, ScottR said:

I wouldn't mess with that channel at all. Odds are good that it never becomes an issue. If it does you are only out the $40 minus the partial refund. Buying another would be less hassle and trying to fix it without the proper tools isn't really worth it.

On the other hand, the experience gained from trying to fix it could be well worth the $40, if you plan on making more, and you are only out another $40 if it doesn't work out.

SR

I have to agree. I've thought about it and decided to leave it. I found some graphite rods from an older project and am going to put those on either side of the truss. Hopefully they will reduce the amount I have  to adjust the truss rod.

1 hour ago, Bizman62 said:

It almost looks like they've aligned the channel along the bass side of the neck but that would be about 5 mm off... Anyhow, as the channel is at an angle fixing it would require filling the entire length with a slice of veneer at least as thick as the offset is and then realigning and rerouting the channel. Not too much of an effort if you have the tools, jigs  and materials at hand. Trying to fix that with individual small pieces is not worth the hassle and it can even make things worse.

Then again, you never know about wood. What if the wood is stiffer by nature on one half? In that case an offset might be a valid option, Or, if you carve the neck asymmetric? Wouldn't that change the behaviour of the truss rod as well? Plus the thickness of the strings... There's already many unknown variables so adding one more may not make any difference.

So it's doable, actually getting the fretboard off may have been the hardest part of the process. But would you have noticed that had you left the original fretboard on is another question.

This is a Chinese $40 neck, FYI. What I discovered is that the frets were not spaced to 25.5" as their specifications stated. They were spaced at a longer scale, and wouldn't have worked for the body I want to attach it to. They gave me a partial refund and because I've replaced fretboards before I thought what the hey. I also discovered once the fretboard was off the truss rod sat much too deep in the channel. It was not flush. So to adjust it I would've really had to crank on it (had the frets been spaced correctly).

So in all I'm almost glad the frets were improperly spaced so I could solve these problems. Although rerouting the channel after filling it would be a hassle for me as I don't have the right tools for that. Meaning a router. I could do it with a combination of a Dremel and chisels. That's How I did one other neck. It looked like hell but it works. But like you say, who knows? It might be okay.  

I was searching for answers to this and this thread came up in my search. I realize it's very old. I am attempting putting a new fretboard on a Chinese neck. When I pulled the attached fretboard off I noticed the truss rod route was not exactly centered. By the nut it is but it gradually goes off-center that by the end of the truss route I'm guessing it's about 1.5mm off center. That's one point five millimeters. It's doesn't seem like much but you can tell immediately that it's off-center when viewing it from a distance.

I thought about widening the truss channel a bit and adding some spacers on one side but it's a lot of extra work for something that might not matter.  I'm posting this for any opinions.

Bro just check and see that the 6 string ones that are available at certain vendors are wide enough for what you need. I'm almost sure they are oversized so you can trim them to suit......

As usual, this forum has been a great help.

I'm 25-1/2" scale, thanks anyway.

I'm looking for places that carry pre-slotted, but not necessarily radiused, maple fingerboards that are wide enough for a 7 string, at least 2-5/8". I know of:

AIguitars on eBay; Luthiers Mercantile; Allen Guitars.

Wondering if there are more places, thanks.

Futzed around with it some more. Two things helped: 1) using a thinner middle washer for the tang wheel, as someone else posted in this thread; 2) I drilled a 2nd hole in the handle crank 180 degrees from the stock set-screw hole, tapped and put a screw in the new hole, so now it's forced to mount on the bolt straight.

So yeah, I'm really glad I didn't spend the eighty or ninety dollars on the Stew/Mac one. Actually I was looking at some $35-$45 eBay ones some guys made and are selling but figured I'd give this a shot.

I've been messing with this thing today. Parts cost me around $15 as stated. My problem is the same as another poster, the crank is wobbly. I can see why: it's because the bolt it's being attached to is not snug in the crank (handle) hole, so when the tiny set-screw is applied, the crank mounts on the bolt at an angle. So as I'm putting fretwire through it all, when the set scew is facing up, the tang wheel goes outward on the bottom.

Did any of you find handles that used some other method than a set-screw? When I was shopping around I assumed that it would just screw onto the bolt with threads, but I didn't see anything like that.

And if you used set-screw handles, how did you get it to catch onto the bolt? I found that just tightening set-screw against the threads didn't hold so I drilled a hole into the threads for the set-screw to go in a little, but I still have to tighten it after every pass. In addition to it wobbling all over the place.

I must be doing something wrong.

Speaking of Lace, their more normal pickups don't have the triangular base either.

Also, when I mentioned EMGs, and the Select, I forgot to also mention they make a higher end passive line, the HZ. That line of singles doesn't have the triangular base and some have the polepieces showing, for the traditional look.

Another non-triangular one I found: Guitarheads active single. It's cheap cheap cheap and looks like an EMG with the solid cover. Black or white.

I happen to also be searching these out lately, for space reasons. I found many Duncans of course but also EMGs (and their low budget "Select" single) and Bartolinis.

So with a 42mm thick body, 19mm pickup route and 17mm spring cavity route leaves about 6mm of wood right after the fretboard end.

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/577326314WghSAx

(few pics. no heel shot though. Imagine the downward line of the long wing flowing into the small wing. That's how the heel is cut.)

I don't understand what you mean by 3 inches of wood on either side.

I was measuring pickups today in fact. Not much room between the 36th fret and the bridge so I'm going to put 2 single-sized rail humbuckers in there. The one closest to the fretboard I plan on sinking lower to avoid my picking. Probably not level with the body top though, but not as high as I like a bridge pickup. Guess I don't know for sure! I'll direct mount as well.

I'm shying away from a Floyd or Fender based tremolo now, the more I look at it and think about it. I don't have a picture of the heel but from my measurements it would be too close for comfort to the heel, on the treble side. The way I've messed up this thing along the way I am certain I'll have not considered something after removing all of that wood for a trem/spring cavity.

I'd posted last winter about a 36 fret neck-thru I am building, and it's taking forever but I'm to the point of routing for pickups and possibly a trem and spring cavity. As I was trying to think 3 dimensionally though, I began to wonder if routing a pickup slot close to the end of the fretboard, combined with routing a spring cavity could weaken the neck.

You have to imagine how deep 36 frets go and I have cutaway on the treble side to allow full access to all of them. So the spring cavity would be somewhat underneath the last fret.

So with a 42mm thick body, 19mm pickup route and 17mm spring cavity route leaves about 6mm of wood right after the fretboard end. Seems crazy!

Rust-O-Leum Crytal Clear Enamel was one of my tests, and it does change the shade of the wood. I used it on an unstained, maple/maple Allparts neck and that neck is very light colored, even lighter finished than this other neck I want to do is raw. Which surprised me when I sprayed a scrap piece from my raw neck and it darkened. So I guess maple can come in different shades.

Yes, they are all single-action truss rods.

Metalhead28, why do you say that?

I have about 6 Ibanez RG's with Wizard necks (1987-1991 models) & I have noticed that with strings off and truss rod slackened there is .010" of relief in the middle of the neck (fretboard). All of them.

Why would they be made like this? Seems like they'd be making more work for the truss rod, which I can attest to - I really have to crank on them if I want no relief when strung up with just .009's.

I want to keep the look of my maple fretboard as natural as possible and the tests on scrap have shown clear enamel, boiled linseed oil, Minwax Polycrylic even Thompsons water seal to make the wood tone change. I learned CAB-Acrylic lacquer might be what I'm looking for but I can't find small quantities - I don't want a gallon of it. Any place that sells smaller amounts or have ideas for other finishes that don''t change the wood tone ?

Hey thanks for the tips, all. I'm a novice for sure. This will be my second attempt at attaching a fretboard. The first one didn't end well. But I'm doing my research this time and getting what I think are the right tools for the job.

The fretboard is one I took off a different neck. It came off totally intact but I noticed it bowed convexly. The frets were shot so when I took those out, the board was then straight.So that was something in my mind when I was thinking about fretting the board alone, off the neck. That with frets and bowed it would make it slightly more difficult when that glue is wet and I'm trying to position everything in a hurry.

Epoxy is something I hadn't considered as a glue to attach the fretboard. Would give me more working time before it starts to set. Do many people use epoxy?

I was only talking about getting the frets in the slots, period. No leveling or anything else. I think I understand you Woodenspoke - you're saying if the fretboard, wthout frets, isn't level after installing then not having fretted

yet I could sand the board down. Makes sense.

I would rather install the frets onto the fretboard before it's on the neck because it seems like it would be so much easier, having a flat surface to rest on while pressing the frets in. Is there any problem doing it this way?

I've only done it with a fully assembled neck.

The rod isn't spinning with the nut, I know that. I took the rod out and inspected it. The anchor "T" part is secure.

Also, to be clear as I can: with the neck laying fretboard side up, the channel is curved concave - meaning it's deeper in the center - and the rod was being forced concave by fillets, to follow the channels curve.

As far as the nut, it goes in at the heel, goes in really smooth, CW to tighten. Everything seems normal with it. It did not have a washer, oddly. The nut was directly compressing against wood. So I added a washer. Didn't change anything though.

I don't have any pictures or a way to take any digitally, sorry.

Does a single rod have to be curved like this? What if I filled in the channel and made it straight? I suppose that wouldn't change what the rod is doing.

Yes.

It was held it by these "fillets" I guess their called so I took those out. It's simply and 11/32" steel rod with a "T" as an anchor. The rod welded to this flat, rectangular piece of steel. I did flip it over so the side that was nearest the fretboard was facing the back of the neck. Didn't make any difference.

If by 'flip it over' you mean to put the anchor at the opposite end and the adjusting nut at the headstock, I wouldn't even bother trying that as it would involve cutting things up a bunch.

I was thinking, what if I put reinforcment on either side of the rod. Maybe not carbon fiber but a harder wood. What do people use, bubinga? Something harder? Then hope that it's enough to keep it straight in winter and in summer when I typically loosen truss rods, I would tighten this one. I'm running ideas because I really don't want to spend a dime on this. Just hone my skills a little.

? I didn't put it in. Someone in an Asian factory in the 1960s did.

I have this very old what you'd call garage sale neck, probably from the 60's. Good to experiment on. Anyway I was going to put it on this body I have but when I checked if the truss rod was working. It seemed to be doing nothing. The neck naturally was fairly concave with truss rod slack.

So I got crazy and took the fretboard off, which straightened the neck a lot. It only has the slightest concave bend now. BUT. When I tighten the truss rod it causes it to bend more concave and not straighten out. I tried this with strings on it also, so the strings pulled the neck to a curve then I tried to straighten it with the rod and it did nothing.

It's a curved channel for the truss rod by the way. Adjusts at the heel. I can even see when I tighten the truss nut, the rod moves toward the back of the neck, not toward where the fretboard would be. This seems like the opposite of what it should do. Did they make it wrong?