Warmoth necks

[Zerberus]

Re: Warmoth necks

Wow, there is no way I'm spending that kind of moeny on a two piece neck. I looked at some other showcase necks and it is more obvious. Thanks for the heads up!

http://www.warmoth.com/showcase/sc_guitar_necks.cfm?type=guitar&start=1&menuItem=3&itemNumber=lpn183&subMenuItem=2&subMenuItem2=1

You´ll spend significantly more if you have a luthier of my grade or better (which isn´t that good, IMHO) custom mmake you one, and that´s where yóu´re likely headed if you want a one piece, Angled Headstock, Gibson headstock, 24 3/4" conversion neck... think near double

 

[bwbass]

Re: Warmoth necks

Brian what do you think of the volute as another method of supporting the tiltback design stress wise? In conjunction with or without the scarf there.

I'm not suprised that my theory about the scarf joint being stronger than a one piece, but I'm curiosu as to your thoughts on the plus and minus's of the volute as part of neck design

No real minus to a volute, unless you don't like the feel or look of it. It can definitely make the headstock joint stronger, but I think it's more help on a one-piece neck.

 

[Fresh_Start]

Re: Warmoth necks

You´ll spend significantly more if you have a luthier of my grade or better (which isn´t that good, IMHO) custom mmake you one, and that´s where yóu´re likely headed if you want a one piece, Angled Headstock, Gibson headstock, 24 3/4" conversion neck... think near double

I've got a one-piece, angled headstock, 24-3/4" conversion neck from USA Custom Guitars just waiting for me to finish the body it was ordered for. USACG doesn't offer a Gibson style headstock on their website (although they may have something similar programmed into the CNC machine or you could buy a "paddle" and cut your own). Also, the headstock tilt is only 11 degrees instead of 13 degrees, for strength reasons IIRC. Finally, it's got a decent volute to make Chuck happy.

Hope this helps!

Chip

P.S. Thanks for contributing Brian. I couldn't find the scarf joint description & pics on the "new" website, but see it now. I clearly understand why a 1-piece neck with a tiltback headstock would be more fragile. Do you think that there's any downside to having the joint directly underneath the nut, extending toward the guitar body? Looking at other multi-piece necks (like my Taylor), the joint usually seems to be beyond the nut so it's not under the string path.

 

[bwbass]

Re: Warmoth necks

P.S. Thanks for contributing Brian. I couldn't find the scarf joint description & pics on the "new" website, but see it now. I clearly understand why a 1-piece neck with a tiltback headstock would be more fragile. Do you think that there's any downside to having the joint directly underneath the nut, extending toward the guitar body? Looking at other multi-piece necks (like my Taylor), the joint usually seems to be beyond the nut so it's not under the string path.

I'm afraid I'm not sure exactly what you mean... Our scarf joint starts around the 3rd fret side dot, under the fingerboard, and ends up around the middle of the first fret on our standard contour necks. On thicker neck contours like the Boat, Fat, and '59, the end of the joint is closer to the nut position, and on the Wizard contour it's further away from it. This is just how the geometry of the joint looks when the neck is carved - the joint is the same on all of them when they start out.

Do you mean that the joint (on your Taylor) is entirely within the headstock, with a straight line indicating the joint on the front and back? I've seen this done, but very rarely. It requires that the peghead have a cap or laminate to hide the line in the front, which adds to cost, and which not everybody likes the look of. It also means you have to use one very long and one very short piece of wood, making layout less economical. I did one myself this way with ebony veneers on the front and back of the peghead, just to be tricky. Bending the veneer up the volute on the back was not fun, let me tell you!

The classical guitar way of doing it is with the peghead of one piece and the joint in the neck shaft, like we do. The only drawback have seen with this method is if the glue joint is not done well, as it can slip over time, pushing the fretboard up around the 3rd fret. Old Ibanez and other import guitars are famous for this.

We do this joint right by machining the angle into both surfaces instead of sanding. As a result the wood fibers at the joint surfaces don't get crushed and packed with dust as they would otherwise, making a much cleaner and tighter glue joint. I have never seen or heard of one of our necks with a slipped joint.

Here's the gigantic shaper head and jig we use to do this. This is the most terrifying machine in the shop... I find myself checking to make sure I still have all my fingers every time I walk past it:

 

[Fresh_Start]

Re: Warmoth necks

Hey Brian -

Thanks for that explanation! That is one scary machine, but I understand what you're saying about the scarf joint. Sounds solid.

The Taylor neck-to-headstock joint looks like two sets of tiny teeth meshed together, and, yep, they use a veneer to cover the joint on the front of the headstock. Wish I could find a picture of it for you. It is really beautiful woodworking.

Chip

 

[FretFire]

Re: Warmoth necks

Wish I could find a picture of it for you.

Ask and you shall receive . Took a quick shot for ya.

 

[bwbass]

Re: Warmoth necks

That's a finger joint. Very nice woodworking indeed! Bob Taylor is a true pioneer.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Warmoth necks

I personally am a bit skeptical of Finger Joints in general, but as most of us know Taylors are great guitars, so I´m pretty sure Bob thought it out well before starting to do that.

And yes, the woodworking is sweet, it´s not exactly easy to make a GOOD, tight finger-joint