help

[fabio calli]

hello im fabio from milan italy i need an help from you, i build my second guitar neck, maple, ebony with binding and gibson inlay style, i have one question, i make the fingerboard dead flat with truss rod loose,i made the slot more narrow than fret tang, and after install the fret,whit truss rod loose my neck comes backbow, for the compression of the fret tang, i install a double action truss rod, for levelling the fret,whit the truss loose: i clamp body on a table and pull up the pressure with wood under peghead for make a straight neck? remove the wood, my neck comes backbow, the tension of string can pull the neck straight, ? and if i need more neck relif whit double truss i can, right?thanks for your help

[Len Biglin]

Bonjiorno Fabio , I am not highly experienced in building , mainly repairing , but I think you are correct that the string tension will create some relief and the truss rod will add more if needed . Usually the neck will be about straight with no strings. You may have to bend the neck a little by hand to help the frets settle into the ebony. Good luck.Len

[Antonio Cotichini]

Ciao Fabio, I feel strange to write in English to an Italian, but otherwise it wouldn't be fair for all the other people who would be interested on this topic.... if any!
As Len, I'm mostly a repair guy than a guitar maker. I agree with him on the physics point of view. But it's not clear to me if the neck you're talking about (and working on) is still separate from the body or already glued (or bolted) on it. Anyway, I would work very carefully with the clearance between fret-slot and tang-size. Just a bit wider tang and a drop of super-glue (Attak-Loctite) is enough to ensure tight grip, avoid wood chipping and excess of back-bowing. The less you have to use the truss-rod, the better it is. A well seasoned maple neck with ebony fretboard doesn't deserve to be stressed by too many screw laps. Of course, the amount of counter-bowing that the strings can act, depends on the gauge you use. I hope this can help. If you want to speak Italian send me an e-mail.