how long till a raw unfinished maple neck turns to spaghetti?

[neilshelter]

i bought an unfinished maple and kingwood neck for a tele project that went south (the body weighed more than anyguitar i've ever held) so with this neck kicking around i thought it might be fun to mod a squier 51' had kicking round as a spare! So i drilled the body for through stringing upgraded the pups and olted on the maple neck to try it out, it all plays astoundingly well and i am taken by th raw maple but am scared itll warp quickly unless it has some finish on it.... whatst the kind of time scale? will i get a good few years out of it or will it be spaghetti in weeks?

i have danish oil, tung oil and spray satin poly finishes which i would grudingly use... oh and i know warranty is an issue but i'm in the uk so the cost of shipping back even if it did go squifyis such that i dont really care about the warranty

oh and kingwood is bloody awesome

 

[willyk]

Satin poly feels pretty good on my maple necks but everyone to their own. As for how long it's going to stay straight raw is anyones guess. It's all about moisture absorbtion.

 

[Soloshchenko]

i bought an unfinished maple and kingwood neck for a tele project that went south (the body weighed more than anyguitar i've ever held) so with this neck kicking around i thought it might be fun to mod a squier 51' had kicking round as a spare! So i drilled the body for through stringing upgraded the pups and olted on the maple neck to try it out, it all plays astoundingly well and i am taken by th raw maple but am scared itll warp quickly unless it has some finish on it.... whatst the kind of time scale? will i get a good few years out of it or will it be spaghetti in weeks?

i have danish oil, tung oil and spray satin poly finishes which i would grudingly use... oh and i know warranty is an issue but i'm in the uk so the cost of shipping back even if it did go squifyis such that i dont really care about the warranty

oh and kingwood is bloody awesome

Hmmm interesting question but basically it all depends on what strings your using. If there 10s or below you should be okay if the guitar is set up well, 11s I think the neck would warp.

If it were me (and I know people will groan at how often its mentioned!!) my choice would be the pure tung oil. Of the three things you've mentioned it will give the most wood like finish. Recently finished a squire neck in  tung oil and I love the thing, its completely water proof, looks awesome, protects the wood but to my hands feels no different to when it was a sanded, unfinished neck.

I live in the UK too and like you don't care about warranty so just use tung oil on my necks, as I've said itn gives the "rawest" feel in my opinion.

 

[jackthehack]

While heavier gauge strings DO apply more tension to a neck the reason a finish is required for warranty is because the absorbtion of moisture is the primary cause of neck warpage, along with exposure to extremes of heat/cold.

Where you live would obviously have a major effect; humidity is a non-issue in a climate like Yuma, Arizona (although your heating/cooling systems do have a major impact on indoor ambient humidity) but could be a major issue if you live in New Orleans.