Meanwhile in Las Vegas...

[John_H]

How do you avoid neck back-bow after fretting?

I only had a problem with that once. I bought a curly maple fretboard from an ebay vendor, and the fret slots must have been very tight. I used a new fret saw on these two necks, so I am a little concerned. I always allow for a little relief before gluing the fretboard, but for another reason. I make my own traditional style truss rods. It's my belief that tension on the truss rod makes the neck much stiffer. The stiffer neck doesn't absorb the string vibration as easily. If I put a little camber in the neck, I know that I'll have to add a little tension. It's more obvious when the neck timber is a softer species. Slower decay equals longer sustain. I don't shape the necks until after they're fretted, so they are still quite rigid when I press the frets. This might help them keep their shape as well.

Do you use a fret barber for the beads?

I've used them for a re-fret, but that's all.

This is the figured redwood drop-top body that the neck with the ebony board is for. I capped the headstock with the same material. It's chambered, and very light

[Helmholtz]

Thanks!

It's my belief that tension on the truss rod makes the neck much stiffer.

At least truss rod tension influences feel, sound and dead spots of the neck. That's why I'm concerned about unwanted backbow after (re)fretting.

The experimental works of acoustics Professor Helmut Fleischer have demonstrated that sustain problems and dead spots are directly related to local neck resonances (the body only has a minor influence). A stiffer neck not necessarily means better overall sustain, but the dead spots/resonances will be shifted to somewhat higher frequencies, which may be less objectionable.

[John_H]

Thank You for bringing this to my attention. Fleischer's conclusions on this are very interesting. It reinforces the way I feel about many things. The examples that he showed were on a Stratocaster neck. There are many variables that could sway the characteristics. The species, thickness, size of the headstock, weight of the hardware, and type of truss rod are things that come to mind that could all affect where a neck is resonant. I've built a few one piece necks. To me they seem more 'lively'. I attributed this to there being no laminated fingerboard, and a lightweight truss rod.

I found this short version of Fleischer's study;
https://acoustics.org/pressroom/http...fleischer.html


One piece Pao Ferro neck;

[Helmholtz]

I found this short version of Fleischer's study;
https://acoustics.org/pressroom/http...fleischer.html
[ATTACH=CONFIG]52160[/ATTACH]

The picture shows one of the most annoying resonances of strat necks at 430Hz. Its specific location on the fretboard and the frequency being close to A4 cause many strats to have a dead spot on the B string fret No.10 as well as on first string fret 5. (Might be a good reason to tune down a half-step.

Fleischer analyzed several strats, a Gibson LP, a Gibson Explorer and some basses. He let me have a complete set of paper copies of the works related to solid body instruments some 10 years ago.

More scientific work on the influence of construction and materials of solidbodies on sound and and sustain has been done by Arthur Pate'.



The Pao Ferro neck looks just gorgeous!

[John_H]

I got back to work on the guitars over the weekend. It's been uncommonly cold here all month. Between that, and being sick, I haven't felt like doing much.

I was concerned that my new fret saw would be smaller than the one that I've been using, resulting in some back-bow. Much to my relief, It works great. I checked the slots with feeler gauges, and the new saw was actually a little bigger. The combination of the sharp new saw, and the jig performed well. The frets went in flawlessly.

The hard work is done. From this point, it's the funnest part of building a guitar. Giving the neck it's shape, and marrying it to the body is when you see your efforts take form. Problem is, I don't have a body for it. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with this neck. The last one that looked like a parlor guitar worked out nice. I've really grown to like it, so I've decided to do something similar. This one will have a cutaway, two pickups, and maybe f holes. I've got a nice, figured walnut top that was given to me as a gift a couple of years ago. I'll put it on top of a one piece mahogany body.

I need to finalize my layout, and make templates, but in the meantime, I'll get the top glued together.

[The Dude]

I love it when I hear people from Las Vegas say it's cold.

[Chuck H]

I love it when I hear people from Las Vegas say it's cold.

Well remember that Las Vegas is in a desert. It actually can get cold there (though mid 40's isn't that cold). The coldest I ever felt was in Flagstaff Arizona. The temp was exactly zero Fahrenheit, but the humidity was very low so the moment you went out it felt like all the water in your skin was sublimating as you freeze dried. My breath was crystallizing and falling in tiny flakes. It had to be the low humidity, but it was oddly, bitingly cold feeling.

[Justin Thomas]

Something I've had to tell some of my housies about those "Polar Vortex" days & nights in the northeast. Please, be sure to drink a lot of water. You don't realize how much you lose when it's 2° out, the wind is 20-30mph, & humidity in the 30-40% range. A lot of them (there are 32 of us this year) are from So-Cal, Florida, Hawaii, had a Bolivian & a Filipino... But tgey think they're okay cuz they're not sweating...

I remember in fall when most of rhem were saying how cold it was & how miserable when it got down to 45°. I just kept telling them "just wait. It gets better." Not that this thread need be a urination competition about our weather, cuz I already know G1, Dude, & Enzo win that one; just shooting crap. And yes, it DOES get cold in the desert. But that's better than 115° in the shade.

Justin

[DrGonz78]

Last Thursday it snowed in parts of north Scottsdale and it was like 45 degrees most of the day. For us that's about as cold as it gets. A week later it's a high temperature of 75. Chuck has it right with the dry cold nights in Arizona. I don't think I could handle the REAL cold and that damn polar vortex.

[Enzo]

Coldest I ever felt was taking Paula home the last time we went out together...

[John_H]

I love it when I hear people from Las Vegas say it's cold.

Ha! Maybe I am a little thin blooded, but my garage is pretty drafty, and when the wind is blowing my little propane heater can't keep up. I'm sure it's a little humorous to all of my friends in the GWN, similar to when I hear those in colder climates complain of heat, but as much as I enjoy working on the gear, It's no fun when I'm uncomfortable.

Well remember that Las Vegas is in a desert. It actually can get cold there (though mid 40's isn't that cold). The coldest I ever felt was in Flagstaff Arizona. The temp was exactly zero Fahrenheit, but the humidity was very low so the moment you went out it felt like all the water in your skin was sublimating as you freeze dried. My breath was crystallizing and falling in tiny flakes. It had to be the low humidity, but it was oddly, bitingly cold feeling.

Usually when it's cold here in Vegas, the humidity is very low, so we don't see much snow. Last Wednesday we had the most significant snow event in almost thirty years. Some parts of the Las Vegas valley had well over a foot. A few inches fell at my house in the center of town. It was very surreal seeing my neighborhood covered.

Something I've had to tell some of my housies about those "Polar Vortex" days & nights in the northeast. Please, be sure to drink a lot of water. You don't realize how much you lose when it's 2° out, the wind is 20-30mph, & humidity in the 30-40% range. A lot of them (there are 32 of us this year) are from So-Cal, Florida, Hawaii, had a Bolivian & a Filipino... But tgey think they're okay cuz they're not sweating...

I remember in fall when most of rhem were saying how cold it was & how miserable when it got down to 45°. I just kept telling them "just wait. It gets better." Not that this thread need be a urination competition about our weather, cuz I already know G1, Dude, & Enzo win that one; just shooting crap. And yes, it DOES get cold in the desert. But that's better than 115° in the shade.

It's easy to become dehydrated here at any time of the year, but you're right about how easy it is to be unaware in cold weather. During July, and August it will get over 110 degrees a few times. The official record for Las Vegas is 117*, but that's at the airport downtown. Many parts of the valley exceed that frequently. There's also a theory that the Chamber of Commerce has a special thermometer designed to not scare tourists. I'm getting older, and the heat affects me more than it used to. I'll still take 105* over 25* any day though.

Last Thursday it snowed in parts of north Scottsdale and it was like 45 degrees most of the day. For us that's about as cold as it gets. A week later it's a high temperature of 75. Chuck has it right with the dry cold nights in Arizona. I don't think I could handle the REAL cold and that damn polar vortex.

I lived in Scottsdale in the mid 70's. Those were some wild times. Arizona does have exciting weather. In '77 it flooded so bad that it destroyed all of the bridges crossing the Salt River, except for one half of the Interstate 10. I was working in Chandler at the time. The commute afterwards was nearly impossible. I thought at the time that it deserved a special edition of "Arizona Highways". I have a lot of friends in AZ. I was sent this photo last week. A satellite image showing two thirds of your state covered in snow.

[John_H]

I haven't built many single-cut guitars, but for the last one I made a jig, and matching template for the neck mortise. It worked really well, and this will be the first occasion to use it since then. Both the jig, and the body template have the angle built in. I didn't look at anyone Else's design, but instead envisioned on doing it this way before I had the chance. I dig making my own jigs. I have many that are made from the simplest of materials like this one, but are very accurate. I'll need it for both of these guitars.



I put a lot of thought into the cutaway on this guitar. It is after all for me. I looked at several examples. I found that many of my favorites shared a similarity. The cutaway, and the return to the body had a symmetry to them. Like the letter S, but not exaggerated. I used this concept, and oriented the 'S' vertically. I sketched it a few times until I found a balance that liked. I like doing full scale layouts. On this one, it really helped. I already had the templates, so it was easy. This is with a 22 fret neck joining at the 16th fret. (like a les paul) I plan to use a vintage Nashville T-O-M that I have with a traditional tailpiece. I drew in the area that will be chambered. I'll trim it with single ply black binding. I'm working on an idea for some custom humbucker surrounds coordinated with a floating pick guard reminiscent of a late 50's National. I'm not committed to anything, but I like a subtle art deco vibe.

[John_H]

I made some good progress this weekend. The necks are done as far as I'll go until I mount them to the bodies. On mine, I'm going to contour the transition.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Right on - take the dusty work outdoors! Dig the darlington schemo T shirt too.

[Helmholtz]

I plan to use a vintage Nashville T-O-M that I have with a traditional tailpiece.

Just a personal opinion:

Having owned (still have a few) and played many Gibson LPs, I always preferred the ones with the ABR-1 bridge over the Nashville T-O-M. The ABR seems to couple better with the wood and produces a fuller (woodier?) less metallic sound. Its threaded studs are in direct contact with the top, while the Nashville is suspended on metal inserts that don't couple very well.
Also I don't like the pot metal saddles of the Nashville.

I tried locking bridges but found that they neither improve sound nor sustain.

One of the best sounding ABR bridges is the Gibson Historic part. But the Allparts version compares very well.

Unfortunately the ABR design depends on tight tolerances (press fit of saddles) of its components and sometimes you may find a rattling saddle. Gibson also sells the (unnotched) saddles separately and I always keep some spares.

I also prefer a lightweight aluminum stop-tailpiece.