First Neck - what typically needs to be done???

[PSAUL]

Hi all,

I will be receiving my first Warmoth neck shortly and I am wondering what typically needs to be done before installing it.  Specifically, the neck has factory installed stainless steel frets in it and I am wondering if a new fretted neck typically needs to have the frets leveled and re-crowned or is that done sufficiently well at the factory?  What about fret polishing (?) and nut slot depth and nut polishing?

Any comments on your experience(s) would be welcome.

Thanks.

Paul

 

[Tonar8352]

Welcome Paul, glad you could join us.

I would say the answer to your question will depend on how picky you are with the final set up of your guitar. I always have bone nuts installed on my guitars and then a professional fret job.

 

[Wizard of Wailing]

    I've only had to get fretwork done on 1 out of the 10 or so necks I've got from Warmoth.  The other 9 played perfectly right out of the box.  Some people have it done on every neck they get, but I 've never felt the need to do that.  I even took one in to luthier in town to have him level, crown the frets, and whatnot.  He told me to save myself some money, the neck was perfect the way it is. I've also had just about every neck cut for an LSR roller nut, and they've all been perfect.

 

[rgand]

I had the neck on my Strat professionally set up because I wanted it as good as possible and I['m not experienced with fretwork. Three of the frets (SS) needed a slight leveling but otherwise, it went on great.

 

[mayfly]

Besides finishing the nut, I've never done anything to the 15 or so warmoth necks that I've had.

 

[dmraco]

Again going with the crowd, most of mine were perfect out of the box.  No high frets.  On one model I had to lower the floyd shelf a bit but I like very low action.

I have started polishing the fret ends.  Warmoth does not do it but they are still better that most factory jobs.  Polishing the fret ends has been a natural side effect of burnishing my raw necks, an obsession with some in the forum.  When burnishing I just wrap my hand around the neck and it give a nice rolled edge on the fretboard and some nicely polished fret ends.

good luck

 

[musicispeace]

I've had no issues so far with necks out of the box. Either take the time in or invest in with a trustworthy tech a proper set up as I can attest a good set up results in a great and highly playable guitar.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Necks from other suppliers (GFS, WD) get a level and crown before they ever go on the guitar. Warmoth necks go on first and get tended to if necessary. Typically they are A-OK right out of the box. If it's a finished fretboard it's worth doing something about the finish on the frets though.

 

[anorakDan]

I will go on record saying I had Cagey do fretwork and nutwork, as well as install threaded inserts and tuning machines, and finally polish my pao ferro over padouk Gibson scale, 59 roundback neck.

It is simply the nicest neck my humble, clumsy hands have ever stroked. The guy does a job that is beyond professional. Superlatives pale and wither in an attempt to describe the level of quality this craftsman provides for a ridiculously paltry fee, considering the result delivered.

Hope I ain't made ya blush too much, Kevin!  :yourock:

 

[Verne Bunsen]

...nutwork...

Right! I was fixating on fretwork in my response, but yes, the nut slots (assuming a Warmoth installed pre-slotted nut) will need to be cut to depth as they are generally quite high to start with.

 

[musicispeace]

I will go on record saying I had Cagey do fretwork and nutwork, as well as install threaded inserts and tuning machines, and finally polish my pao ferro over padouk Gibson scale, 59 roundback neck.

It is simply the nicest neck my humble, clumsy hands have ever stroked. The guy does a job that is beyond professional. Superlatives pale and wither in an attempt to describe the level of quality this craftsman provides for a ridiculously paltry fee, considering the result delivered.

Hope I ain't made ya blush too much, Kevin!  :yourock:

Kevin put together a strat for me last year and it simply cooks. He put in the frets as well on a Bubinga neck. Zhangbucker pickups in it and it is one smokey blues guitar.

 

[Cagey]

Hope I ain't made ya blush too much, Kevin!  :yourock:

Hehe! Thank you for the kind words!

I lost track of how many Warmoth necks I've set up a long time ago, but I've only ever had one that didn't need levelling. "Need" is a pretty strong word, there, though. I want my necks to be level within .001" over their length, whereas most people can live with worse than that - sometimes much worse. Same with the nut. Many folks can live with Warmoth's nut cuts, which are quite good, but I want my strings to be within .012" at the first fret. I also want the fret ends to be dressed, and all the frets polished to a mirror finish. The relief should be .008" to .012", depending on the string size. Then, the threaded inserts add some sustain and improve articulation, but even if you can't hear that it still makes for a neck that's easily removed/reinstalled repeatedly without deteriorating the mounting holes at all. Then of course, if it's a raw neck it must be burnished. The feel is sublime.

The final setup is done with the neck attached to a real body or my dummy body so it can be attached to the Erlewine neck jig, then ultimately played in real life to confirm what all the numbers say.

Makes for a fine player, and the neck is what you play, after all. If that ain't right, nothing else matters.

 

[PSAUL]

Thanks to all who answered my query.  I truly appreciate it.  I leveled the fret board and polished the frets.  Now for the back of the neck.

So, to burnish the neck, you just sand the neck with increasingly fine sand paper while pausing occasionally to wipe with a damp cloth.  Correct?

Finally, can you get a semi gloss finish on the neck with an oil?  Either linseed or tung?  (Repeated coats and buffing???)

Thanks again in advance.

Paul

 

[Cagey]

Yes, but if you dampen the cloth, use naphtha, not water. Water will raise the grain, which is NFG.

You can get a semi-gloss finish with an oil-based material, but it won't be as nice as just burnishing it. The burnishing is a semi-gloss finish itself once you get to about 2000 grit paper.

 

[PSAUL]

Ok, thanks for the response.  Then once it is burnished you seal it with oil (linseed or tung), correct?

Paul

 

[anorakDan]

No need. Assuming of course, your neck is one of the hardwoods that require no finish. See the wood options page on the Warmoth site .

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/NeckWoods.aspx

You didn't mention any specifics about your neck. If it's maple (but not roasted maple) or mahogany you will need to finish it. These woods do not have the natural moisture resistance of other, more exotic hardwoods.

 

[Cagey]

Walnut won't last without a hard seal, either. I had one here some years back that you could almost watch twist in real time. Warmoth says about 10% of the vulnerable woods (identified at the link above) will warp without a hard seal, so they won't warrant them otherwise. My experience puts that number higher, but Tonar's got a collection of figured Maple necks that only have a perfunctory oil finish that are all in fine shape. So, as always, your mileage may vary.

 

[PSAUL]

Yes, sorry, I should have added the type of wood.  It is roasted maple and so it does not require a finish.  If one were to oil a burnished neck, would it undo the effort put into burnishing it?

Finally, (I hope), if I were to install a decal on this neck would I need to put lacquer topcoat on the headstock over the decal?

Thanks again.

Paul

 

[rapfohl09]

I will go on record saying I had Cagey do fretwork and nutwork, as well as install threaded inserts and tuning machines, and finally polish my pao ferro over padouk Gibson scale, 59 roundback neck.

It is simply the nicest neck my humble, clumsy hands have ever stroked. The guy does a job that is beyond professional. Superlatives pale and wither in an attempt to describe the level of quality this craftsman provides for a ridiculously paltry fee, considering the result delivered.

Hope I ain't made ya blush too much, Kevin!  :yourock:

+100 to this. Kevin is basically completely responsible for the neck snob that I am now. I played for almost 10 years without ever really getting my guitars set up or getting fret work done with no real issues. Some of my guitars played better than others, but nothing really bothered me that much. I have had 3 necks that Kevin worked his magic on and I will never go back. Any Warmoth neck I buy in the future will go straight to his door first. The two soloists I have are the easiest playing guitars I have ever played. I never realized how big of a difference a set up could make.

I love to learn new things and love to better my own skills, and I do still work on beater guitars/friend's guitars, but sometimes you just want the best, and that is Cagey :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

If one were to oil a burnished neck, would it undo the effort put into burnishing it?

Pretty much. There isn't a finish out there that feels as good as a raw, burnished neck.

Finally, (I hope), if I were to install a decal on this neck would I need to put lacquer topcoat on the headstock over the decal?

You wouldn't need to. It depends entirely on how you want it to look. A decal over a raw, burnished or finished neck usually looks kinda tacky. The texture doesn't match, and worse still, the outline of the backing will show.

The thing to do is put a base finish on, level it, apply the decal, then put several coats of clear over that. Start sanding with a finer paper, just enough to get to the decal. Another coat or two of clear, more sanding. More clear. More sanding, maybe 8 or 10 times until the edges of the decal can't be discerned from the surrounding finish. The decal is effectively "buried" in the finish at that point. Fine sand it, buff it out, and it's beautiful.

The only difference for a burnished neck would be that you don't burnish the headstock first. It'll be too smooth for finish to hold onto. So, you bury the decal first, then burnish what isn't finished.