Nut width/neck (re)sizing

[Brandon A]

Hello everyone,

Longtime reader, first time poster here. To provide a brief background: I’m a semi-pro player (I have a different full-time gig), and after 5-6 years of doing my own minor repairs/maintenance I’ve started my first build (12fret OOO, with some alterations). I’m at the beginning stages of fretwork and am curious to know how you experienced folks decide on nut width and neck shape/size. Now, I’ve spent plenty of time playing loads of acoustics with varying specs and have narrowed down my choices (relatively flat C shaped neck with ~1 ¾ nut width). My concern is that, after completing the fretwork and gluing the FB to the neck, the final result will be too wide. (On the acoustic I play finger-picked/country blues, and I’m a proud user of the ‘hooked’ thumb to fret the bass notes…) What I love about doing my own build is that I can tailor the specs to suit my needs, so is there a clever way to adjust FB width after the frets are installed? Maybe the onus is on me to decide on a precise spec before I get too far along, however, just like when I buy pants, I seem to be in between standard sizes and I need to try ‘em on before I know that they fit! As an aside, I appreciate everyone’s help and your willingness to share your expertise here. That’s what makes this forum so vibrant

 

-Brandon

[FRANK]

each time I have built a guitar neck/fingerboard I do the frets last after the finger board is shaped because I would not want to shape it afterwards .I decide nut width based on scale L ,string width ,and preference last .maby someone else will chime in good luck

[Paul Verticchio]

Hi Brandon.  Welcome to the board (:

Of course, only you can decide the final nut width.  I'm 100% with FRANK that you have to have this figured out before you fret the guitar.

Of equally vital importance is the string spread at the bridge as it relates to the pin holes that match the nut width.  It has to match the geometry of the nut width or you risk having your outside strings slide off the frets.

I too am a part-time pro player (48 years+) and I too hang my thumb over the FB to catch the low E string bass notes. I round over or soften the shoulder of the FB on the bass side (and to a lesser extend the treble side) on all my guitars to facilitate the technique.  It's a thumb hangers dream.  It also makes a new neck feel like it's been played for 40 years. You may want to try it if you haven't already done it. I began doing this at least a decade before the SRV brouhaha.

Best of luck Brandon & again; welcome(:

Paul

[Murray MacLeod]

1 3/4" nut width will not be too wide for fingerpicked country blues.

You also need to decide the string spacing at the bridge, which I would suggest should be 2 5/16", and furthermore, you need to decide on the taper of the fretboard.

Most  guitars have too narrow of a taper on the fretboard, the general rule of thumb seems to be that the width of the fretboard at the 14th fret  should equal the width  of the string spacing at the saddle.

I would venture to suggest that that is too narrow , and that a more satisfactory result is obtained by making the width of the fretboard at the 12th fret the same as the string spacing at the saddle. 

 

[William F.Eden]

 If it were me building a guitar for a customer and he was wanting a certain feel for a neck i have him or her bring me the one they like and i just copy that neck. I am sure that you must have a Insturment that you like the feel of  better than most just copy it .Just my two cents worth.Bill.................

[Brandon A]

I was fixated on the idea of doing the fretwork with the FB off (and thus on a nice flat surface)… So it does make sense that I should mount the FB on the neck and shape as desired, and THEN do the fretwork.  I also love the idea of softening the edge of the FB, so I’ll make full use of that.  And thanks for pointing out the spacing at the bride-  I hadn’t even considered that yet!  I appreciate everyone's input!

[Kerry Krishna]

 Brandon, I know a guy that year before last bought a pretty expensive axe off an up and coming Luthier. The Luthier was too new at the game, and had not figured out about softening the edges of the fretboard yet. The owner  kept it for 6 months, and you now know the only reason why he sold it..... Pretty sad eh?