Luthier question
Roger Nixon
>I recently recieved an acoustic guitar kit as a gift. The neck is made of poplar. Is this OK from a structural/playability standpoint? If so how could it be finished to hide the ugly grain?
Luthier question
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Re: Luthier question
#2Re: Luthier question
Bill Ward
>My old classic guitar (circa 60's) had an opaque brown woodtone finish on the neck, bottom and sides. No grain was visible. I think the whole guitar was then finished in gloss lacquer. The top was just the lacquer finish.
Re: Luthier question
#3Re: Luthier question
Brian Roberts
>Hi Roger - While poplar would not be the best choice for a neck, my concern would be that it is tight grained, quarter sawn with the grain running top (fretboard) to bottom (neck heel), and some kind of truss rod to reinforce it (I would prefer a double acting truss rod to allow for corrections for neck up-bow or back-bow).
As far as the color goes - a tint in the lacquer is a fairly easy way to color it to your liking, and less likely to cause color irregularity problems that may occur if you stain the wood prior to finishing.
Just curious - who makes the kit you have? I am actually surprised that the neck would be of poplar, since the more common choice, mahogany, is fairly inexpensive.
Any questions I can help with - feel free to ask - here or e-mail.
Addy protocol - I have formal training and experience in violin and guitar restoration/repair and guitar building - and currently work for a guitar building company.
Good luck with the adventure - have fun!
Brian
Re: Luthier question
#4Re: Luthier question *LINK*
Roger Nixon
>Thanks, Brian.
The kit can be seen in the link below. It is the dreadnought guitar. According to their description, the sides and neck should be solid cherry and the back laminated cherry.
I just took it out of the box and looked at it again and I have either a) gone blind b) lost my mind or c) both. The peghead is a separate piece glued to the neck at an angle. The neck is much lighter than the other cherry pieces but it is cherry. I think I mistook it because it is rough, lighter in color and the contours of the neck make the grain look wild. Once I smooth the neck I can probably get it closer to the color of the other cherry pieces with some UV exposure.
The neck does have an adjustable truss rod.
I'll let you know about the progress.
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