Necks, Bodies & The Cold.

[ryanjurek]

Could a neck or a body be damaged by sitting out in the cold for too long? - Say, 20-30 degrees?

I have ordered neck/body and I figure it will be in these temperatures for at least 3 days during shipping.  Should I be concerned?  :dontknow:

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Insurance on a delivery is available and relatively cheap if you're worried about it.  With the USPS, I ensured $500 for $.85 a few years ago.

Some of the builders in this group use extreme temperatures of heat and cold to do "relic" finishes.

Not to say that damage to deliveries doesn't happen, but if it were widespread, they'd be out of business.

Resist to urge to immediately assemble upon receiving.  Give the neck and body joint a little time to acclamate.

 

[Graffiti62]

My dad owns a furniture repair business and has kept pieces of furniture in cold storage for months without any real damage to anything. The worst thing you would really have to worry about in regards to variable temperatures is when you actually have the guitar put together. When the weather gets colder and drier, your guitar will shrink ever so slightly, which will require a little adjusting of the truss rod and maybe checking the intonation a little bit. When the weather gets warmer and a little more humid, that's when things expand a little bit. The worst story I have ever heard in regards to temperature damage was a story Jaco Pastorious told about a double bass he bought when he was a younger man in Miami. He woke up one morning and found the bass had swelled to the point of falling apart due to the extreme humidity.

If your parts have been in any extreme cold or heat for a stretch of time, bring them into an indoor environment and let them sit about a week to ensure that things have expanded/contracted to a uniform level.

 

[jackthehack]

I've ordered/received a number of Warmoth bodies/necks that spent a week getting to me from the factory on UPS trucks in the dead of winter in sub-freezing temperatures with no ill effect.