Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi everybody,
   I've just finished carving my first neck (mahogany) with african rosewood fingerboard.
It turned out a little thinner than I intended at .83" (21mm.) taken at the first fret. It's a steel string. I have noticed the neck now has a very slight back bend (Wedging factor of the frets,I think)

the neck is a tiny bit thicker at the 8th fret (.85")

What thickness do you guys use?

Regards KiwiCraig

_________________
CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
_____________________________________________

I would have to check but I think I am between 21-22mm at the first fret and around 22-23mm at the 10th. I do have my exact measurements written down somewhere but I don't have them in front of me. You may not be as far off as you think. The profile of the neck can also contribute a lot to how it feels.

Maybe we can get a few other people to give their measurements. I would be interested to hear them as well.

JoshJosh H38611.8952893519

_________________
Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

Hi again!

    Thanks Josh, that's relieved me somewhat!

I forgot to mention that my nut width is 1 25/32" and is a half egg type profile. I have installed a double action L.M.I. trussrod . I'm supposing this all makes a bit of a difference .

Thanks and regards KiwiCraig.

p.s. It feels fantastic to the hand...yahooo

_________________
CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
_____________________________________________

   I default at about.875" deep at the 1st fret to about .950" at the 9th or 10th fret if no specific depth has been requested by the customer who is getting the guitar. My deepest consideration is that I always leave at least .100" of material between the outside surface of the back of the neck and the bottom of the truss rod slot inside when using a one piece Mahogany neck, but go as low as .075" with the much more rigid and durable laminated necks of Maple and other woods combined.

My personal guitars usually end up at about .800" at the first fret and taper up to about .900" at the 9th fret.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

Are all these thicknesses NOT counting the fingerboard?

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

No Ron, these will include the fretboard.

I use 0.82"-0.86" at the nut. Don't know what it would be down the neck. I prethickness my necks after I cut the 15deg miter on the headstock veneer. Flip it upside down and use my router which rides on rails on either side of the neck. This gives me my gradual taper. I think Mario may have mentioned this a couple of years ago on the MIMF.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I Work to 21mm at the 1st I just did one for a guy at 20mm, but you are getting a little close to the wind at 20mm. Depends on the type of truss rod and the thickness of the fingerboard

21mm at the first, 24mm at the 9th, is what I'm comfortable with.

Colin

_________________
I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Great to hear from all you clever guys,
As I said, I,ve used the L.M.I. double action rod which only requires 3/8" deep slot ,so even with a 21mm. neck , (5 mil F/B) it still leaves me 1/4" of mahogany under the rod.

I have very little increase in thickness at the 8th as I enjoy that neck feel. I just hope I haven't cut it too fine ? I figured because my neck width is fairly wide I could get away with it . It looks substantial enough and I've just given it ,yet another rub up and down and it feels magic

Your opinions and knowledge shared is fantastic !

   Regards, KiwiCraig

_________________
CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
_____________________________________________

Craig, I don't think you are thin at all. The necks I do are in the ballpark of .80 all the way down (I like the feeling of a straight neck). I just finished a 12 string neck at .90 all the way to the heal curve. Like Kevin G I try to keep between .100 and .125 behind my truss rod. Another potential problem is carving into the CF rods, if you use them. I did this on the first neck I made and I've been paranoid ever since.

Uh, I'm no luthier...but I'm hoping Don Williams will weigh in on this one. He just finished a guitar for me, and carved the neck "quite thin" at my request. He took special pains to make certain the neck was a 5-ply sandwhich, and it contained two carbon fibre rods on each side of the truss rod for additional stability.

I have no idea what the measurements are, but it's the best neck I've ever played - and to a person my friends say it's the best neck they've ever played.

Don...Hello, Don...you out there bud?

_________________
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

No, I'm not here. I'm retired for awhile!

You know, I can't remember what the thickness was on that neck. All I know is it felt good to my hand when I played it, but I tend to like thin necks. I'm guessing it is around .80 or so, down the legth of the shaft. With all the layers of wood, and the carbon fiber in there, I don't see much need to make a neck gradually thicker toward the heel, unless a player wants it that way. To me, adding thickness there where the neck also widens, makes for more difficult playing. And I like playing up there, so I don't want it too thick. Just my opinion, what I like.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."