Redwood for neck and fretboard...

Hey all. I'm planning on entering the 2011 Tele Build contest and I'm using Redwood for my body. Was wondering if I could also use it as the neck and finger board. I want to do a one piece neck, which is why I'm considering it for the fingerboard. Thanks again.

Seems to me that redwood is not hard enough for a fretboard.

Ebony is cheap enough and you can dye the ebony a rich black using Fiebler's Black Ink or nearly anything that isn't oily.

I know one guy who painted his Fretboard Black and used a 2 pack epoxy... all over red oak(soft-ish, kinda brittle wood) to get a fine result.

Redwood is too soft, like Pine for all intents and purposes. but its a great wood for bodies, and acoustic/classical backs and sides.


Bajaa's Dad

Fingerboard no, neck no.
There's a reason you don't see redwood, or pine used for necks unless it's also covered (or filled) with carbon fiber.

Fretboard - likely would not do well unless you used really big frets and used something like epoxy to glue them in place.

For the rest of the neck - you would have to reinforce redwood to keep it from splitting or wearing where the truss rod put pressure on the wood. To do the reinforcement you would need to run a strip of maple or bubinga... down the middle of the neck or laminate a piece in. That's very likely not what you want to do for your first neck.

I would just make it easy on yourself and use a well dried piece of maple for your first neck - having to deal with special wood characteristics is just going to make your build far more convoluted. If you have not made a Maple neck - that's a better place to start.

There's been a lot of "can I use this wood that no one else uses" questions lately!

For a solid body electric guitar most would agree the neck wood ideally should be between 600 and 700 kg/m3 (or 0.6-0.7 specific density). Sure, you could easily go a little under or a little over. Most would agree it's best that the fretboard material is at least 0.65.

Since Redwood is in question: google it and click on the Wiki page to find out its scientific name. It's Sequoia sempervirens.

Go here:
http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/Products/AFDbases/WD/

...and find it. You'll see that it says 400. That's nowhere near all the other neck woods. It would make a very light body wood.

I'm not saying you shouldn't be adventurous in choosing woods for guitars - but it's best to follow the well trod path for your first few.

Ebony is cheap enough.....

Huh?

Rich (always confused) in VA

Compared to Brazilian it is.... :wink:

Alright, good to go. Is there a good neckwood that I can make a one piece with that is a similar color to Redwood then? Maybe Rosewood?

Rosewood is fine (skip the Brazilian stuff). But I have to ask, do you know what goes into making a one-piece neck? A 2-piece is much easier.

Alright, good to go. Is there a good neckwood that I can make a one piece with that is a similar color to Redwood then? Maybe Rosewood?

I would not make a first neck out if these, but here's some options:

Tulipwood - Dalbergia decipularis http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/tulipwood/

Pacific Yew - Taxus brevifolia http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/softwoods/pacific-yew/

Cherry - Prunus serotina is a favorite and is relatively easy to find http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/black-cherry/ but you will need a harder fretboard wood.

Madrone - if you have a lot of time to let it dry and move around before you use it - http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/madrone/

Koa may work...

Your first neck likely going to have a lot of flaws, so you don't want to make it out of wood that is too expensive. You can always stain Maple.

Rosewood is fine (skip the Brazilian stuff). But I have to ask, do you know what goes into making a one-piece neck? A 2-piece is much easier.

One piece neck = log with one flat side for frets!!:razz::lol::grin:


Bwahahahaha

Bajaa's Dad

Rosewood is fine (skip the Brazilian stuff). But I have to ask, do you know what goes into making a one-piece neck? A 2-piece is much easier.

All my knowledge of woodworking has come from reading, re-reading, studying, and scrutinizing threads mostly from this forum, but there were other inspirational ones on other forums, over the last year. I still have much to learn about it, but I feel I know enough to pull it off. However, I have much less time in practical application of my knowledge. I have built two bodies from plywood, both have been scraped; one becasue the finish was total crap and developed alot of discoloration and crackling in the clearcoating stages. Other than that it turned out OK, not great. the pickup cavities, done completely with a less than par powerdrill were excessively large, though they were covered by the pickguard. they were not clean looking at all and the edges of the body were at a slant because the cheap jigsaw couldn't cut through the wood straight. for the second I picked up a file/rasp set and a chisel set. The cavities came out much better on the second build cause I was able to chisel the edges, but they still din't have that awesome look to them. I was also able to coerce the bodie's edges to lat relatively flat rather than at the angle left by the jigsaw. Also I built trussrod-less neck from a Douglas Fir 2x4 with nothing but the jigsaw and a rasp and file. it turned out pretty well concidering I didn't plan on making it an actual neck. As of late I picked up a used router to try and help out a buddy build his axe. I didn't use it right and almost took my big toe off trying to rout out a pickup cavity (thank god for steel toes!), so I've been looking at a lot of YouTube instructional videos and guitars builds and paying closer attention to the routing jobs and how they were done. I will be picking up a few forstner bits, and I also picked up this anciet power drill, which is suprisingly in perfect operational condition for its appearance, that has a height adjustable frame attatched to it making it like a poor-man's drill press that I will be utilizing as well. So I am learning as I go and I feel more confident that I can pull this off. The workshop that I am going to be going to is on a Naval Air Station and they have a Band Saw, 24" planar, a joiner, table saw, and the rest of the stuff I cannot afford. They have real carpenters there that can instruct me on safety procedures, techniques, and such as well.

One piece neck = log with one flat side for frets!!:razz::lol::grin:


Bwahahahaha

Bajaa's Dad

Very funny! but as far as knowing what goes into to it, like I said, I have a pretty good idea as to what goes into it on paper, but I've not had a lot of experience actually building them. The way I plan on doing it is first, after having templates made for the slotting, truss rod rout, tunning machine holes, and overall shape (I have PDFs), using a band saw cut out the shape of the neck in a 1" thick piece of wood. Then I plan on cutting the Fret slots and after the slots are cut, I'll radius the fretboard with a pre-radiused 8" sanding block, starting with 80 grit and going to 320. Then I'm going to rout for the truss rod by making several passes with my router and a 3/8" router bit. After that I'm either going to use a rasp, band saw, or an angle grinder to take off the meat of the neck and start shaping it, finishing the shaping with a file and sand paper. then I'll use some Maple scrap I have to make a skunk stripe, which is why I want to use a darker wood and not use Maple. A rounded file, some sand paper, and maybe a belt sand would be used for the contours at the headstock and heel. Going back to the Truss rod, I'd be using a Martin style that I plan on making myself with a 1/4" threaded rod, a 1/4" hex screw, a t-nut, an aluminum u-channel, and a rod connecting nut. once that is complete I'll install it with epoxy, making sure to keep the epoxy off of the rod's threads. I have several preslotted nuts I can utilize as well.

+1 on the advice to make your first neck a two-piece, especially if your woodworking knowledge is as limited as you're saying. A lot can go wrong, and a one-piece puts everything in one basket.

Not saying you can't do it and you may be a fine woodworker, but when someone starts a discussion asking if they should use redwood for a neck and fingerboard I automatically assume this is their first rodeo so-to-speak.
My point on the 1 Vs 2 piece neck is that you'll need to build some jigs to do a 1-piece. Specifically to route the curved truss rod slot and drill the end holes. Not impossible of course, but a lot more work.

As for using a Martin-style rod in a 1-piece neck, I don't think that will work.

Fingerboard no, neck no.


+1

Of all the 40+ bodies I have from USACG, the only one that scares me (I'm fearful of breakage/damage) is a T Thinline body with a 1/4 inch redwood cap. You can indent this wood with an errant fingernail. No way a redwood neck is gonna work that well.

Ok, I'll concede to do a 2 piece. It'll be easier anyway.

Very funny! but as far as knowing what goes into to it, like I said, I have a pretty good idea as to what goes into it on paper, but I've not had a lot of experience actually building them. The way I plan on doing it is first, after having templates made for the slotting, truss rod rout, tunning machine holes, and overall shape (I have PDFs), using a band saw cut out the shape of the neck in a 1" thick piece of wood. Then I plan on cutting the Fret slots and after the slots are cut, I'll radius the fretboard with a pre-radiused 8" sanding block, starting with 80 grit and going to 320. Then I'm going to rout for the truss rod by making several passes with my router and a 3/8" router bit. After that I'm either going to use a rasp, band saw, or an angle grinder to take off the meat of the neck and start shaping it, finishing the shaping with a file and sand paper. then I'll use some Maple scrap I have to make a skunk stripe, which is why I want to use a darker wood and not use Maple. A rounded file, some sand paper, and maybe a belt sand would be used for the contours at the headstock and heel. Going back to the Truss rod, I'd be using a Martin style that I plan on making myself with a 1/4" threaded rod, a 1/4" hex screw, a t-nut, an aluminum u-channel, and a rod connecting nut. once that is complete I'll install it with epoxy, making sure to keep the epoxy off of the rod's threads. I have several preslotted nuts I can utilize as well.

My necks aren't much different than a log with frets. I don't use a truss rod, I use thick dry quartersawn wood. Truss rods interfere with tone, IMHO.

Think about it, forget what's commonplace for a moment. If you take a known tonewood like mahogany and run a channel down it. Will it tap tone the same?

No. It becomes higher pitched and dissonant. Now add a uchannel where the rod is surrounded by air and glue and cover that with a thin skunk stripe from the back.

Still think that neck is going to tap the same? nah.

People take perfectly good pieces of wood and make them bricks.

Better to carve a neck that is super meaty and get used to it, IMHO, than a wizard thin neck that needs a piece of metal buttressing the strings.

I wish I had a caliper to measure the thickness of my necks. by eye with a t- square my neck at the nut is 1 and 3/8ths and a good 2 inches at the body join.

The nut width is 2 inches, 2 5/8ths at the 24th fret.

bajaa's dad

If you're trying to make the body and neck match, you could probably make a mahogany neck match a redwood body. But then why not just do the body in mahogany too.

Guitars have been built for many years. How many redwood guitars have you seen? There's a reason for that.

I have a pretty good idea as to what goes into it on paper, but I've not had a lot of experience actually building them
"Aye, there's the rub"..........lol.Seriously, good & sharp tools and CAUTION
will help keep your feet & toes present and accounted for.There has been, within the last month, two of the best deals on Good routers at Home Depot your ever likely to find.And never try to take more than a 1/16 of an inch at a time with a router bit.Treat a router as a weapon, a good one well taken care of and used properly will take care of you.A bad one, bad bits, or carelessness can kill you, or leave one finger 1/4 shorter like I have.
Also, on those beveled body edges, a spindle sander is your best friend, even if you have to build one like I did once.You'd be amazed what a fan or washing machine motor can do.............lol.
As for the "red" wood your looking for,good quarter sawn douglas fir varnishes very reddish, and about as stiff as maple and much cheaper to practice with.

Dave

If you're trying to make the body and neck match, you could probably make a mahogany neck match a redwood body. But then why not just do the body in mahogany too.

Guitars have been built for many years. How many redwood guitars have you seen? There's a reason for that.

Cause I have the Redwood, lolz. :mrgreen:

"Aye, there's the rub"..........lol.Seriously, good & sharp tools and CAUTION
will help keep your feet & toes present and accounted for.There has been, within the last month, two of the best deals on Good routers at Home Depot your ever likely to find.And never try to take more than a 1/16 of an inch at a time with a router bit.Treat a router as a weapon, a good one well taken care of and used properly will take care of you.A bad one, bad bits, or carelessness can kill you, or leave one finger 1/4 shorter like I have.
Also, on those beveled body edges, a spindle sander is your best friend, even if you have to build one like I did once.You'd be amazed what a fan or washing machine motor can do.............lol.
As for the "red" wood your looking for,good quarter sawn douglas fir varnishes very reddish, and about as stiff as maple and much cheaper to practice with.

Dave

I've been concidring using Douglas fir, but what is the differance between quarter sawn and not quarter sawn...never really understood that one. also...could you break down how you built that spindle sander...I have a spare table I can pull apart, I just wouldn't be sure how to mount the "spindle" to the motor.

I've been concidring using Douglas fir, but what is the differance between quarter sawn and not quarter sawn...never really understood that one. also...could you break down how you built that spindle sander...I have a spare table I can pull apart, I just wouldn't be sure how to mount the "spindle" to the motor.
Just type in "quartersawn" into the search function here, and you'll get more examples than you need :wink:
As for the sander, that isn't hard at all.It won't do as many things as a store bought job, but it'll come darn close.First you need an A/C motor, preferably 1/2 to 3/4 HP and ideally from a fan (as it has a spindle as part of the motor shaft).A large enough motor that doesn't have a spindle, it can be added by countersinking a hole in the shaft (1/2" fine thread),then thread a 1/2" mild steel shaft,cut to length, then thread on the other end as well.Mount all this mess vertically under your table through at least a 2" hole or larger.I used a piece of marine plywood for my top.Then, this is where you must buy something intended for the purpose.I bought the rubber drums (and a box of tubes) for the Ryobi Drum sander.You'll have to buy enough 1/2" flat washers to locate and compress the drum slightly and get two 1/2" fine thread nuts to lock the drums in place.After making a fence for it I could thickness sand to a limited extent and of course profile sand easily. The catch? The motor will quickly fill up with sawdust and overheat.Back when I used it regularly that was no issue, I had a service truck with an air compressor and kept it blown out as I was using it.If you don't have this, when you use it don't dally around and "get er done", as you'll need to clean it after about an hours use.But you can sand a lot of stuff in hour :smile: Luck to you,

Dave

PS-but seriously,buy a spindle sander.A table-top Rigid is a steal at twice the price (and forget the redwood neck for pete's sake :lol:)

If you take a known tonewood like mahogany and run a channel down it. Will it tap tone the same?

No. It becomes higher pitched and dissonant. Now add a uchannel where the rod is surrounded by air and glue and cover that with a thin skunk stripe from the back.

Still think that neck is going to tap the same? nah.

I'll agree up to a point, that's why on my own guitars I use steel bars epoxied into the necks. Once that's done, IMO, the neck 'sounds' as good or better than it did before the routing and much better than one with a traditional truss rod. Of course that's rapping it with my knuckle, how much of that difference matters to the overall sound of an electric guitar I could never say. I can say I'd like my neck to be straight 10 years from now. :wink:

As far as materials, I've got fantastic sounding guitars made of plastic, MDF and Japanese mystery wood so I'll never buy into the idea of looking at electric guitar woods the same way as acoustic guitar woods. Tone woods in an electric color the sound, they don't create it.

I wish I had a caliper to measure the thickness of my necks. by eye with a t- square my neck at the nut is 1 and 3/8ths and a good 2 inches at the body join.

The nut width is 2 inches, 2 5/8ths at the 24th fret.

bajaa's dad

Please post a picture of this...

Please post a picture of this...

The radius adds a bit more than the thickness you can see from that angle on the t-square. It' looks like 1.25 thick but its really about 1 3/8ths

I should have made it thicker and no radius. It has a 9" and I hate it. I prefer flat fretboards.

I think I'm pushing for a 1.75 inch thickness and a u-shaped neck. Big and fat.

remember theres no fretboard on this and for a one piece/neck thru you need a fretboard proud of the body by 5/16ths or so.

Bwahahahahahaa!!! Fat neck city brudda:mrgreen::lol::grin:

I can't wait to play some Cooder. Low action, brass nut.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko8GvPZAnzU&feature=fvsr

The radius adds a bit more than the thickness you can see from that angle on the t-square. It' looks like 1.25 thick but its really about 1 3/8ths

I should have made it thicker and no radius. It has a 9" and I hate it. I prefer flat fretboards.

I think I'm pushing for a 1.75 inch thickness and a u-shaped neck. Big and fat.

remember theres no fretboard on this and for a one piece/neck thru you need a fretboard proud of the body by 5/16ths or so.

Bwahahahahahaa!!! Fat neck city brudda:mrgreen::lol::grin:

I can't wait to play some Cooder. Low action, brass nut.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko8GvPZAnzU&feature=fvsr

Have you ever built a guitar like this that is done?
Some 2x4's in a pile in the floor does not show how it is playable or holds up over time.

:confused:

Have you ever built a guitar like this that is done?
Some 2x4's in a pile in the floor does not show how it is playable or holds up over time.

If you looked a bit more critically you'd see that one of those pics is not of the 'pile' of 2x4s etc.

There is a neck made of mahogany with a fret board on it. That one is getting a stainless steel refret.

It has the same dimensions though which is important.

Just don't like skinny necks I spose. You asked for pics and I gave em.:grin:

Bajaa's Dad

If you looked a bit more critically you'd see that one of those pics is not of the 'pile' of 2x4s etc. There is a neck made of mahogany with a fret board on it.

Of course, how could anyone not have clearly recognized that from this image?

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/tele-home-depot/74397d1298652204t-redwood-neck-fretboard-wp_000514-jpg

But this picture (the one that doesn't look like it's taken in a driving wind) shows what looks like a neck pattern on a 2X4.
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/tele-home-depot/74396d1298652204t-redwood-neck-fretboard-wp_000516-jpg

Plus, there's the part where you say, remember theres no fretboard on this and for a one piece/neck thru you need a fretboard proud of the body by 5/16ths or so.

So why shouldn't Mike have been confused by tossing in a picture from an entirely different build? I know I was.

that's why on my own guitars I use steel bars epoxied into the necks. Once that's done, IMO, the neck 'sounds' as good or better than it did before the routing and much better than one with a traditional truss rod. Of course that's rapping it with my knuckle, how much of that difference matters to the overall sound of an electric guitar I could never say. I can say I'd like my neck to be straight 10 years from now. :wink:


Preach it :smile:

I knew he'd ask for a pic of a neck that had been made as opposed to a 2x4

I'm psychic that way.:razz::grin:

He tends to ask for pics or he doesn't believe. :mrgreen:

I like the feel of a classical guitar, my dimensions are no where near odd in that realm.

On a one piece guitar the fretboard has to be 5/16ths greater than the face of the body so as to be able to use a fender style or in my case, a Kahler face mounted trem.

Hope that clears it up. I do love the tele shape, and the way the flame maple looks on those necks. But I'm not a fan of the feel of those necks. Imho they are too skinny.

So I'm making a fat neck for the build.

Bajaa's Dad

Here is a neck I made... it is 1" thick at the 1st fret and 1" thick at the 12th fret. I made this neck for about $20...
It has a 5/16' square steel tube epoxied in under the bocote fretboard. There are no voids it is all filled with epoxy.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/tdpri-2010-%24210-tele-build-challenge/43945d1268892856-2010-tdpri-%24210-challenge-el-rey-de-cobre-img00263a-jpg

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/tdpri-2010-%24210-tele-build-challenge/42544d1267604832-2010-tdpri-%24210-challenge-el-rey-de-cobre-img00217a-jpg

Here is a neck I made... it is 1" thick at the 1st fret and 1" thick at the 12th fret. I made this neck for about $20...
It has a 5/16' square steel tube epoxied in under the bocote fretboard. There are no voids it is all filled with epoxy.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/tdpri-2010-%24210-tele-build-challenge/43945d1268892856-2010-tdpri-%24210-challenge-el-rey-de-cobre-img00263a-jpg

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/tdpri-2010-%24210-tele-build-challenge/42544d1267604832-2010-tdpri-%24210-challenge-el-rey-de-cobre-img00217a-jpg

SWEET!!! Where did you get that nice flamey maple? I drove by Woodworkers Source two days ago and didn't see any thing worth using.

How thick was your fretboard and how wide was it at the nut?

Also, the tube thing. Does it make your middle two strings louder than the rest? I might actually try that on my build as I still have 'misgivings' about using D Fir, despite the encouragement in the other thread. As you said, 10 years from now you know you will have a straight neck.:smile:

Love the neck.

Bajaa's Dad

Also, the tube thing. Does it make your middle two strings louder than the rest?

Yes, but you can compensate for this by using a three piece nut with regular bone on the outside four and balsa wood on the inside two.

Also, the tube thing. Does it make your middle two strings louder than the rest?

Yes, but you can compensate for this by using a three piece nut with regular bone on the outside four and balsa wood on the inside two.

Balsa wood for a nut?

Thats a new one on me.

Balsa wood for a nut?

Thats a new one on me.
Uh, Colt, I'm pretty sure he's pulling his leg.My reaction?

Sorry, I forgot the now mandatory :mrgreen:

:mrgreen:

Here is a neck I made... it is 1" thick at the 1st fret and 1" thick at the 12th fret. I made this neck for about $20...
It has a 5/16' square steel tube epoxied in under the bocote fretboard. There are no voids it is all filled with epoxy.
....
Interesting - so the elasticity of the wood - epoxied to the steel when flat - should make is so that the likelihood of plastic deformation in the steel is minimized. Hmmm, I wonder if over time the plastic bending of the steel happens anyways - even though it's a tube - and then you have no way to adjust it?

Maybe that is more theoretical than practical - I just can't get away from looking at metals as always strong, plastic materials and only a way to attach things or make things mechanically durable, not as a static structural material: And, woods as likely more static/elastic than perhaps it is, but I assume that wood is elastic in the absence of moisture and cell damage.

I have some teak wood that was originally used for boat building.
Would that make a good neck???

Guitars have been built for many years. How many redwood guitars have you seen? There's a reason for that.

Lots of high end acoustic guitars get Redwood and Cedar tops. With careful selection, you can pick a piece that is easily harder then many made of pine. I was going through a stack of old growth Redwood the other day and found several pieces that ring like a bell, are relatively hard for Redwood, and will yield a Tele body in the 3 to 3.5 lb range. And they're way prettier then Pine to boot........

Why not go with a maple neck and a Redwood body?

I have some teak wood that was originally used for boat building.
Would that make a good neck???

Hell yes it would.

I was in Indonesia some years ago and stumbled on a wood called 'Belian'.

Stuff is indestructable, really hard, and a bright reddish purple. I would LOVE to make a one piece guitar out of that.

Teak has similar properties. You get a teak neck made and that thing ain't movin especially if its quartersawn.

Don't forget to make the neck thick. Thick necks = fat tone, IMHO.:grin:

Bajaa's Dad

Hey all. I'm planning on entering the 2011 Tele Build contest and I'm using Redwood for my body. Was wondering if I could also use it as the neck and finger board. I want to do a one piece neck, which is why I'm considering it for the fingerboard. Thanks again.

This thread is kind of interesting - re: Redwood.

Luthier Alan Carruths mention Parker Fly used redwood for necks and dropped it as it was unstable, even with a Carbon Fibre Skin. :shock:

Redwood (http://www.delcamp.us/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=39517)

Thanks for the teak reply Bajaasdad.
My dearly departed father-in-law worked for a boat building company, and used to bring home the scraps of teak in the early '60's. It was stacked in his garage for years and years. It should be pretty stable and isn't the least bit warped or twisted. The board is 1.300" thick, and longer than a neck, so it should work. I just wasn't sure that teak would work, not ever having seen it as a neck material. It is naurally waxy and might not take a finish reall well. It might not need one. Sorry if I have hijacked the thread.

Interesting - so the elasticity of the wood - epoxied to the steel when flat - should make is so that the likelihood of plastic deformation in the steel is minimized. Hmmm, I wonder if over time the plastic bending of the steel happens anyways - even though it's a tube - and then you have no way to adjust it?

Maybe that is more theoretical than practical - I just can't get away from looking at metals as always strong, plastic materials and only a way to attach things or make things mechanically durable, not as a static structural material: And, woods as likely more static/elastic than perhaps it is, but I assume that wood is elastic in the absence of moisture and cell damage.

Before Martin started using adjustable truss rods, they used T bars and square tubes.

I don't think they started using adjustable rods till 1986

Lots of high end acoustic guitars get Redwood and Cedar tops. With careful selection, you can pick a piece that is easily harder then many made of pine. I was going through a stack of old growth Redwood the other day and found several pieces that ring like a bell, are relatively hard for Redwood, and will yield a Tele body in the 3 to 3.5 lb range. And they're way prettier then Pine to boot........

Why not go with a maple neck and a Redwood body? I was wanting to stray away from the standard woods for this build(s), but it seems I keep coming back to maple....I'll probably just go with that unless I stumble upon something cool. Still entertaining the idea of a solid Cocobola neck.

Thanks for the teak reply Bajaasdad.
My dearly departed father-in-law worked for a boat building company, and used to bring home the scraps of teak in the early '60's. It was stacked in his garage for years and years. It should be pretty stable and isn't the least bit warped or twisted. The board is 1.300" thick, and longer than a neck, so it should work. I just wasn't sure that teak would work, not ever having seen it as a neck material. It is naurally waxy and might not take a finish reall well. It might not need one. Sorry if I have hijacked the thread.That teak should be great, and I'll bet it rings nicely when tapped.
No need for a finish, but it's a perfect candidate for a Tru-Oil job and would be absolutely beautiful.
It can be clear coated too, but the surface oils need to be stripped with a few washings of acetone over a couple of days.

g'ter,
I thought the idea of the mahogany for your neck was a nice idea.
You can get a piece that is lighter and nicely resonant which should match well with your redwood.

With a little TransTint dye you should be able to get a near perfect match, if you select a light (color tone) piece of mahog.

Purple heart makes a very nice fingerboard, is priced reasonably, and looks quite nice with the color palate you are working with.

BTW, I would definitely use threaded inserts and machine screws (bolts) for mounting the neck.

Since the redwood is so soft, having any movement in the neck joint will chew it up and just cranking the screws down will crush the plate into the body.

By using the inserts, you will be able to get firm and even pressure much more easily, and by keeping the tension on the screws as even as possible, the neck plate will resist crushing unevenly into your redwood.

p.s. If you get an extra thick neck plate (like the one from Taipantone) it won't bend and crush it's way in much at all.:wink:

Just my old .02:oops:

Hell yes it would.

I was in Indonesia some years ago and stumbled on a wood called 'Belian'.

Stuff is indestructable, really hard, and a bright reddish purple. I would LOVE to make a one piece guitar out of that.

Teak has similar properties. You get a teak neck made and that thing ain't movin especially if its quartersawn.

Don't forget to make the neck thick. Thick necks = fat tone, IMHO.:grin:

Bajaa's Dad

Belian (Ironwood) is a bit too heavy for a neck. It doesn't even float.

Belian (Ironwood) is a bit too heavy for a neck. It doesn't even float.

Thankfully I wont be swimming with it lol. :razz::lol::grin:

Thankfully I wont be swimming with it lol. :razz::lol::grin:

You will be diving though ... neck diving! :mrgreen:

That teak should be great, and I'll bet it rings nicely when tapped.
No need for a finish, but it's a perfect candidate for a Tru-Oil job and would be absolutely beautiful.
It can be clear coated too, but the surface oils need to be stripped with a few washings of acetone over a couple of days.

g'ter,
I thought the idea of the mahogany for your neck was a nice idea.
You can get a piece that is lighter and nicely resonant which should match well with your redwood.

With a little TransTint dye you should be able to get a near perfect match, if you select a light (color tone) piece of mahog.

Purple heart makes a very nice fingerboard, is priced reasonably, and looks quite nice with the color palate you are working with.

BTW, I would definitely use threaded inserts and machine screws (bolts) for mounting the neck.

Since the redwood is so soft, having any movement in the neck joint will chew it up and just cranking the screws down will crush the plate into the body.

By using the inserts, you will be able to get firm and even pressure much more easily, and by keeping the tension on the screws as even as possible, the neck plate will resist crushing unevenly into your redwood.

p.s. If you get an extra thick neck plate (like the one from Taipantone) it won't bend and crush it's way in much at all.:wink:

Just my old .02:oops:

Great advice and an interesting thought. I had not considered the effects of bolting the neck to the body. However, I'd bet making it a set neck guitar would yield a similar result...though then again that is probably beyond my skills as of yet.