neck prep

[Jusatele]

OK, I am going to be ordering a neck, after seeing some of the work done by guys on this board I have decided to do the finish myself
but, I have only done this once and that was 15 years ago
so here are a few questions
do you mask the frets? or do you sand them off when finished? which is best?
what areas of the neck but should be masked? to avoid problems with the fit.
machine key holes, how do you deal with them?
I am just trying to decide If I should do it myself or have someone do it.

 

[bagman67]

Whether to mask the frets depends on what you're starting with, and what you're using to finish.  THe following applies to hard finishes (lacquer, poly, etc.), and represents my understanding of all the generous contributions of board members and a small amount of practical experience; dunno what you'll run into with oil finishes.

If you have a maple neck and fingerboard, no, don't mask, but you will need to get the lacquer off the frets once you're done finishing.  THere are countless threads covering this - some folks just play the guitar to abrade the finish off the frets, others mask the board and use steel wool or other abrasives to clean the frets up; still others use a scraping device (notably a carpenter's nail with a crescent ground out of the edge of the nailhead).

IF you have a rosewood or other oily/exotic wood fingerboard, you mask the entire board surface including frets (but not necessarily the sides of the board). 

If you have a mahogany or limba/korina neck shaft, you wanna fill it if you want a glossy finish.

Generally the finish buildup in the machine holes should be so minimal that you won't have a significant difference in internal diameter post-finishing vs. pre-finishing.  If you do feel the need, you can wrap some sandpaper around a pencil or thin dowel and sand out the holes, or use an appropriate diameter reamer - very very carefully.  I'd mask the surfaces around the holes before doing that just so you're less likely to scour your new finish on the peghead face or backside.

Peace

Bagman

 

[Jusatele]

thanks, I am thinking Bloodwood on Maple, I want that rosewood look but the maple briteness, hence the Bloodwood.
going on a tele. I will have plenty of time to think on this during the 8 to 12 week wait for the neck.
I do find it is nice they do not rush neck builds, I have seen some unseasoned work from other mills split.

 

[bagman67]

See also:  http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=13902.msg0#new

CB is one of the resident finishing masters and his approach merits your trust.

Bagman

 

[Cagey]

thanks, I am thinking Bloodwood on Maple, I want that rosewood look but the maple briteness, hence the Bloodwood.
going on a tele. I will have plenty of time to think on this during the 8 to 12 week wait for the neck.
I do find it is nice they do not rush neck builds, I have seen some unseasoned work from other mills split.

If you don't have Warmoth finish the neck, it'll come one helluva lot faster than 8 to 12 weeks. Figger about 3 or 4, less if it's from the showcase. But, I'll tell ya - they do a wonderful job of finishing. I know it's typically about $120, which seems stiff, but it's well worth it. A finished Warmoth neck is a thing of beauty. You can unpack the thing when it shows up and use it immediately. Lot to be said for that. You do it yourself, and before you can use it if you do it right it'll add on those extra weeks you saved, not to mention causing you to add money and do a lot of work to end up with questionable results if you're not a well-equipped and experienced pro. I have a shop and a compressor and the know-how, and I still pay them to do it. When you consider the time and effort and guaranteed results, it's a bargain.

 

[-CB-]

CB is one of the resident finishing masters

That is clearly speculation!  Hehehehehe....seriously, I'm no master, just not afraid to try something, do a lot of reading up on what works and what doesn't, and the most important thing - I know where I want to end up before I begin.  <---- read that last item a few times over, please.

 

[NovasScootYa]

OK, I am going to be ordering a neck, after seeing some of the work done by guys on this board I have decided to do the finish myself
but, I have only done this once and that was 15 years ago
so here are a few questions
do you mask the frets? or do you sand them off when finished? which is best?
what areas of the neck but should be masked? to avoid problems with the fit.
machine key holes, how do you deal with them?
I am just trying to decide If I should do it myself or have someone do it.

IMO, Judging by your laundry list you'd be much better off selecting a neck wood that requires no finish such as Padouk, Bubinga, etc.
For the neck to feel right the fret ends will require dressing especially taller frets. And no matter what, do not pay some knucklehead to file level the frets. Generally Warmoth frets are level close enough out of the box. Other than a light polishing, the crowns do not need to be messed with. SS wire is the only way to go unless you like discovering dimples in nickel frets after a few months of playing.  (I just saved you nearly $200.00 in paint and unnecessary work so you can afford an exotic neck wood option).
As you probably know building/assemblying a first class guitar from scratch is time consuming and expensive especially if you have to pay someone to do part of it or all of it for you. You need to gather all the information you can prior to starting your project.

 

[Jusatele]

thanks Nova, I am doing it slowly
and reading a lot of old threads here, I figure that research is going to save me a lot of time and money, I am also talking to a luthier here, but he seems more interested in making money off me.
I have learned a lot so far, and patience is the key thing. Also, I like rosewood necks because they are unfinished, but like a brighter neck in a tele. so I am leaning toward Bloodwood at the moment.
I learned some lesson last Warmoth neck, like predrilling and wax for the tuner screws, but I never liked the finish job I did and do not want a repeat of the experience so I am here for advice.
SS is something I will have to research a bit more, I have never played them and do not know how they react to power bends, brass is way smooth. Guess I need to go play some SS frets at GC.
I really want all the advice I can get as this will be a guitar that gets played a lot. I pull my tele everyday for finger exercises so it gets an hour workout 5 days a week the others do not. Yes the old one has been refretted a few times.
So I am here learning.

 

[Mor Paul]

Bends of any type on SS are amazing. First time I played on stainless frets, it felt so smooth... I knew they weren't just nickel after that, so I asked. Go with Stainless if you like bends.

 

[NovasScootYa]

thanks Nova, I am doing it slowly
and reading a lot of old threads here, I figure that research is going to save me a lot of time and money, I am also talking to a luthier here, but he seems more interested in making money off me.
I have learned a lot so far, and patience is the key thing. Also, I like rosewood necks because they are unfinished, but like a brighter neck in a tele. so I am leaning toward Bloodwood at the moment.
I learned some lesson last Warmoth neck, like predrilling and wax for the tuner screws, but I never liked the finish job I did and do not want a repeat of the experience so I am here for advice.
SS is something I will have to research a bit more, I have never played them and do not know how they react to power bends, brass is way smooth. Guess I need to go play some SS frets at GC.
I really want all the advice I can get as this will be a guitar that gets played a lot. I pull my tele everyday for finger exercises so it gets an hour workout 5 days a week the others do not. Yes the old one has been refretted a few times.
So I am here learning.

Patience, knowledge are key. Your goal and whoever assists you should be to build a better playing/sounding guitar than a high end Fender model. Warmoth/Fralin/Van Zandt/Rio Grande/Callaham, Genuine Fender USA Parts, etc. are the types of ingredients you'll need. Unnecessary frills such as a chambered body, fancy paint, laminated tops, etc. only adds to the cost so build it closer to simple like Leo's originals. I think you'll feel the same way about SS wire as Max did and anyone dedicated to practicing like you certainly deserves a first class instrument. Good luck.

 

[Cagey]

SS is something I will have to research a bit more, I have never played them and do not know how they react to power bends, brass is way smooth. Guess I need to go play some SS frets at GC.

After my first neck with SS frets, I was permanently sold. I have two of them now, as well as one with "gold" frets which are very similar. Playing them is a dream. As Max said, if you like to bend, it's a no-brainer. These things are as smooth as glass, and they stay that way. They don't affect the overall tone, although hammers/taps/pull-offs seem to gain a tiny bit of articulation you don't normally have. It's barely noticeable and may be my imagination, but it seems to be there, and it's a Good Thing. It's highly unlikely I'll ever buy another neck without them, unless somebody's nearly giving one away.

 

[Jusatele]

thanks guys, So I will add stainless to the list, Now,  tuners,  I love the tuners on  my PRS, they say PRS on them, locking with this wing thing on them, anyone know who makes those?
I think sperzels would be nice but I am afraid to try to mount those. How are the Grover locking keys?

 

[Mor Paul]

Unnecessary frills such as a chambered body, fancy paint, laminated tops, etc. only adds to the cost so build it closer to simple like Leo's originals.

I'm going to disagree some here. Chambered bodies affect sound, and as for the laminated tops and fancy paint... I always say go with exactly what you want. It's your dream guitar, go all the way  :icon_thumright:

 

[NovasScootYa]

Unnecessary frills such as a chambered body, fancy paint, laminated tops, etc. only adds to the cost so build it closer to simple like Leo's originals.

I'm going to disagree some here. Chambered bodies affect sound, and as for the laminated tops and fancy paint... I always say go with exactly what you want. It's your dream guitar, go all the way  :icon_thumright:

Slow down big spender...Building a first guitar is not like ordering a Chicago hotdog. A first-timer who may have to pay extra for outside help can save time, money and headaches by avoiding unnecessary frills. The reality is no one should try to make their first or even a second build a dream guitar. For an inexperienced builder looks should be secondary and playability, etc. should be primary.
Most anyone can assemble a pretty frills guitar. Unfortunately many of those guitars perform like pretty magazine cover engines with no internal parts.

 

[Jusatele]

Unnecessary frills such as a chambered body, fancy paint, laminated tops, etc. only adds to the cost so build it closer to simple like Leo's originals.

I'm going to disagree some here. Chambered bodies affect sound, and as for the laminated tops and fancy paint... I always say go with exactly what you want. It's your dream guitar, go all the way  :icon_thumright:

Slow down big spender...Building a first guitar is not like ordering a Chicago hotdog. A first-timer who may have to pay extra for outside help can save time, money and headaches by avoiding unnecessary frills. The reality is no one should try to make their first or even a second build a dream guitar. For an inexperienced builder looks should be secondary and playability, etc. should be primary.
Most anyone can assemble a pretty frills guitar. Unfortunately many of those guitars perform like pretty magazine cover engines with no internal parts.

there you go
I am interested in learning how to make the thing play like butta, not screech, squeal, buck, and splinter like a piece of wood off the barn, If I can do that, I will for that finish like Tonar seems to get. This one is being set up as an experiment but I want it to look good. One step at a time.