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Which of the following is the proper grain orientation for say a neck lamination or heel block?TIA

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DES - Shepherd, MI

Oooops! Forgot to space between the images.

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DES - Shepherd, MI

Top or middle, either one, for a neck lay up. Heel block, dunno, never done one of those?

Your best bet is to arrange the laminations with the outer edge of the tree along the center, like this:

)))))|(((((

I think that's the first image you posted.

I do believe Bob is right...

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Great question Darin. I've wanted to try some laminated necks myself, other than buying from BobC . Bob and Don, I assume the reasoning is that the truss rod will stiffen up the newer growth?

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

The reason I said either.... you can't control it in a neck. Why, you ask? I use sixquarter material and cut it from a slab eight inches wide. Each layup makes two necks, so if there is a curve, it usually comes together at the heel of one blank, but less so on the opposite blank.

Hard to visualize, but I'll try:



1. A plank of flatsawn mahogany approx 1 1/2 " by 8 "

2. The plank cut in two pieces with best match of grain.

3. Top neck of the blank

4. Bottom neck of the blank grain is reversed.

Fairly simple. I usually like one end better than the other each time I do a glue up. But the main thing is that they equally conteract the grain of the opposite piece to which their glued. Plus, mahogany is just pretty stable wood regardless of how it's cut or glued. Gibson loved to take three one inch slabs, glue 'em up and make a neck.

I suggested using pieces arranged so that the outside of the tree in the center for stability reasons; they are least likely to delaminate in that arrangement (think about the way a board will cup as humidity changes and the pressure on the glue line). I think Al Carruth suggested this and it makes sense to me.

Bruce, I agree that in most cases it will not matter much; and given the way in which you make your laminations, you may not have much choice.

I make my necks differently and cut a board's worth of individual laminates, then match them up. Benedetto's approach.

I don't have the benefit of Benedetto. And the other source for me, Hoffman, uses solid 3 by 4 inch blanks, rips them in half, flips both halves and reglues to gain opposing stress counteraction. Fairly simple. The wood locally available is 6/4 or 1 1/2 ". Now it seems I'm without a local source for Honduran and may have to go another route for necks anyway.

I'd be happy to listen to a description of Benedetto.

Where are the trees you guys keep talking about?
(center of the tree)
I must not be able to see the trees for the forest.
Nelson