Quote:
Originally Posted by dbcandle  I'm no "guru", but two methods include: - Sighting down the neck.
- Using a precision straight-edge.
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Straight edges reveal very little when sighting a neck. That is, if they are being used parallel to the lie of the strings.
Sighting in for twist is best done from the body end of the guitar. But the nut almost always confuses the sight picture making the successive lines of frets waver back and forth like a bad movie from the sixties. It takes a schooled pair of eyes to do this reliably.
Cabinet makers and millwrights use a set of tools called winding sticks. They are used to determine twist in a board when milling and planing. Two sticks of similar dimensions are placed parallel to each other at opposite ends of a board. The board is then sighted to determine the amount of twist, cupping, and/or bowing. Since the sticks are essentially parallel lines it is easy to see what is going on.
Winding sticks can be made for guitar necks. They only need be six inches long, with a curve on the bottom to compensate for the radius of the neck. It is important to place the sticks on the fingerboard because the frets may or may not be seated correctly. Sight in, comparing the tops of the sticks for agreement.
