70s strat necks - better to take rosewood or maple?

[WezV]

i do mine with a sharp razor blade - the same way fender do it i believe.  it takes a sharp blade and a light touch but works really well all all but really grainy wood (wenge and the like)

i agree that dulling the fretboard is a whole other issue to dulling the neck.  hard to do as easy as the back unless you can get the frets out the way

[Henk]

Get a vintage squier JV neck, YES!

Im not used to maple fretboards so i would pick rosewood. I find all maple necks bend smoother as only real difference.

[Philly Q]

i do mine with a sharp razor blade - the same way fender do it i believe.  it takes a sharp blade and a light touch but works really well all all but really grainy wood (wenge and the like)

Yeah, I'm afraid to try that method!  :lol:  I don't really like using very sharp things, and I just know I'd end up nicking a few chunks out of the edges of the board.

If it's feasible I'd prefer to sand/file it, including the ends of the frets, so the whole edge of the board is rounded (like an EB/Music Man, rather than the only-between-the-frets, almost slightly "scalloped" effect you see on some guitars).  I know that means you lose a bit from the overall width of the fret, but I like the feel.

[WezV]

ah well - i use the blade to avoid the scalloped feel.  the blade lets me get an even roundover all down the fretboard between every fret, even the high ones.   when i have sanded its ended up rounder in the middle and less so at the frets and the low frets tend to get more rounded over than the high ones.  more like natural wear in that respect but it doesnt look as neat

[Philly Q]

Yeah, I see what you mean - the sanding might give more of a scalloped feel...  Would a hard rubber sanding block help, or is the problem simply that the metal fret ends are much harder than the wood inbetween them?

Hmm, this is a proper dilemma.  I really, really dislike the sharp edges on Warmoth necks, but I don't want to risk $%&#ing them up either.  :(

Maybe I should tough it out and try a razor blade.

[WezV]

just be gentle and give it a go!!

if not then the other way i have done it is to go across (rather than along and hitting the frets as you go) the fretboard with a sanding stick (sandpaper stuck to a lollipop stick or and other long thin bit of wood)

the problem with that is that the sanding scratches are going the wrong way so you need to sand along the neck at some point

[Philly Q]

just be gentle and give it a go!!

 :lol:  I guess I'll have to!

I've just been finding as many threads as I can about it on the Tele forum.  It just gets more confusing, some say do it before fretting, some after, then there are various approaches with sandpaper, blades... and "crushing" the edges by rolling them with a screwdriver or something...

I'll dig out my old Squier neck and try a few different methods.


(Edit: Sorry for the thread hijack!  :oops: )

[WezV]

i would never do it before fretting, other than that anything goes

[hunter]

here you can adress the master with the question: http://www.hugeracksinc.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=59312&highlight=

[Philly Q]

here you can adress the master with the question: http://www.hugeracksinc.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=59312&highlight=

Ah, Tyler!  That's who I was thinking of when I said about the "scalloped" look. 

I've never played one - maybe it feels great - but at least visually I prefer the Fender/Music Man approach, where it's more evenly rounded all along the edge, rather than dipping between the frets like that.

[hunter]

here you can adress the master with the question: http://www.hugeracksinc.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=59312&highlight=

Ah, Tyler!  That's who I was thinking of when I said about the "scalloped" look. 

I've never played one - maybe it feels great - but at least visually I prefer the Fender/Music Man approach, where it's more evenly rounded all along the edge, rather than dipping between the frets like that.

I played one. It feels like a natural fit for your hand and afterwards every other neck seems artificial.

[WezV]

i like the tyler style roundover for a more vintage/relic feel - doesnt look right on a new modern styled guitar though

[Prawnik]

I roll fretboard edges using a scr@per, but someone with a more steady hand could use a razor blade.

An actual well-worn Fender fretboard will have the "scalloped" effect going on.

@ whoever said JV Squier necks: they are excellent quality necks, especially if you like that profile. (I am pretty indifferent to shape and profile, as long as the neck is wide. For some other people, neck shape is a matter of life and death.)

The only thing with the JV neck is that the rosewood necks are slab boards, not veneer, and have a skunk stripe, unlike an actual 1970's Fender Strat neck. Also, the 12th fret dot spacing is off. I think their maple necks are more accurate, but I am not 100% sure.

If those things bother you, that is.

[WezV]

I roll fretboard edges using a scr@per, but someone with a more steady hand could use a razor blade.

the razor blade is used as an instant scr@per, i dont cut the wood with it

[gwEm]

just to endorse the razor blade approach. i used it on a couple of necks since i learned about it here from wez. works well