Official Luthiers Forum!

I didn’t want to hijack anyone else’s threads so I starting this one to answer my beginner questions.
Does neck wood need to be quarter sawn?
Do fret boards need to be quarter sawn?

I know that the scale length is the distance from the front of the nut to the top point of the bridge (2 x the 12th fret distance). Compensation is added distance to make up for setup, string type, and fretting.

Can you fine tune compensation with both the nut and saddle after bridge placement?

I have also found a jig for finding compensation on David Hurd’s site. It’s basically a neck with a 12th fret and a movable bridge so you can get compensation measurements for any strings you want to use. This will be helpful for some future ukulele builds as the nylon strings really seem vary in properties.

Thanks

Philip

_________________
aka konacat

If you think my playing is bad you should hear me sing!
Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds competence. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in practice.

Whoops! There is no edit button. Not a problem! Here is the link to the compensaton jig. David Hurd's Ukuleles site

_________________
aka konacat

If you think my playing is bad you should hear me sing!
Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds competence. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in practice.

great site!! Thanks....

_________________
Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

necks are better off being quarter sawn as they tend to resist bending better. that being said, on a relatively low stress instrument like a uke on might be able to get away using flat or rift sawn stock.

incresingly fret boards, and in perticular ebony boards, are being cut from wood which is not quartered.

the scale length is the scale length, what ever length it is, period. the nut-12th fret distance is 1/2 the scale length. the distance to the break point of the saddle is the scale length + compensation.

yes, compensation can be fine tuned at both the nut and the saddle.

on acoustic instruments compensation at the saddle is fine tuned by adjusting the break point forward or back from the centerline of the saddle, or using a split saddle. a wider saddle will allow more adjustment. electric instruments have mechanically adjusted saddles.

at the nut some just shorten the nut to first fret distance by shaving the end of the fb. others build a cantilever nut to take the breakpoint of the strings forward toward the bridge.

Philip-
You've got most of the answers already.
Quarter-sawn wood is not necessarily stiffer than flat-sawn, but often is- it depends on the species, and the stick you are dealing with.
The great advantage of quarter-sawn is that since expansion in wood (due to increased moisture content) is principally across the grain, quarter-sawn necks (and fingerboards) will tend to increase/decrease in width with moisture changes. This usually results in fewer problems with 'bowing' and action changes from season to season.. but is also the reason you may find fret ends sticking out of an unbound fingerboard in dry conditions.
John