My first scratch build

[dingobass]

Hey Greg,

Basically what you have made is a single action truss rod, so it will only pull in one direction.

So, install the truss rod then you will need to build in what is known as neck relief before glueing the fret board onto the neck.
The neck relief means a slight back bow that will straighten up under string tension.
This relief does not need to be massive, just a few mm at most.

There is a bit of an art getting this right with single action rods and for a first build I would highly reccomend purchasing a double action truss rod.
This could could save you a few headaches and dramas

[Gregted]

Thanks for the reply, Dingo.
What I am asking is if I insert the threaded rod without a prebend, will the rods natural tendency to want to straighten out act against the string tension without the neck relief you speak of. I am thinking the ends will want to push the head and heel down slightly which is what I want. I have been looking at 2 way rods but really want to make as much as I can from scratch, hence the homemade rod.

[dingobass]

It should work as you say.
You will still need to build in the neck relief so when the strings are under tension it straightens out.
Then any minor adjustments can be made with the truss rod if the neck developes a front bow.

The main reason I reccomend using a double action truss is the ability to move the neck either way if needed.
They are easily made, infact you could convert yours into a two way by adding a length of flat bar.

[Gregted]

Hey and thanks again dingo. I have seen a build of a double action rod. The builder simply bent a rod almost in half and inserted a plate on the threaded longer leg. The shorter leg fitted into a hole drilled halfway through the same plate above the longer one. This looks do able. So the relief I should build in you speak of means to fit the neck with a couple mm backward bend to compensate for initial string tension. Won't that make the action very low at the heel.

[keloooe]

I'd just buy a double action rod from StewMac, can't get my head around all these techniques for rods!

[Gregted]

Big day today. Parts arrived and trial fitted. Found out I didn't route the pup cavities deep enough and the jack cavity needed some widening. Of course when I fitted the template to re route the pup cavities, some tape lifted some of the paint near the top horn.

My fault for not waiting until I had all the parts before I finished the primer. Won't happen again. I fixed the template and now know when the instructions say pup cavities at 19mm, it is for a reason. Apart from that all fitted ok.

Looks like my template had all the cavities in the perfect spot. Bonus... The small gap at the neck joint doesn't even look too bad and should close up with some coats of clear on the neck.

Neck fitted also. Lined up dead centre with a piece of cotton as a guide. Still waiting for delivery of fret wire and nut so the neck is not finished.

Also found a source of nice woods for the next build. Picked up some rosewood.

They told me they can get many types of wood so might use Jarah for the fret board. Sample pic taken off the net but the piece I saw today looked pretty close to that.

Also read Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melvin Hiscock. Interesting stuff.

[keloooe]

Looks great Greg!

[andrewdosborne]

Beautiful work, so when are you delivering the finished guitar to me for 'testing'? Lol

[dingobass]

A nice chunk of quater sawn Jarrah does make for a nice finger board..
Try to avoid flat sawn timber as it isnt as stable as quarter sawn, this is important with Jarrah especially as flat sawn Jarrah has been known to split when cut into thin slabs.

[dingobass]

So the relief I should build in you speak of means to fit the neck with a couple mm backward bend to compensate for initial string tension. Won't that make the action very low at the heel.

When you select your neck blank, look for the natural bow.
Always use the convex curve as the face which you glue the finger board onto. This should give you a natural back bow.

Once the finger board has cured, simply adjust the truss to straighten the neck.
Then you can do your radiusing, and levelling before installing the frets. The more even and flat the FB is before fretting will save you a lot of time getting the frets level later.