-
Wood selection for set neck design?
I am new to the Looth Group. I am getting ready to prototype a set neck version of a bolt on neck, solid body electric design I have been building for a couple of years now. For the bolt on design, I typically go with a traditional maple neck independent of the body wood choice. With a set neck design, I’m curious how important it is that I keep with common wood species between neck and body? I’m specifically worried about the structural compatibility of the joint with different species of wood. My assumption has always been that it would be best to use the same species, but curious about other’s experiences?
-
5 Replies
-
I think you are good to go mixing and matching species. The only caveat might be when using really oily hardwoods. Are you mostly worried about delamination ?
-
There are two things that come to mind.
First, you want the grain orientation of the neck to be the same as the body, because wood moves differently (i.e., in differing amounts) depending on the grain direction. Most wood is pretty stable longitudinally. As humidity changes (or as wood dries out initially) the biggest change is across the grain (tangent to the growth rings–think you are looking down in the direction of the annual rings). Green lumber can shrink as much as 8-10% in this direction. Across the growth rings, wood will shrink about half that much. Obviously, if you are working with properly dried wood, you don’t have to worry about the initial shrinkage, shrinkage/expansion becomes a question about how well the finish will resist humidity changes.
Second, optimally, you would choose woods that have similar shrinkage characteristics. The online wood database has information on many woods regarding this.
-
Excellent points.
-
-
-
Thanks for the responses! My main concern was regarding stability around expansion and contraction of the two different components. Coming from a general woodworking background, I basically understand the potential risk of grain direction in glue joints and would expect that it could potentially be worsened by varying characteristics of different wood species. I was curious if this should be avoided at all costs or if there was potential for success by using two different wood species. I appreciate being pointed to the reference material on this! Would love to hear about anyone’s experiences with using two different woods in the set-neck application. For my prototype, I am going to stick with Korina for both neck and body as a measure of insurance towards final success.
-
If you look back in time through the Gibson catalog, you will see that at one point they switched to maple necks on the Les Paul. I have not heard any horror stories of issues with those particular guitars.
Yes, I know. Late to the party, but just my input here. Hopefully it helps future searchers.
Log in to reply.