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I bought it as a neck blank specifically just to see what commercial offerings might yield. It is second grade, but I really wouldn't have thought the off vertical grain would be at all passable as a sellable product. Too fussy?

Hardly fussy.
That's rift sawn, not even any grade far less second.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

When I'm pilfering around in the sapele at the local wood store I use the chart on LMI's site as a reference to what is acceptable. Is that a good indicator? Because I read their note about 25 degrees and it makes me think this is on the low end of acceptable. Thoughts?

http://www.lmii.com/products/mostly-wood/neck-woods


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This one's more like 60 degrees off...

I'm not sure it really matters though. I'm more picky about straightness of grain along the length of the neck (i.e. whether it's going to curve or twist when the humidity changes).

It's more a marketability issue than structural.

I'd want to see the long grain before passing judgement. If the grain is straight all the way down the faces with no knots or defects I'd build with it no problem. There's about a bajillion flatsawn maple necks on Fenders that are doing just fine.

Indeed.

If the grain is straight along the length of the board, I would use it. Vertical grain on necks is about appearance, not strength or stability. I have used all manner of grain orientation on necks...from vertical to flat sawn.

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John

I would use it, but then again I don't worry about marketability. Do clients worry about quartersawn necks in the handmade guitar market?

Some do some don't. Some people get their knowledge mostly from the Internet...

I have seen some people rip the board down the middle, flip one piece end for end and glue back together,
sometimes with a veneer or fillet of contrasting wood in the center. Grain will make a 'V' shape. It's supposed to
make it more stable. But in any event, it looks nice

Brent

How long is the board Ed? You could cut in half and laminate the wide edge together with some walnut and maple. You'd yield 2 necks from it too.

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Brent, I'm a fan of that too, if we can find the wood.

Rod, it's 35"x3x7/8". Not sure what you're suggesting, I think it is too small for that...

That is how I do it. I think it makes for a stronger, more stable and better looking neck!!!

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Ya, none of the dimensions work for what I'm thinking of.

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson