Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm just thinking out loud here. Wondering about the compatability of
John Watkins necks and headblock in my Cumpiano method project?
Being my first build I'm not quite sure if I'm up to the challenge of hand
carving my neck and was seriously considering the use of his CNC neck.
There's just so many factors I feel I don't have a grasp of yet conceptually.
I don't see why it wouldn't work, has anybody else tried this?

Thanks,
Chris

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Christopher C. Cordle
North Muskegon, MI

http://www.yardsaleunderwear.com
http://www.facebook.com/christopher.cordle

Chris, it all depends on what scale length you intend to use. As long as the neck is compatable to your scale, you are all set. Buy a fingerboard from him too and you'll have that much less to worry about.JBreault39023.8673842593

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

[QUOTE=Hesh1956] Chris I take flak for this every time I mention it but
after making one neck from scratch on guitar 3 I am not a big fan of
making my own necks...... It's not difficult to do but I personally did not
find it to be the most fun that I have had with a piece of wood......

There is a reason why many if not most of the kits come with pre-carved
necks. And that is, IMHO, because you will have enough to do and
comprehend with everything else that you have to do to complete a
guitar. No one needs the added trauma of perhaps screwing up the neck,
having to make or buy another one, etc..... on a first guitar.

There are also tools required for making the neck that you may not have
and that are not required elsewhere to build the guitar.

A Watkins neck would work fine with Cumpaino's method. You will have
to adapt a few things which in my view will make it even easier. And
John's necks are really excellent in all respects and I am using my first
Watkins neck on my current Tiger Myrtle, guitar 11 build.

Learning to build your own necks is something that you will want to do in
the future I am sure. There is also an excellent article by Mario about
neck making in the current issue of Guitarmaker. Will my mention of this
keep him from completely disagreeing with me in my post here - I doubt
it......<BG>


[/QUOTE]

Hesh,
I appreciate the help from everyone here.

From pouring over the pages dealing with the headblock, it seems to me
that the proper height and angle of the headblock would be the main
issue here. The measurements in the book of width and depth are nearly
identical to what John is offering. However, John's headblock is square on
both ends and the Cumpiano book calls for 3-1/8" tall at the neck/body
joint angled back to 3-1/4" tall. Not sure if that makes sense, as it's hard
to explain what I'm trying to say in novice-speak.

Also, the Cumpiano method calls for routing the channel for the truss rod
while the neck is still in blank form. If John's neck is not pre-routed for
this it seems a difficult rout given the taper of the finished neck. What are
the other adaptations you speak of?

Thanks again,
Chris

_________________
Christopher C. Cordle
North Muskegon, MI

http://www.yardsaleunderwear.com
http://www.facebook.com/christopher.cordle

Hey Chris

I just asked John about the truss rod yesterday. He said they're pre-
routed and will work with LMI's double action rod.

Hesh
John does have fingerboards
I just received 5 faux bound boards that are awesome.
I just picked my scale length radius nut and 14th width
He had them to me in less than 2 weeks

_________________
Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Chris - John Watkin's standard 25.4" - 1-3/4" nut width neck and matching tailblock are really nicely made and good value. (I think the Cumpiano book calls for a 25.4" scale length). If Cumpiano's plans are different, you'll need to make a slight adjustment to the location of the soundhole, bridge and X brace location. So John's necks will work.

Having said that -- if you have the time and inclination -- carving the neck is not all that difficult and I think an important and satisfying part of learning the overall build process. A lot of the folks here that use John's necks have mastered neck carving already and are using them to speed up their build time and allow them to focus on other aspects of building.

If you are unsure of the carving process you can make templates from the neck of a guitar you really like and carve to those dimensions.

John's neckblocks could easily be routed for a truss rod slot. If you are unsure -- I'll bet he would do it for you as part of the order. Or it could easily be done on a router table.

Good luck with your choices and look forward to hearing and seeing your progress (we like pictures here).

I have done it both ways, made and purchased necks. It was one of my least favorite things to do I quickly found out. I have two coming from Watkins that should be here Monday if FedX is on time (Yeah!) and really looking forward to working with these necks. Good luck on whatever direction you go.

Mike

Thanks for the endorsements, guys.

<begin shameless plug> you know, the web site (www.cncguitarparts.com) has a "post a review" button for every product and so far there's only one review out there despite dozens of orders since the new site went up <end shameless plug>   

The tops and bottoms of the neck blocks are angled at 1.5 degrees to match the shoulder of the necks. They're a little over 4 1/8" tall for trimming to any body depth.

I can route a truss rod access through the neck block for anyone who needs it; just make a note in the comment section when checking out.

Did I miss anything?John Watkins39024.3138773148

_________________
John Watkins
CNC Guitar Parts

[QUOTE=John Watkins] Thanks for the endorsements, guys.

<begin shameless plug> you know, the web site (www.cncguitarparts.com">www.cncguitarparts.com) has a "post a
review" button for every product and so far there's only one review out
there despite dozens of orders since the new site went up <end
shameless plug>   

The tops and bottoms of the neck blocks are angled at 1.5 degrees to
match the shoulder of the necks. They're a little over 4 1/8" tall for
trimming to any body depth.


I can route a truss rod access through the neck block for anyone who
needs it; just make a note in the comment section when checking out.

Did I miss anything?[/QUOTE]

John,
I had sent you an email last night through your website. Just wondering if
you received it?

Guys, another thing that weighs in my consideration of going with the
pre-carved neck is that I only have 7 days of classes left to complete this
guitar. I would think this would easily eliminate at least 1-2 days work.

_________________
Christopher C. Cordle
North Muskegon, MI

http://www.yardsaleunderwear.com
http://www.facebook.com/christopher.cordle