Source Needed: Neck Wood for Neck-Thru Build

[jwsamuel]

Hi,

I have two nice pieces of mahogany and some nice quilted maple top wood that I was planning to use for an H-H Tele body. The two pieces of mahogany are not quite wide enough for a body so I was thinking of making it a neck-thru build. I am thinking of a laminate neck block of two strips of maple and a center strip of Mahogany.

Can anyone suggest a source for the wood I need in the correct length and thickness?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[guitarbuilder]

Hi,

I have two nice pieces of mahogany and some nice quilted maple top wood that I was planning to use for an H-H Tele body. The two pieces of mahogany are not quite wide enough for a body so I was thinking of making it a neck-thru build. I am thinking of a laminate neck block of two strips of maple and a center strip of Mahogany.

Can anyone suggest a source for the wood I need in the correct length and thickness?

Thanks,

Jim

Any hardwood lumber yard should have maple or mahogany. You want dried lumber. Kiln dried is pretty common and Air dried for a long time is nice too. You will want longer and wider pieces to avoid defects. Don't cheap out on this. You can use the scraps on other projects or guitars. I'd scope out ebay as you can see what the boards actually look like. Most of my mahogany, figured maple, and walnut was purchased this way. Don't discount WoodCraft or Rockler for wood too.

You are in PA....surrounded by lumber. www.woodfinder.com

 

[jwsamuel]

Thanks, Marty. The first step is to figure out just how long a length I need.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

I addition to Marty's suggestion, I'll ad the thought that you kinda are responsible for dimensioning the lumber. It's a really good idea to acquire more than the exact amount you need. For a through neck guitar you'll need at least 36" sticks, but for flexibility, I'll suggest closer to 48" so you have some wiggle room to deal with any defects, etc. The lumber supplier will likely have no issue shortening material to those lengths, but the downside is that "you" loose decision control with "them" breaking down the material for length. You'll generally also have to buy a typical 8-10' board at some suppliers while others will cheerfully sell you a minimum 4' stick. (My local supplier for domestic species will sell a 4' section as long as the original board was at least 12' so they have an 8' stick left to sell to other buyers) Some really good lumber suppliers will have a "shorts" room which can be a gold-mine for guitar builders. When I make the trip to Hearne Hardwoods once or twice a year, I spend a lot of time in the "shorts" collection mining it for shiny gems of wood that are great for smaller projects, guitars included.

 

[guitarbuilder]

Thanks, Marty. The first step is to figure out just how long a length I need.

I'd look at 48" long pieces minimum. A neck is the peghead length plus the fretboard length plus the body length plus extra waste wood. A tele neck is about 27" long and a tele body is 16" long with the neck set in 3" from the end.

 

[Ripthorn]

Not really related to your question, but I would just caution that you research the necessary design considerations for a neck through before going whole hog on it. Being as it's a telecaster, the main things you will need to consider are 1) How will you address the neck height above body issue, and 2) how will you deal with the sharp little corner on the bass side of the neck/body transition? I built two neck throughs without fully considering all necessary design elements and those both ended in disappointment and getting rid of them.

 

[Freeman Keller]

What Ripthorn just said. I have never built a neck thru because getting the geometry right is such a hassle. Melvyn Hiscock has a good description in his (2nd edition) book. As far as sourcing wood, depending on what you do for a head you will need a blank 35 to 38 inches long. Those are available from LMII, Gilmer and other sources

Luthiers Mercantile International, Inc.

www.lmii.com

 

[jwsamuel]

I have the Hiscock book. That's what got me thinking of a neck-through layout.

 

[jwsamuel]

Not really related to your question, but I would just caution that you research the necessary design considerations for a neck through before going whole hog on it. Being as it's a telecaster, the main things you will need to consider are 1) How will you address the neck height above body issue, and 2) how will you deal with the sharp little corner on the bass side of the neck/body transition? I built two neck throughs without fully considering all necessary design elements and those both ended in disappointment and getting rid of them.

My plan is to sculpt a smooth transition from the body to the neck. I know it is sacrilege to some around here, but I also plan on a belly cut and arm contour too.

 

[old wrench]

You might check and see what Steve at cfp_woodoutlet on ebay has in the way of neck-through stuff

He's been focusing on guitar wood for a while now and usually posts up pretty good pictures of the items

If he doesn't already have a weight listed, he'll weigh it up for you.

Good to deal with


If you tell him I sent you over - he'll probably charge you double

.

 

[jwsamuel]

You might check and see what Steve at cfp_woodoutlet on ebay has in the way of neck-through stuff

He's been focusing on guitar wood for a while now and usually posts up pretty good pictures of the items

If he doesn't already have a weight listed, he'll weigh it up for you.

Good to deal with


If you tell him I sent you over - he'll probably charge you double

.

Thanks for the tip. He has some nice wood listed for neck-through guitars.

Jim

 

[Jim_in_PA]

Jim, you live not far from me and there are many good sources for quality lumber in our neck of the woods for sure.

 

[jwsamuel]

Jim, you live not far from me and there are many good sources for quality lumber in our neck of the woods for sure.

I've heard there are. I just have not found them yet. I was told about a good place out near Reading.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

My "candy store" when I want premo and interesting things is Hearne Hardwoods in Oxford PA. It's a bit of a drive but totally worth it. Mike Quinn in Langhorne has nice domestics as does Bucks County Hardwoods in D'town/Danville. Willard Brothers on Basin Road in Trenton has premium stock, too...all my 8/4 basswood for bodies was purchased there.

 

[jwsamuel]

My "candy store" when I want premo and interesting things is Hearne Hardwoods in Oxford PA. It's a bit of a drive but totally worth it. Mike Quinn in Langhorne has nice domestics as does Bucks County Hardwoods in D'town/Danville. Willard Brothers on Basin Road in Trenton has premium stock, too...all my 8/4 basswood for bodies was purchased there.

Thanks for the names. I've heard of Hearne but never the others. I will give them a look.

Jim