Truss Rods are for Pussies
June 9, 2011 9:06 AM Subscribe
Is a truss rod really necessary if I put a strip of superhard wood between the maple laminate of a maple guitar neck?
I'm building a guitar and I've made my neck blank out of a laminate i constructed of two pieces of bird's eye maple with a strip of purpleheart in the middle. I was planning on putting a truss rod in by routing a channel in the purpleheart but it's a giant pain in the arse. Is purpleheart strong enough (it's about half an inch wide) that it will remain straight and counteract and bend or twist tendencies in the maple?
I'm building a guitar and I've made my neck blank out of a laminate i constructed of two pieces of bird's eye maple with a strip of purpleheart in the middle. I was planning on putting a truss rod in by routing a channel in the purpleheart but it's a giant pain in the arse. Is purpleheart strong enough (it's about half an inch wide) that it will remain straight and counteract and bend or twist tendencies in the maple?
Depending on your climate, probably. I cant speak to the qualities of woods, but if you make sure to keep it out of the sun and elements it might be fine. However if you are this good at luthiery, spend the extra two days to put the truss rod in, because this will be something you can look back and take pride in and make music on for the rest of your life.
posted by timsteil at 9:13 AM on June 9, 2011
posted by timsteil at 9:13 AM on June 9, 2011
Response by poster: Damn it. Ok, thanks, jon1270. Praying for someone one to contradict you ;)
posted by spicynuts at 9:13 AM on June 9, 2011
posted by spicynuts at 9:13 AM on June 9, 2011
Best answer: Sorry to be the bearer of the bad news. To expand on my statements above, consider that
1) The purpleheart is probably only about 20% denser than the maple. It seems super-hard if your basis of comparison is other domestic hardwoods, but it's not a miracle material.
1b) Density / hardness probably isn't the most important characteristic here anyhow.
2) Even if purpleheart were an awesomely strong material, the middle of the sandwich is the location where it would help the least.
3) On shakier ground, since I'm not a luthier: my understanding is that the truss rod tension is adjustable, and allows you to fine-tune the height of the strings above the fretboard. Do you really want to give up the ability to make such adjustments?
4) Caveat: I'm assuming this is to be a steel-stringed guitar. I have it in my head that classical (nylon string) guitars don't have truss rods. (Again, on shaky ground here.)
5) Mitigating factor: it doesn't seem like routing a channel for the rod should be so difficult. What's the problem?
posted by jon1270 at 9:31 AM on June 9, 2011
1) The purpleheart is probably only about 20% denser than the maple. It seems super-hard if your basis of comparison is other domestic hardwoods, but it's not a miracle material.
1b) Density / hardness probably isn't the most important characteristic here anyhow.
2) Even if purpleheart were an awesomely strong material, the middle of the sandwich is the location where it would help the least.
3) On shakier ground, since I'm not a luthier: my understanding is that the truss rod tension is adjustable, and allows you to fine-tune the height of the strings above the fretboard. Do you really want to give up the ability to make such adjustments?
4) Caveat: I'm assuming this is to be a steel-stringed guitar. I have it in my head that classical (nylon string) guitars don't have truss rods. (Again, on shaky ground here.)
5) Mitigating factor: it doesn't seem like routing a channel for the rod should be so difficult. What's the problem?
posted by jon1270 at 9:31 AM on June 9, 2011
I think that a truss rod is necessary. The choice is whether to make it adjustable or not.
posted by Danf at 9:31 AM on June 9, 2011
posted by Danf at 9:31 AM on June 9, 2011
Response by poster: 4) Caveat: I'm assuming this is to be a steel-stringed guitar. I have it in my head that classical (nylon string) guitars don't have truss rods. (Again, on shaky ground here.)
Yes, steel string electric solid body.
5) Mitigating factor: it doesn't seem like routing a channel for the rod should be so difficult. What's the problem?
You are correct however I've never routed anything in my life and it's a very narrow margin for error and I didn't want to taunt that margin of error if unnecessary.
posted by spicynuts at 10:18 AM on June 9, 2011
Yes, steel string electric solid body.
5) Mitigating factor: it doesn't seem like routing a channel for the rod should be so difficult. What's the problem?
You are correct however I've never routed anything in my life and it's a very narrow margin for error and I didn't want to taunt that margin of error if unnecessary.
posted by spicynuts at 10:18 AM on June 9, 2011
During WWII Martin used ebony in their necks instead of the steel truss rods. I've never heard of major complaints about Martins from that era so at least there's one example of this working. I don't know how purlpleheart compares to ebony in this regard, however.
posted by tommasz at 10:24 AM on June 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by tommasz at 10:24 AM on June 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oh, well, then the answer is to practice routing on scrap. Spring for a spiral upcut bit, which will pull the waste chips up out of the slot cleanly. Straight-edged bits don't work well for slot cutting because they don't remove the waste well at all.
Namedropping / giving credit where it's due: what little I know about guitars, I absorbed by osmosis during the summer I attended the same woodworking school as this guy. It was a furniture making school, but he used the facilities to build guitars. He also lived in a converted garage next to my apartment, and he would play those guitars out on the overgrown patio. Listening at the open window was a blissful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I have no idea whether Jack's DVD's would be useful to you, but he does really beautiful work.
posted by jon1270 at 10:31 AM on June 9, 2011
Namedropping / giving credit where it's due: what little I know about guitars, I absorbed by osmosis during the summer I attended the same woodworking school as this guy. It was a furniture making school, but he used the facilities to build guitars. He also lived in a converted garage next to my apartment, and he would play those guitars out on the overgrown patio. Listening at the open window was a blissful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I have no idea whether Jack's DVD's would be useful to you, but he does really beautiful work.
posted by jon1270 at 10:31 AM on June 9, 2011
Response by poster:
Perhaps you could ask someone else to help you route the channel? With appropriate jigs it should be fairly doable.
Hell no. This is MY guitar. I am the only one that is going to touch it during construction. Only way to learn.
Spring for a spiral upcut bit, which will pull the waste chips up out of the slot cleanly. Straight-edged bits don't work well for slot cutting because they don't remove the waste well at all.
I have a Lie-Nielsen hand router so I was planning on cleaning up the channel with that after power routing it. I don't have my own router so I'm going to be at the mercy of whatever power tools they have at the woodshop I go to.
posted by spicynuts at 11:29 AM on June 9, 2011
Perhaps you could ask someone else to help you route the channel? With appropriate jigs it should be fairly doable.
Hell no. This is MY guitar. I am the only one that is going to touch it during construction. Only way to learn.
Spring for a spiral upcut bit, which will pull the waste chips up out of the slot cleanly. Straight-edged bits don't work well for slot cutting because they don't remove the waste well at all.
I have a Lie-Nielsen hand router so I was planning on cleaning up the channel with that after power routing it. I don't have my own router so I'm going to be at the mercy of whatever power tools they have at the woodshop I go to.
posted by spicynuts at 11:29 AM on June 9, 2011
Slots like this are really not what a hand router is for. A router plane is good for leveling the bottom of a broad recess (i.e. a hinge mortise). If you insist on handwork then a plow plane like an old Stanley #45 would be the tool for the job. That said, a competently power-routed slot will need no cleaning up.
I'm going to be at the mercy of whatever power tools they have at the woodshop I go to.
You can buy your own bit and bring it with you. Router bits, especially the more economical high speed steel bits, are short-lived tools -- more like disposable razors than chisels and saws. I don't know anything about the shop you're using, but chances are good that any bits they supply will be in poor condition anyhow.
posted by jon1270 at 11:50 AM on June 9, 2011
I'm going to be at the mercy of whatever power tools they have at the woodshop I go to.
You can buy your own bit and bring it with you. Router bits, especially the more economical high speed steel bits, are short-lived tools -- more like disposable razors than chisels and saws. I don't know anything about the shop you're using, but chances are good that any bits they supply will be in poor condition anyhow.
posted by jon1270 at 11:50 AM on June 9, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks so much, jon, you've been a tremendous resource.
posted by spicynuts at 12:00 PM on June 9, 2011
posted by spicynuts at 12:00 PM on June 9, 2011
Happy to help. Feel free to MeFi Mail me if you like.
Note that electric router collets are designed to grab either 1/4" or 1/2" shanks. The in-between size spiral bits (5/16", 3/8") require adapter bushings.
posted by jon1270 at 12:21 PM on June 9, 2011
Note that electric router collets are designed to grab either 1/4" or 1/2" shanks. The in-between size spiral bits (5/16", 3/8") require adapter bushings.
posted by jon1270 at 12:21 PM on June 9, 2011
I loves me some hand tools, but this is not the sort of task I would want to do with a hand router.
Depending on the geometry of the thing, I would either buy a router bit and build some sort of jig, or build some sort of temporary sled to hold the neck and make a dado cut on a table saw.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 2:12 PM on June 9, 2011
Depending on the geometry of the thing, I would either buy a router bit and build some sort of jig, or build some sort of temporary sled to hold the neck and make a dado cut on a table saw.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 2:12 PM on June 9, 2011
If you don't put a truss rod in, and the neck settles/gets tweaked by string tension/environmental conditions/your moron friend dropping it/leaning it wrong, you don't have any recourse for adjusting... Put a truss rod in.
posted by stenseng at 2:15 PM on June 9, 2011
posted by stenseng at 2:15 PM on June 9, 2011
Response by poster: oh i didn't even think about a dado...hmmm...I am getting a truss rod that doesn't require a sloped slot so that might work.
posted by spicynuts at 9:22 AM on June 10, 2011
posted by spicynuts at 9:22 AM on June 10, 2011
If you're not doing a stopped cut (and I guess you wouldn't be) then a tablesaw is the way to go.
posted by jon1270 at 10:27 AM on June 10, 2011
posted by jon1270 at 10:27 AM on June 10, 2011
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posted by jon1270 at 9:10 AM on June 9, 2011