Am I using the right term, neck block?

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kinspeed
Posts: 70
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2017 7:26 pm

Am I using the right term, neck block?

Post by kinspeed »

Am I using the right term when I say neck block and tail block?

Also what is your preferred material for these blocks? Would there be any benefit to using baltic birch for these blocks? I have seen some top shelf guitars that use baltic birch, i.e. Bourgeois, of which I am a huge fan.
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Am I using the right term, neck block?

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Yes, those are the right terms. I've used mahogany and cherry for the neck and tail blocks. I've rehabbed project guitars made of birch and they were wonderful sounding. I don't see any reason why you couldn't use birch.

If you look through John Halls tips, you'll find a tip about inlaying a piece of wood into the tail block. This prevents cracks up the side of a guitar if it's dropped on end. I'm restoring a 1954 Martin D-18 with multiple 18" cracks up both sides of the guitar and my guess is that it was dropped on end. John has a lot of videos that are really helpful.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
kinspeed
Posts: 70
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2017 7:26 pm

Re: Am I using the right term, neck block?

Post by kinspeed »

Diane Kauffmds wrote:Yes, those are the right terms. I've used mahogany and cherry for the neck and tail blocks. I've rehabbed project guitars made of birch and they were wonderful sounding. I don't see any reason why you couldn't use birch.

If you look through John Halls tips, you'll find a tip about inlaying a piece of wood into the tail block. This prevents cracks up the side of a guitar if it's dropped on end. I'm restoring a 1954 Martin D-18 with multiple 18" cracks up both sides of the guitar and my guess is that it was dropped on end. John has a lot of videos that are really helpful.
Thank you Diane, you are always helpful and willing to share. I appreciate that. Are we referring to the same birch material? Baltic Birch is a high quality plywood.
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Am I using the right term, neck block?

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

I've worked on solid birch guitars. The word Baltic flew right past me. Lol

I've used the plywood as inlay in the endblock (tail) and I can't think of a problem for using it as your end block material.

I think your decision on whether to use it as a neck block, should be based on the type of neck you're going to use. If installing a dovetail, I can see problems with Baltic birch. Neck Resets on dovetail necks require heat and steam. Your neck block would swell and deform. If you're installing a bolt on neck, then I don't think that there would be a problem.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
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