dave the slave
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how thin can the neck of a tenor ukulele be if made out of hard maple or genuine mahogany, and still be structurally sound?
neck thickness
- Thread starter dave the slave
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Beau Hannam Ukuleles
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Well, technically a 1mm piece of wood is structurally sound to itself.
However, assuming you are adding some carbon fiber rod to the mahogany neck, id wouldn't aim to go below 10mm at the nut (with a 5mm fingerboard).
My necks are about 18mm at the body join (+ the 5mm fingerboard).
Not sure about maple. Ask a banjo maker.
However, assuming you are adding some carbon fiber rod to the mahogany neck, id wouldn't aim to go below 10mm at the nut (with a 5mm fingerboard).
My necks are about 18mm at the body join (+ the 5mm fingerboard).
Not sure about maple. Ask a banjo maker.
Sven
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If you make it with the right grain direction, it will be uncomfortable before it's too weak.
But build already.
But build already.
dave the slave
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i wouldnt be adding any support to it whatsoever besides probably a 1/4 inch rosewood fingerboard
dave the slave
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right grain direction being that the grain will go length wise right? yah i know i was out of the country till late last week and have drawn up the plans and think i have everything i need to build besides wood i hope to get today and a band or scroll saw to cut out the body(still not sure what to do about that). thanks for al the help till now
BR Ukuleles
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I don't use maple, but my Spanish Cedar necks are approximately 11mm thick at the nut with a 3.5 - 4.5mm fret board. 3.5mm if it's a flat one, and 4.5mm at the centre if it has a radius. All get a CF truss rod.
I've built the same with Australian Blackwood, Mahogany, Lace Sheoak, Queensland Maple, Monkey Pod, and a few other species I can't recall. As Sven said, the size will most likely get uncomfortable before you are going to have a problem.
I've built the same with Australian Blackwood, Mahogany, Lace Sheoak, Queensland Maple, Monkey Pod, and a few other species I can't recall. As Sven said, the size will most likely get uncomfortable before you are going to have a problem.
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mvinsel
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Grain direction lengthwise indeed, and orient the grain lines vertically rather than diagonally or horizontally as you look from the end of the piece, I think is what was meant.
I used a 3/4" total on a one piece maple neck/fretboard electric steel string solid body with no carbon reinforcement and it hasn't moved noticeably in three years. This was with old butcher block I'd had for thirty years, very stable wood.
-Vinnie in Juneau
I used a 3/4" total on a one piece maple neck/fretboard electric steel string solid body with no carbon reinforcement and it hasn't moved noticeably in three years. This was with old butcher block I'd had for thirty years, very stable wood.
-Vinnie in Juneau
Beau Hannam Ukuleles
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Of course, we should all remember that all electric guitar necks have the grain orientated parallel to the fingerboard...
Sven
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Yeah - what's up with that? Does me head in it does. But I'm sure a flat sawn uke neck would hold up.
In my answer to the OP in post #3 I was 1) thinking of the grain direction looking at the blank from the side, and 2) being intentionally vague to encourage the OP to invent some answers of his own.
In my answer to the OP in post #3 I was 1) thinking of the grain direction looking at the blank from the side, and 2) being intentionally vague to encourage the OP to invent some answers of his own.
Beau Hannam Ukuleles
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1/4 wood is more dimensionally stable.
Remember that strength and stiffness are not the same thing.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf2001/green01d.pdf
Remember that strength and stiffness are not the same thing.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf2001/green01d.pdf
With regards to stability, it's my understanding that wood expands and contracts along the grain, so that quarter sawn wood is expanding and contracting up and down, while flat sawn wood is getting wider and then thinner as it expands and contracts, neither is more stable in and of itself, it just depends on how you're going to use it. If you are gluing a fretboard to it, then up and down is good, because it won't stress the glue joint as it alternately expands and contracts. Additionally I've been told that quarter sawn is less prone to cupping and warping, although it would seem that the thinner the board, the truer that would be, as a quarter sawn 3x3 neck blank is still half flat sawn, eh?
mvinsel
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Beau,
Might it be that in guitar necks they want the neck to be able to flex somewhat for an adjustable truss rod to be able to move it?
I think that's what you'd get with the quarter sawn wood oriented parallel to the fingerboard.
Or is that just a prejudice I have leftover from baseball?
With maple on a tenor uke size neck it's tough to bend it in either direction.
-Vinnie in Juneau
Might it be that in guitar necks they want the neck to be able to flex somewhat for an adjustable truss rod to be able to move it?
I think that's what you'd get with the quarter sawn wood oriented parallel to the fingerboard.
Or is that just a prejudice I have leftover from baseball?
With maple on a tenor uke size neck it's tough to bend it in either direction.
-Vinnie in Juneau
Beau Hannam Ukuleles
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1/4 breaks quicker then slab sawn, which has some strength and give before snapping. This may have been a factor in electric necks - think of bands like the Who, Sex Pistols etc but they came about decades after the electric guitar.
It probably all started from Leo Fender being a cheap ass and buying the cheapest cuts of timber, hence also alder and ash. Slab, or 1/4 are both strong enough for necks, as history shows.
I only use 1/4 sawn wood though.
It probably all started from Leo Fender being a cheap ass and buying the cheapest cuts of timber, hence also alder and ash. Slab, or 1/4 are both strong enough for necks, as history shows.
I only use 1/4 sawn wood though.
