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I have quite a few orders for Electric guitar necks (bolt on Fender style). I work in my Garage which is not heated. It usually will stay above 30 degrees even in the coldest of times here in Chicago. Most of the time in the winter, even with no heater its stays around 40-45 degrees. At times, I will pull out a heater to work, but if I can stand it, I just work safely with warm clothes on.

Here is my concerns:

If I build a bolt on neck in cold weather (I store them in my basement once near completion), do I need to worry once I ship them to my customers? These are un-finished (not sealed) raw necks. Usually Maple with Rosewood boards, but sometimes something a bit more exotic. Fretted and sanded to 220grit.

What process can I put into place to keep the wood from doing anything crazy in a few months when the climate changes?

I usually store them in my basement (which is warm and dry) for several weeks minimum as I finish the fret work and such. Is this enought time to ensure they are stable?

Do I need to bring all my fingerboards into the house? (they are cut and sanded to .250" but not slotted)

Any thoughts or tips are appreciated. I still need to build necks this winter, so NOT WORKING is not a sollution.

Thanks!

Joe

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Joe

When you say basement is warm and dry ... what temp, and more importantly what RH ??? .. the temp can vary some (60-70 F), but you want the RH of the storage to be 40-50 % IMO. If you leave the necks there for a few weeks they will certainly be acclimatized and should fare OK ...

where are you dressing the FBs for fretting ??? in the cold dry garage ??? I wouldnt ...

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Glue ups at below 60 degrees F is risky. Titebond has a chalk point of 50 which should be your absolute minimum temperature during construction.

What is stopping you from putting a heater in the garage?

Thanks Tony.

I usually do the following:

Garage:
Cut neck blanks
Template shape blanks
Cut truss rod chanel
Install truss rod and wood strip
Slot fingerboard
Glue fingerboard on
Carve back of neck
Sand to 220grit.
Radius fingerboard (sometimes this is done inside)
Drill for side dots and fret markers (sometimes this is done inside)


In the house: (65-68 degrees relative humidity 35-40%)

Neck sits a few days to 1 week
Clean up radius and ensure board is flat
Install dots and fret markers
Final sand board to 300-600 grit
Press frets with Arbor
Fret cleanup etc.
Neck sets a few days to 1 week (at minimum)

Final inspection and packing/shipping.


I often try to have necks made up in advance and stored in my basement. When this is the case, I do not do the fretboard radius until and order comes in and has defined the shape. There are times that this is true with neck carve too. So in my basement shop, I have necks that are still square, necks that are carved but no FB radius and others that are complete except frets. Frets are one of the last things I do.

The current issue is: I am getting orders for necks that are not standard and I can not use necks I have in stock (stored). So I have to start and complete a neck in a few weeks time. So from raw wood stock to completed neck in a few weeks time frame. Maybe 3 weeks if I have some wiggle room. This does not allow much time for the wood to settle between stages.

Thanks for any help

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Joe

Thanks Barry,

I keep my glue inside and bring it out during the glue process. I have not had issues with glue failure, but its something to consider. As of yet, I have been lucky that the garage has been above 50-55 degrees when I have been at that stage of my work. But as it gets colder, I am wondering what parts I need to do inside. BtW: these are one piece necks with a glued on fingerboard.

My inside shop is not much of a shop. Its basically a Utility closet that I use for guitar repairs. It has a work bench that is about 24"x72" in size. There is not much more room than that in the shop. Just enough to put a guitar (or neck) on the bench and do work on them. (there is a sump pump in that room that always has some water in it, so maybe the RH is a bit higher. I have april air humidifier for the whole house and keep it set around 35-40%. I could use one of my small Humidifiers in the shop if you guys think it will help, but I think my RH is probably pretty good.)

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Joe

Here is what we are talking about:

Kiln dried wood. Mostly Maple 1x4x 0.75 with fingerboard caps (rosewood, panga, ipe, jatoba etc). Single action 3/16" rods, maple filet stip.

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Joe

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Just sell the process as semi-cryogenic treatment to enhance the crystaline structure of the wood.

If it were me, i would try and do all my glueing inside where it is warm after a two week acclimation of the wood in the proper humidity range.

I would keep everything warm. I would only take the material to the garage to mill it, and that would be it. Once I was done milling, back in the house it would go. Do all of your gluing in a controlled environment. I built a cedar chest in a cold garage one winter, and when I took the finished project into the house, the next morning everything was warped. I seriously would not want that happening with my guitar necks. I live in the Chicago area also, and I know how much the weather fluctuates around here.

When it comes to guitar necks, I prefer to fret the necks when it dry as possible which where I am during the winter months when the RH is at its lowest. This will ensure that the fret ends will never overhang the fretboard. I would hesitate to glue at a low RH either. If you are gluing woods that have a different coefficient of expansion & contraction or a cross grain situation then you may need to be concerned with things being too dry. It’s not like an acoustic body that will change considerably with the weather.
As for gluing I wouldn’t glue anything bellow 60 Deg. F so into the house they go where the temperature is constant around 68-70 F.

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Rich S

"The inconvenience of poor quality will linger long after the thrill of a bargain has been forgotten"