Disaster Reshaping A Neck

[Bdam123]

I’m pretty particular about the way my necks feel as most of you can agree. There isn’t a single Strat I’ve ever owned that I didn’t reshape to my liking. I’ve done 4 Fender Strats and a Musikraft Strat with great success. I love these necks.

Fast forward to this year, I finally decided to give Warmoth a try. I like my necks 0.75” at the 3rd fret and graduating to about 0.79”-0.80” at the 9th.

Went in on this warmoth Strat neck and guess what? Went right to truss rod at about 0.775 at the 7th fret. It hurts my soul tbh. I have three other necks here that I have to reshape in some form if they stand any chance of me falling in love with them. I think I’m just going to do the shoulders to keep it safe but fudge, this totally ruined my week. The only silver lining is I got this neck during that ridiculous sale they threw last month.

 

[Barf]

The other silver lining is now everyone knows .775" is the limit.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Isn't the Wizard neck thinner than that?

 

[Spud]

I’m pretty particular about the way my necks feel as most of you can agree. There isn’t a single Strat I’ve ever owned that I didn’t reshape to my liking. I’ve done 4 Fender Strats and a Musikraft Strat with great success. I love these necks.

Fast forward to this year, I finally decided to give Warmoth a try. I like my necks 0.75” at the 3rd fret and graduating to about 0.79”-0.80” at the 9th.

Went in on this warmoth Strat neck and guess what? Went right to truss rod at about 0.775 at the 7th fret. It hurts my soul tbh. I have three other necks here that I have to reshape in some form if they stand any chance of me falling in love with them. I think I’m just going to do the shoulders to keep it safe but fudge, this totally ruined my week. The only silver lining is I got this neck during that ridiculous sale they threw last month.

What carve did you start out with?

 

[Bdam123]

Isn't the Wizard neck thinner than that?

I’m not sure if they construct them slightly different on those or not. I tried getting some sort of answer about what my limit really is and if there tolerance would even allow for a true answer but they essentially ignored my question.

 

[Bdam123]

What carve did you start out with?

I started with their standard thin

 

[stratamania]

I’m not sure if they construct them slightly different on those or not. I tried getting some sort of answer about what my limit really is and if there tolerance would even allow for a true answer but they essentially ignored my question.

I would suppose you have not got an answer, as that type of reshaping is no doubt going to invalidate a warranty.

You do not mention which neck construction this neck was, but if it was vintage or vintage modern construction, the truss rods are in a curved channel. They will be closer to the back of the neck towards the middle of the neck.



The thinner wizard profile to my knowledge is only available with the modern construction necks whose truss rods are in a straight channel.

 

[Bdam123]

I would suppose you have not got an answer, as that type of reshaping is no doubt going to invalidate a warranty.

You do not mention which neck construction this neck was, but if it was vintage or vintage modern construction, the truss rods are in a curved channel. They will be closer to the back of the neck towards the middle of the neck.

View attachment 66033

The thinner wizard profile to my knowledge is only available with the modern construction necks whose truss rods are in a straight channel.

Correct, that’s the reason I didn’t just go with wizard in the first place. I opted for vintage/modern. Lesson learned.

 

[Strangs]

Maybe an opportunity to get into composites? Shape to your liking, then wrap the back of the neck in carbon fiber protecting any exposed truss rod with some tape. No one's the wiser.

 

[Bdam123]

Ok. So I’m going again on a new neck. But I’d like to hear y’all’s opinion on how deep I can actually go. In other words, how much material do you think I’d have to leave above the truss rod for the structural integrity of the neck to stay intact?

Am I right to assume that since the rod is glued/epoxied into the neck that I really can just sand right up shy of the truss rod?

 

[stratamania]

Ok. So I’m going again on a new neck. But I’d like to hear y’all’s opinion on how deep I can actually go. In other words, how much material do you think I’d have to leave above the truss rod for the structural integrity of the neck to stay intact?

Based on what happened previously you would be better off not doing so.

Am I right to assume that since the rod is glued/epoxied into the neck that I really can just sand right up shy of the truss rod?

I would say your assumption is not correct.

 

[Strat Avenger]

All I know is .800" to.850" is perfect..

 

[aarontunes]

I’m not sure if they construct them slightly different on those or not. I tried getting some sort of answer about what my limit really is and if there tolerance would even allow for a true answer but they essentially ignored my question.

Gah! Sorry reshaping your neck didn't go as planned. That sucks. I can only imagine the sinking feeling of suddenly seeing that hole open up.

I have no idea what your correspondence history might have been up to now, but I know for sure that I wouldn't give you any direct advice, dimensions, tips, or instructions on reshaping one of our necks. Not even here on Unofficial.

I can see your intentions are good and this wouldn't have been the case with you, but generally speaking I don't think any company would give instructions on how to structurally modify their parts because if they do and something goes wrong the customer has cause to come back to them looking for a remedy.

Something akin to "I followed the instructions you gave me, and now my neck is ruined."

I know customers, including many here, have reshaped their necks with much success, but Warmoth's official stance remains: don't do it.


EDIT: it comes to mind that this is our approach with a few other things as well, including wet sanding, using a maple neck without a hard finish, etc. Customers do them, and Warmoth watches silently, with our hands in the air like a calf roper who just finished tying that knot.

 

[Rick]

I call this kind of thing "school fees." Taught / teach yourself a lesson, and move on. This kind of reshaping is only for the brave, like Spud, willing to pay the school fee. For me, not worth the potential hassle. I hate school.

 

[aarontunes]

I call this kind of thing "school fees." Taught / teach yourself a lesson, and move on. This kind of reshaping is only for the brave, like Spud, willing to pay the school fee. For me, not worth the potential hassle. I hate school.

That said, we should genuinely thank @Bdam123 for posting his experience and findings here.....for myriad reasons. A tip of the hat to you; you paid the "school fee" on our behalf.

I'm now inspired to make a new video for the Warmoth YouTube channel: the top-10 worst screw ups I've ever made while building a Warmoth.

Here I go....it's gonna take a while to pare this list down to just ten.

 

[Spud]

I have done it many times, but NEVER that radical of a change a few mm off here or there. It's a risk as you found out and even if you don't expose the rod you certainly could still compromise/destabilize the neck irreparably.

 

[aarontunes]

I have done it many times, but NEVER that radical of a change a few mm off here or there. It's a risk as you found out and even if you don't expose the rod you certainly could still compromise/destabilize the neck irreparably.

Yep. Warmoth has paid a high R&D cost on the products we offer. I could show you lots of necks with truss rods poking through like a compound fracture, finishes that did not adhere as they were supposed to, lam tops that cracked over the forearm contour, etc, etc, etc.

By the time they reach the website for sale they are pretty well tested, and even then we still sometimes find incompatibilities or issues we didn't foresee.

For customers pursuing their vision it can be very fun and sometimes rewarding to swim in uncharted waters where others fear to go, but there is no lifeguard on duty.

 

[Tretgeraet]

I call this kind of thing "school fees."

In germany we say "Lehrgeld zahlen", which is very similar and not only applicable to crafts, but also in general for learning from mistakes.