Warmoth Neck X-ray and thinning!

[Musiclogic]

Very cool Dean.....I was hoping you would post those....LOL cool

 

[Dean N]

JC, I had planned to all along. It's not like I can contribute much, really, to the LC, but I do when I can, and I answer some of the more obvious questions when I'm sure of the answer. I'm just a DIY hack, whereas you guys are real luthiers.

I failed to bring my good camera to my office today. I'll hopefully do that tomorrow.

I'll also post my measurements and the amount of wood I plan to remove for everyone's viewing pleasure (and discussion).

 

[wyliee]

A quick word of caution....

You may avoid hitting the truss rod and reinforcing rods, but you may not end up with a stable neck if you take too much wood off.

There really isn't a 'safe' guideline to follow as to how much you can take off and where. Not trying to be the harbinger of doom, just raising a word of caution...

Also be aware this will completely void any warranty on the neck.

(I do wish you good luck though! I hope it turns out perfect for you.)

 

[Dean N]

Wyilee, How are ya?

This neck is way past warranty. I'm not planning on getting all medieval on it... I'm trying to be cautious.

 

[Double E]

I bet if you contact Warmoth, they'd give you a good idea as to how much you can safely remove.

Frankly, looking at the images...I'd say there really is not much that can be removed if you take into consideration the location of the rods relative to the radius of the back of the neck.

 

[abemo]

This just begs the question: what's the best x-ray for metal?

 

[eukatheude]

That's pretty cool.

Thanks for sharing.

*

 

[millsbass5]

Does your neck have Blue Cross/Blue Shield Medical Insurance?

 

[Dean N]

I finally managed to get back to the neck project. Here's a table I made with measurements. The 2nd and third columns are measurement I took right off the x-rays. The fourth column are actual neck measurements. The last column is the calculated thickness between back of neck and the truss rod.

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I set up the router with this MacGyver-style jig (Ikea shelves came in handy):

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Here's a look at the back of the neck around the first fret:

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And at the body end:

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(Sorry I kind of missed with the focus there )

I thought taking off roughly half to less-than half was being conservative, keeping in mind the that the radius of the neck actually decreases the depth (as Double E rightly observed). I actually took off 3.8, 3.4, and 2.2mm at the 1st, 7th, and 12th frets. I was very happy with how the router did the job. I still need to finish the carve and refinish the neck, but I think it's going to be much more comfortable to play. It already feels much different.

 

[lavmonga]

That looks like a pretty serious amount off the neck. Probably plays like a dream when it's all done.

 

[Dean N]

Does your neck have Blue Cross/Blue Shield Medical Insurance?

No, but if it did, it would have a huge deductible and I'd have to submit a detailed treatment plan to them for their "approval", which means they'd simply deny coverage.

 

[daveman50]

Holy neck carve, Batman!

You are a brave man, sir.

 

[Dean N]

I figured I'd rename this thread and go ahead and follow though with the rest of the thinning/recarve of the neck.

Marks for the next 2 facets:

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And the facets after filing:

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I have a little more tidying up on these 2, then the next round, and then the sandpaper. I hope to get all of the shaping done this weekend.

EDIT: I tried to rename the thread to include the "thinning" part but apparently I can't..? Can anyone advise?

 

[Dean N]

After a long time of 1) doing nothing and 2) waiting for finish to cure, I finished the recarve. Pics from near the nut:

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I ended up taking more off than I intended, but I'm not complaining. According to measurements I found in another post, my neck is actually thinner than a Geddy:

fret GL mine

1 19.85 18.923 (.745 in)
2 19.90 19.1
3 19.95 19.7
5 20.21 20.3
7 21.02 20.7
9 21.52 21.4
12 22.99 22.3 (.877 in)

I'm really happy with how it turned out. There's a few more tweaks I need to finish before I get it back together. I'll update once it's assembled.

 

[giacomini]

Nice!

Now you ought to take the after xray too!

 

[Anthony Fury]

This is great!!!!!

 

[Dean N]

Now you ought to take the after xray too!

I can do that!

 

[Hopkins]

My mitts are cramping up just looking at that thing

 

[agreatheight]

I like a person willing to take some chances to get a result! Good on ya!

 

[Collin Bass]

I finally shot the films.

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Way too late to this party, but what a great idea. I have a super fat Warmoth Jazz neck on my Precision, which I love, but a) it's a little big for my short, stubby hands, and b) my bass is now wicked neck heavy, and overall still rather heavy after extending strap button on the horn. Even balanced, it's just too heavy.

We don't do X-ray at work, but we do have iridium! I'm a cedo so I'm not aloud to shoot by myself, but I wonder if I can get one of the guys to shoot my neck so that I too can have an idea of how deep the truss rod is... Wood isn't very dence, would likely be a super quick exposure time!