toddler68

My neck laminates - maple/walnut/maple/xxx/maple/walnut/maple. Center lam is not in this first pic but I ended up going with Paduak. Makes for a nice combination I think. Next time I will make the Walnut lams thinner to add more interest.

Here they are all clamped together with every clamp I own:

With the clamps removed. My wood was not wide enough to fit 2 full laminates on each piece so I overlapped them. Rather than scarf the neck, the angle pieces that came off the headstock (top right pic) I laminated together and scarf jointed on the rear where the overlap was.

I have more pics which I'll post soon.

I am now going to throw my neck in the bonfire tonight. I hope you are happy!

LOL.....Don't do it....the first two necks for that guitar I screwed up. I don't know if you are already expirienced or if it will be your first build, but at least I am happy that I saved the good stuff for building the neck when I knew I could pull it off....

I've reconsidered since my last post! I've spent too much time to throw it all away now. It is my first build and I have to remember it's a learning experience. Thanks for trying to talk me down!

Yeah, I am giving an old bed to Goodwill and checking to see if there's any good neck wood under the painted headboard posts! I find myself looking at dead trees along the highway on my way home from work. I am acutely aware of anyone cutting down trees in my neighborhood. My friend (also a guitar player) has a dead Maple tree in his yard which needs to come down soon before it lands on the house. He promised me some of the wood if I laminated a neck for him. Joy! I was in Pennsylvania when a tornado came through and I found myself wondering what was going to happen to all those snapped-off trees! It's a sickness I tell you.

That maple neck is simply sick! I thought I had some nice tiger maple until I saw that. I am now going to throw my neck in the bonfire tonight. I hope you are happy!

you know what you forgot to do, when you search make sure yu select the beggining and newer, (in the bottom left box), rather then the standard 30 days and newer

That's exactly what I forgot to do. I found the article I was looking for. Thanks!

I did a search on zero fret and got little. I know I read a thread a month or so ago about it and now I can't find it. So I'll just ask.

I'm well into my project and I have my fretboard clamped and glued as we speak. I had intended to have a zero fret because I didn't want to have to screw around with nut slot depths and all that crap. But now that I think about it, I'm not sure I understand fully what to do. I realize that I'll need something to space the strings out or they'll just slide all over the place when I put tension on the strings. Does this mean a nut or some kind of string retainers?

Right now my zero fret slot is about .250 from the nut end of the fretboard. I figure if all else fails I can cut the fretboard at that slot and put in a regular nut. I'd really like to try the zero fret though.

Anybody got some advice or preferably advice with pictures?

Man, you guys are fast! That was the answer I was hoping for. I will proceed as normal and clamp on the fingerboard in the next couple days. Again, thanks for the lightning replies!

I mistakenly read in a post that Titebond is OK to glue carbon rods in with. When I re-read the thread, I realized it was actually a question to which someone else replied "use epoxy".

I glued mine in with Titebond. Am I screwed or will it be OK to leave as is? Should I try to dig the rods back out and use epoxy?

Also, I am confused about the tape trick. Do you cover the truss rod channel with tape, spread glue, remove tape and then clamp fretboard? Or do you leave the tape in there? Leaving the tape doesn't seem to make sense to me.

Thanks in advance for the help!

I think the Flamingo rendering plugin is reasonably priced; only 200 bones if you're a student and it's simple to use. I have used 3DS, Alias, SolidWorks and Flamingo. Flamingo is easy as hell to use compared to the other three, although PhotoWorks is a very close 2nd. You probably can't touch a seat of SolidWorks Office (bundled with the PhotoWorks renderer) for under 4 grand.

Sweet! Are you using Rhino for the 3D or what?

Slayer Rules!

The model was made using Solid Edge 3D CAD software

Hey davros, I am using Solid Edge as well. Did you fully contour the back of the neck on your solid model? (Particularly the heel and volute/headstock transitions) I have been having trouble approximating the contours with Solid Edge. What are your thoughts?

the warlock plans are wrong.....they are a japanese version of it which you could use to get the outline of the body but not much else...the headstock is a travesty and o is the "bridge routing"

The headstock is an 80's BC Rich, and the bridge routing is for a Kahler...

The good ol' days.......

I have the exact headstock on my 80's Mockingbird. Also with the Kahler tremolo. The good ol' days indeed. Testify, brother!

What holds it in? The truss rod cover?   Is it a friction fit or should there be a slight tolerance width-wise? I also don't know exactly how long to make the slot.

Yes it is friction fit, if you routed correctly the truss rod should sit snuggly into the slot and once the string tension is on the neck it's not going anywhere.

String tension!!! How could I forget that?! I have to remind myself from time to time that this is a musical instrument I am building and not a static wood sculpture.

Just bought a double action truss rod from LMI (took forever to get delivered btw) and got nothing in the way of instructions. Can't find any on their site either. Am I just a bonehead? Don't answer that. I've searched on this topic here and gotten some confusing information.

LMI says on their site that this rod requires an "11/32" – 3/8" depth of slot by 1/4" wide" So does this mean it's a straight slot? If so, why wouldn't the thing just slide right out the end of the headstock? What holds it in? The truss rod cover? Is it a friction fit or should there be a slight tolerance width-wise? I also don't know exactly how long to make the slot.

Pictures are good, but sometimes what I need is a good old-fashioned diagram and some general instructions.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

im in central ohio.... i dont have the cash for expensive woods

Where in central Ohio? If it's Columbus, there's a guy in Grove City selling a bunch of tiger maple on eBay. Might give him a shot. Check out his other auctions. He's got other stuff too. No, I am NOT him.

Grove City wood guy

Might be worth a shot just to contact the guy and see if he's got anything not so figured that he'd sell for real cheap.

I joined the Air Force right after I graduated high school. It taught me some discipline (I never got kicked out of school but only cuz I never got caught), and it taught me a skill (avionics). If you are also dedicated, you can go to college part-time while serving active duty. I did not choose that path however and decided to drink alot and chase women. (Not that I found very many at my station - Mtn. Home Idaho) And I played in several throw together bands - you can never have a stable band lineup with military members. But I had a blast and made some lifelong friends.

But I went to college after I got out (used the GI Bill) and got a 4 year degree (took me 6) in Industrial Design. It's like Engineering without all that pesky math! Now I'm a designer with a wife and 2 kids and I am building my first guitar as a hobby. It appeals to my design side as well as my long time fascination with wood.

My only caution would be to weigh the positives with what's happening in the world right now. I served during relative peacetime, right before the first Bush took us to war. Granted, the average Airman doesn't see much combat, but it something to think about.

BTW, I know I am old when I can in good conscience tell you about my good ole' days. You have the added benefit of this forum and the internet in general to gather all the research you need to make an informed decision. That's a hell of a lot more than I had at your age. I used to walk to school waist deep in snow, uphill - both ways...

does solid works have free trial downloads? im looking at the downloads part and it has solid works viewer, is that the same kinnda thing?

I think the SolidWorks viewer just allows you to view SW files. I don't think they have a trial of the modelling software, but Rhino does. Check this site out: Rhino 3D

It is a 3D modelling program that does 2D as well. The learning curve is pretty steep if you've never done any solid modelling before, but for 2D it seems to me like AutoCAD pre version 13. It's only $900, but if you are a student, you can get it for $200. I think you'd have to arrange something with your instructor to get it though.

Incidentally, I may (or may not) have acquired a full working version of SolidWorks 2003 on P2P - that site that begins with a 'K' And yes, it does work. I don't know if it is still "available" from the site what with all the lawsuits and stuff, but it's worth a shot. Be warned though, the learning curve for SW is almost vertical IMO

P.S.Actually, I think 2D in Rhino even resembles later versions of AutoCAD. It's got pull down menus as well as symbolic tool bars. Just to clarify.

I knew I'd regret taking German instead of Spanish.

You could rout out 1/16th of an inch off the top of the desired area then get a peice of the same wood and cut it exactly just like an inlay, and glue it in and sand down to match height. If you put a darker finish on it it wouldnt show up at all. Even if you use a light finish you would have to stare at it to notice.

Just make sure you get the grain going the right way.

(I have done this before on my birtch kitchen floor and it works well, even with no finish)

Exactly what I was thinking except instead of trying to hide it, accentuate it with a contrasting wood. Rout a channel down the center of the body the entire length of the body, glue in your contrast wood (or a lamination of different woods!) and carve back down to the original contour. Might make it look kind of like a neck through.

btw, my initial reaction was to remedy with a Bigsby tailpiece.

just my .02

Pretty sure 'selects' are passive. Had them in an old Westone - no battery. They did have a nice quick disconnect, tho.

btw, I don't care if I ever get my guitar built. You guys are cracking me up with all this grammatical B.S. Very entertaining. Incidentally, I am a big fan of Chuck Schuldiner. But I think he's from Florida, not Bavaria. Or maybe it's Bavaria, Florida?

*** is a byist?

I think he meant 'biased'.

Got another wood grain question. I bought a 3/4" plank of Padouk/Padauk/Paduak, however the hell you spell it and it looks to be true quartersawn. Didn't realize until I got it home. I want to use it as thin (.125 - .250) laminates between some hard maple. The rest of my wood is flatsawn and I'm turning in 90°, so what do I do with the Padouk? Should I cut strips and stack and glue them and then cut my slices, or should I just take the piece back and look for something more flatsawn? Or... will I be OK just ignoring it and treating it like the rest of my wood and turn it 90°?

I think Parker lays up some kind of carbon fiber and resin all over the back of some of their guitars - neck and all. Makes it strong as hell. If that's the case, you could probably use balsa if you wanted to.

I searched on 'redwood' and got no hits so I posted a new topic:

Anyone have experience with redwood? I saw some cool figured redwood on eBay and wondered if it would be suitable as a top over alder or mahogany. I just wanted some advice before I bid. Thanks in advance.