Neck thinning

[pete1951]

Some time ago I was looking for a neck for this old cheap ‘F’ hole guitar. None turned up, so rather than make a new one I put a new finger board (and added a truss rod) to the old one.

The old neck is very chunky, 23.5mm at the first fret , 30.5 at the 10th. The neck is held on by a screw through the heel ( typical of Egmond and other budget European guitars) so working on it is fairly straightforward. First I am planning to plain the neck flat on the back, probably 22mm to 24mm but before it ends up an old fashioned V, I will give it a profile similar to the Standberg ‘Endurneck’. This is a strange asymmetrical pattern (several YouTube clips) that my son-in-law (who plays this guitar the most ) wants to try .
Anyone tried a Standberg?
Pete

[pete1951]

Back of the neck now flattened,


Now 22-23mm rather than 23-30.5 mm

Time to sharpen the spokeshave.
Pete

I’m going for a less extreme version of the Standberg, this will allow me to reshape the neck to a more conventional profile if the asymmetrical one feels uncomfortable.
I have fitted a truss rod and a good quality 6-8mm rosewood board so hope the thinner neck will stay straight!

[pete1951]

The re-shaping is done and the neck feels very comfortable.





Have added a sketch as the subtle asymmetry doesn’t show up well on the photo.
Pete

[archtopeddy]

Nice work on the neck. I like the asymmertic shape. It reminds me of some 1940s Gretsch Synchromatics I've seen.

[Stevie]

Nice job so far Pete. I think Warmoth do such an option on their necks, but I couldn't make out why. I figured that with sitting down compared to standing up, the elbow-wrist-hand position inevitably changes to a degree, so what would the point be in going to such an extreme, but I guess that's an ingrained prejudice arising from an initial two years of classical lessons (thumb over verboten!) CRS now!

でつ e&oe ...

[pete1951]

The guitar belongs to my son-in-law, who is a very good guitarist and loves new innovations . Without strings the neck feels surprisingly normal, and the asymmetrical shape is hardly noticeable. He quite liked the guitar with it’s very fat neck ,hopefully the new shape will be an improvement.
Pete