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UNPLANNED DOWNTIME: 12th Oct 23:45

French chestnut for guitar neck?

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Dr_NecessiterDr_Necessiter Frets: 152
in Making & Modding
I have a large lump of mis-shapen French chestnut from which I'm hoping to extract a neck for a Tele-style guitar. Assuming I can do this adequately, then I'll go on and look at making the body. There's probably enough wood there for several attempts assuming I can square it up and cut it down into blanks. I'm going to have to do this without machinery as I don't have any :) (also I want to learn to do stuff by hand if I can). This is my first go at a guitar build (and close to my first go at woodworking) so:
  • Has anyone used this wood for a guitar neck? Any tips?
  • Jumping the gun a bit but, what are the feelings on reinforcing necks with carbon fibre? 
  • Should I just go with a truss rod? Dual action rods sound like they ought to be better than single action ones or am I missing something?

Many thanks in advance!
"I've got the moobs like Jabba".
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Comments

  • WezVWezV Frets: 15793
    it should work okay, but you have to judge the bit you have.   

    Describing it as "mis-shapen" isn't a good start for neck wood.  You want nice and straight grain, especially when dealing with unknown woods.

    Carbon fiber will help make it more stable.  It may be a good idea if it does have irregular grain. But it will only do so much.

    dual action rods are often easier to fit as they require a simpler route.  The extra adjustability may come in handy

    Do you have pics of the piece of wood showing the grain you are dealing with?
    Wez Venables Guitars
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  • barnstormbarnstorm Frets: 557
    If ultimately it doesn't lend itself to making a neck you could maybe have a go at a lap steel.
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  • Dr_NecessiterDr_Necessiter Frets: 152
    I may have to get back to you on that - it’s a really heavy lump but there’s a lot of dry powdery wood on the outside. Looks like it’s a wavy grain but I’ll plane off some of the dead stuff and see what’s what. 
    "I've got the moobs like Jabba".
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  • Dr_NecessiterDr_Necessiter Frets: 152
    Apologies for leaving this thread hanging, I've not had chance to work on this bit of wood. Hopefully I'll have an update over the weekend. Thanks again for the replies.
    "I've got the moobs like Jabba".
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