It's actually quite difficult to pick a less stable wood than flat sawn, curly maple
Plenty of necks have been made like that, though.
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| Author: | Lavrov Guitars [ Sat Jul 28, 2012 2:21 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Flat sawn curly maple necks |
Are they pretty stable? I was thinking the regular double action truss rod and two strips of carbon fiber rods on each side to keep it from moving too much. Any ideas or takes on this? Thanks!! |
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| Author: | John Coloccia [ Sat Jul 28, 2012 2:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Flat sawn curly maple necks |
It's actually quite difficult to pick a less stable wood than flat sawn, curly maple Plenty of necks have been made like that, though.
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| Author: | ernie [ Sat Jul 28, 2012 3:05 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Flat sawn curly maple necks |
I saw on charles hoffman guitars website how he stack laminates his necks vertically on edge .He combines several laminates thick an thin to produce a nice steel string guitar neck .Don/t have a link, just google his name and he has a huge array of jigs , tips , and useful techniques , very helpful. |
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| Author: | Lavrov Guitars [ Sat Jul 28, 2012 4:32 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Flat sawn curly maple necks |
He has some good tips, but I'm talking about all maple, no laminates |
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| Author: | Mike Baker [ Sat Jul 28, 2012 6:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Flat sawn curly maple necks |
I read how unstabe flatsawn curly maple is on the luthier forums all the time. However, I have a bass neck I built over a year ago(or more) strung with flatwound strings. It's been dead stable since the setup I gave upon completion of the build. I've never needed to adjust it at all. The only reinforcement it has is a single action truss rod. It's also a fairly thin neck. Humidity where it is kept swings from 60 to 70 percent in the summer months to 32-38 percent in winter. If it can deal with the tension of bass strings in that environment with no problems, I'd build an acoustic with it without any worries. as long as the wood is properly seasoned and dry, I'd use it. MHO. Attachment: 100_0164.JPG
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| Author: | Shaw [ Sat Jul 28, 2012 6:29 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Flat sawn curly maple necks |
A large portion of fender necks have been made of flatsawn maple that has been curly and plain over the years. They have held up well. |
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| Author: | Clinchriver [ Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:05 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Flat sawn curly maple necks |
My Telecaster and two Strats have flat sawn maple necks. The Tele and one of the Strats action was just a little bit high, it took two full turns of the truss rod to get 1/4 turn of tension, and proper neck relief. The Tele is a 1997 and never had tension on the truss rod, the Strat is early 80's. I run Ernie Ball .010's for strings. |
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| Author: | Lavrov Guitars [ Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:41 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Flat sawn curly maple necks |
That's a beautiful neck on that bass Mike. So the questions now is, is installing 4 carbon reinforcements and a double truss rod overkill? |
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| Author: | Mike Baker [ Sun Jul 29, 2012 7:20 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Flat sawn curly maple necks |
Thanks. Overkill? I really think that's a matter of opinion. IMO, for my uses, a truss rod works just fine. I've never needed any other reinforcement. But there are plenty of builders and manufacturers who use carbon fiber reinforcement rods in their necks. I think you should do what you think is right, for your purposes. And what lines up with the goals you have for the build, as well as your own personal style. However, for me, with all that reinforcement(4 rods, really?,  ) I'd be worried about making the neck too stiff for the rod to adjust it properly. But I have no experience(zip, zero, nada) with carbon fiber rods and how they react to a truss rod, so I might be talking out "the other end" on that one.
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| Author: | James Ringelspaugh [ Sun Jul 29, 2012 9:57 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Flat sawn curly maple necks |
There's only about a bajillion flatsawn maple necks in Fender guitars; you should be just fine with just a standard truss rod. The only thing I would advise is to use kiln dried wood if you can to maximize dimensional stability... otherwise super dry conditions can make your frets appear to sprout out the sides. |
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| Author: | dzsmith [ Sun Jul 29, 2012 11:34 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Flat sawn curly maple necks |
I've done two flatsawn curly and one flatsawn quilted necks - no stiffness issues at all. I would think that flatsawn would best show off the figure, but perhaps I am wrong? |
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| Author: | John Arnold [ Sun Jul 29, 2012 1:08 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Flat sawn curly maple necks |
Quote: no stiffness issues at all. Stiffness and stability are not the same thing. In general, flat sawn wood is stiffer than QS. The stiffer woods are generally more dense, but more density can mean less stability. Maple is not known for stability, but it has been used successfully in violins for hundreds of years....and violin necks are almost always flat sawn. Quote: I would think that flatsawn would best show off the figure, but perhaps I am wrong? Not generally, but it all depends on the type of figure. Quilt, birdseye, and blister figures show best on flat sawn wood, but fiddleback shows best on QS. The QS surface is generally more reflective, because of the ray fleck. More reflection means more of a 3-D effect (movement) when the light source changes angles. |
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