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Finally started carving my first neck today.

Looking to make a nice profile, I am taking my time. But for strength, I am wondering how much material to leave on the center of the back between the truss rod channel and the outer edge. Is 1/8 inch enough? 3/16? 1/4? This neck is ash, but I have another mahog one in the works. Any ideas much appreciated!

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

What truss rod are you using?

Its' the double acting rod from LMI.

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

I too use the LMI double action truss rod. I don't use a filler over it so I slot the channel 3/8" deep. On a 14 fret to body neck I leave 5/8" of wood under the nut area and 13/16 at the 10 fret. Those measurments are from the top surface the fingerboard glues to. That leaves about 1/4' of wood at the nut and 7/16" at the 10th fret. I start turning down at the 10th into the radius to the heel. I suppose you could go thicker or thinner from there if desired. (But not over 3/32" thinner I would think. 1/16" would be safer) It would depend on the profile you are shooting for.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I leave 3/16" minimum under that type of truss rod.

The best bet, since this is your first, is to try and copy the profile of a neck that feels right to you. Just take care not to go to thin under the truss rod

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

That's what I'm thinking. Taking my time, getting it to feel right to my hand. Realized while carving that the piece of wood I used is flat sawn. Hopefully, this ain't no major oops. The wood is ash, and is extremely tough, so I figure with a 12 fret parlor with light gauge strings, maybe won't be a problem. If so, well, I built the whole thing, I'll take the neck off and build another. So the point of the post was to see if there is a rule of thumb on what is "too thin" under the truss rod. But since it is flat sawn, think I'll leave it a bit over the 3/16" suggested.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

the truss rod channel depth and neck thickness all needs to be calculated before the wood milling begins...among other things

Could you clarify please? Not sure I understand what you mean here.

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

Phil,

My first neck, and all of my necks now that I think about it, are mahogony. I hear ash carves ok, just tougher than mahog. I think you will do fine. Just take it down slow. (not so easy to put the wood back ) Actually carving a neck is one of my favorite things to do on a build. It just gives you a good feeling.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Hog wash!

well, maybe its true for someone like yourself who don't gotts decades of experience building.
Regarding "among other things"... ya, me likes to calculate how many of gallons of beer each build is gonna take and start brewing before wood break out.

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Padma, Now that is a calculation worth doing !!!

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

well...calculate what you deem an "ideal" neck profile thickness....then calculate into that your accomodating truss rod channel depth...then start thinking about how much wood you want under the rod...then consider what type of wood you are using(maple/mahogany/etc), then consider the fretboard thickness....THEN maybe start chipping away....

That's pretty much what I did, just not in that order. I bought a really nice piece of 1X quilted ash, and thought hey, I'm gonna make me a guitar out of this! Checked the thickness, 3/4", plenty per the plan. then decided on neck profile. Actually basing this thing on some dimensions that I like, not what is standard. I figure hey, if it's going to be custom made, why take a chance on ending up with a neck I'm not happy with?

So, I am basing this neck on a circa 1976 Terada guitar. I have this thing, my sister bought it new. Over the years, the neck bent so the only way it can be played is with a capo on the first fret. While learning to play, I put the capo on the second fret, that made the scale better for me. So, long story short, I laid out my new neck basically as a copy of the neck of a '76 Terada with a capo on the second fret. Nut width is 1.81", and will set all string spacing etc. off that guitar instead of the dimensions on the drawing. Neck profile will be similar.

With all that laid out, I cut the groove for the truss rod, with a little extra depth so I could glue in a maple strip to cover the groove. Carved the headstock, carved the stacked heel, etc. Time came to carve the shaft of the neck, only thing I did not figure beforehand was how much material to leave between the truss rod channel and outside.

Like I said, this is my first, and I'm still winging it as I figure out what processes work best for me!

Thanks again,

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."