Stacked Necks and Scarfed Headstocks

WhenDogsSing · Apr 16, 2015

I don't like stacked necks and scarfed headstocks on stringed instruments. For me, they reflect a "cheap, cost-cutting" approach to instrument building and are cosmetically detracting.

I'm interested in how others think regarding stacked necks and scarfed headstocks.

wayfarer75 · Apr 16, 2015

I have three ukes. One has many, many pieces that make up the neck, and the others have just one piece of wood for the whole neck. Yes, I think it looks better with one piece, but I also don't like waste. It really isn't something that matters to me when I buy an instrument, no matter how expensive it is.

LDS714 · Apr 16, 2015

WhenDogsSing said:
I don't like stacked necks and scarfed headstocks on stringed instruments. For me, they reflect a "cheap, cost-cutting" approach to instrument building and are cosmetically detracting.

I'm interested in how others think regarding stacked necks and scarfed headstocks.

I'm on the fence about them. In some cases they look kind of cheesy and not being much of a woodworker I tend not to trust them in higher tension situations such as guitars (yeah, I've always heard that a glued joint is stronger...).

That being said, I have a Kala with a scarf joint just below the nut, and the wood for the headstock is absolutely striking, beautifully flamed and tiger-striped.

I also have an early 60s GJG (generic Japanese guitar) with a laminated neck that's as stable as the rock of Gibraltar.

kkimura · Apr 16, 2015

I don't mind so much with low to mid-range ukes. On high end ukes I like to see one piece necks because they cost so much more.

KohanMike · Apr 16, 2015

Doesn't matter to me at all as long as the instrument sounds good and plays well.

cpmusic · Apr 16, 2015

kohanmike said:
Doesn't matter to me at all as long as the instrument sounds good and plays well.

This is my feeling, as well. I used to be more concerned about it as the mark of an inexpensive instrument, but I don't like waste, and I like the idea of the headstock's grain following the plane of the headstock.

FarmerBill · Apr 16, 2015

A one piece neck has short grain in the headstock. I scarf the headstock to the neck to have a stronger more stable ukulele.

BlackBearUkes · Apr 16, 2015

As mentioned above, a one piece neck has short grain in the headstock, making it weak. I fix these kinds of broken headstocks on a regular basis. The same holds true for a stacked neck block.

I know people want looks over common sense sometimes, but screw that. Quality wood is getting harder to find and is more expensive and a one piece neck makes the price higher, which is stupid because its weaker. It should be the other way around, a scarfed neck and stacked neck block take longer to assemble, is stronger and looks fine if done right. As an example, Bear Claw spruce used to be considered garbage wood, not good for much until the guitar industry told the buyers it was special and it now costs more. People will believe anything if you say it long and loud enough. Sheesh!

Ukejenny · Apr 16, 2015

FarmerBill said:
A one piece neck has short grain in the headstock. I scarf the headstock to the neck to have a stronger more stable ukulele.

BlackBearUkes said:
As mentioned above, a one piece neck has short grain in the headstock, making it weak. I fix these kinds of broken headstocks on a regular basis. The same holds true for a stacked neck block.

I know people want looks over common sense sometimes, but screw that. Quality wood is getting harder to find and is more expensive and a one piece neck makes the price higher, which is stupid because its weaker. It should be the other way around, a scarfed neck and stacked neck block take longer to assemble, is stronger and looks fine if done right. As an example, Bear Claw spruce used to be considered garbage wood, not good for much until the guitar industry told the buyers it was special and it now costs more. People will believe anything if you say it long and loud enough. Sheesh!

Very good information above. As for the OP, I have never really even thought about it. I'm not a luthier or anywhere near being able to do any kind of real work on a wooden instrument. Both my Ohanas seem to have stacked heels and scarfed headstocks, but they look very well done.

cpmusic · Apr 17, 2015

Bill1 said:
Can you explain why they are cost cutting and cheap? Have you found some accurate data which indicates one method is faster or cheaper overall than the other? Both methods seem to involve removing wood or glueing wood to get to a roughed blank, which is then worked to the finished item, which would seem to require a similar amount of manhours of work.

This is what Taylor was saying when some in the guitar world went bat-crazy about the NT neck. It's true that they get more necks out of a given lot of wood than when they were making one-piece necks, but with mahogany growing scarce, it makes sense to use a process that produces less waste.

Icelander53 · Apr 17, 2015

kohanmike said:
Doesn't matter to me at all as long as the instrument sounds good and plays well.

this ^^^^^^^^

BlackBearUkes · Apr 17, 2015

If you are using wood to build a soprano neck with a one piece neck, you will need the blank to be about 2 1/2" wide, 2 1/4" thick and about 11"-12" long depending on your design. If you are using a stack heel design the wood would be about 2 1/2" wide, 3/4" thick and about 12"-13 1/2" long.

With a one piece neck you simply trace your design on the blank and cut away. With a stack heel and scrafed head you need to cut the scraf, fit it and glue it up. You need to also glue up the stacked heel. Once all the parts are glued together you can then trace your design and cut away. The scraf/stack design has very little waste, where as the one piece has a lot more wood. The scarf/stack design takes more time to get right and that is why I believe it should cost more. If you don't beleive me, try it yourself.

Bill1 said:
Can you explain why they are cost cutting and cheap? Have you found some accurate data which indicates one method is faster or cheaper overall than the other? Both methods seem to involve removing wood or glueing wood to get to a roughed blank, which is then worked to the finished item, which would seem to require a similar amount of manhours of work.

PereBourik · Apr 17, 2015

BlackBearUkes said:
As mentioned above, a one piece neck has short grain in the headstock, making it weak. I fix these kinds of broken headstocks on a regular basis. The same holds true for a stacked neck block.

I know people want looks over common sense sometimes, but screw that. Quality wood is getting harder to find and is more expensive and a one piece neck makes the price higher, which is stupid because its weaker. It should be the other way around, a scarfed neck and stacked neck block take longer to assemble, is stronger and looks fine if done right. As an example, Bear Claw spruce used to be considered garbage wood, not good for much until the guitar industry told the buyers it was special and it now costs more. People will believe anything if you say it long and loud enough. Sheesh!

"62,400 repetitions make one truth," Bernard Marx in Alduous Huxley's Brave New World.

southcoastukes · Apr 17, 2015

BlackBearUkes said:
If you are using wood to build a soprano neck with a one piece neck, you will need the blank to be about 2 1/2" wide, 2 1/4" thick and about 11"-12" long depending on your design. If you are using a stack heel design the wood would be about 2 1/2" wide, 3/4" thick and about 12"-13 1/2" long.

With a one piece neck you simply trace your design on the blank and cut away. With a stack heel and scrafed head you need to cut the scraf, fit it and glue it up. You need to also glue up the stacked heel. Once all the parts are glued together you can then trace your design and cut away. The scraf/stack design has very little waste, where as the one piece has a lot more wood. The scarf/stack design takes more time to get right and that is why I believe it should cost more. If you don't beleive me, try it yourself.

All true.

Scarfed and stacked = quality construction.

Of course then on the headstock we veneer front and back to make it "purty" (and even a bit stronger still)!

wayfarer75 · Apr 17, 2015

Bill1 said:
So it appears that technically the multi piece neck is actually more expensive to make, and provides a stronger neck. This seems to confilct with the opinion expressed in the OP? It is amazing how opinion driven some buying choices are.
Buy the uke which makes the music you want to play, if it is well made out of wood it will be hard to find an ugly one.

It requires more hours, but less wood. It depends on cost of labor vs. cost of materials. Which I imagine would vary widely among uke brands.

Stacked Necks and Scarfed Headstocks

WhenDogsSing

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wayfarer75

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LDS714

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kkimura

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KohanMike

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cpmusic

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FarmerBill

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BlackBearUkes

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Ukejenny

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cpmusic

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Icelander53

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BlackBearUkes

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PereBourik

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southcoastukes

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wayfarer75

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