Techie Luthier type question...

[Nadz1lla]

Is it possible to make a guitar out of one piece of wood, e.g take a huge slab of mahogany and just cut the shape out, then do all the routs and chuck a fretboard on the neck section? Or is there too much potential for warping with something like that? Obviously, whatever happens, you'd need the ol' truss rod, and the entire top-face of the guitar would be flat, relying on the fretboard being a decent height from the face of it and the bridge being set up just right. I'm just thinking of the optimum type of construction for really good sustain, and figured the less bits of wood joined together the better.

(Prepares for the deafening sound of luthiers face-palming all over the world...  :lol:)

[WezV]

yes, its possible and has been done by many people


personally i think its a massive waste of time, gives no playing or tonal benefits and is quite wastefull

[Ratrod]

Not to mention a big waste of money. You'll need quite a big slab of wood (from a fat old tree) and that's expensive.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Wood that wide is also usually very heavy as well so maybe not so comfortable
I would worried about twisting in the wood - 3 piece necks are so much more stable
It wouldn't necessarily be the best for sustain also  - although uber sustain is overrated - who holds a note for more than 10 seconds (other than Gary Moore during live versions of Parisienne Walkways)

If it's good wood - maybe use some for the body and some for the neck but not all from the one piece
Even if I made a neck through I would cut the neck blank into 3 and reverse the centre piece to stiffen the neck and reduce risk of warping.
Also I'd be looking to achieve quarter sawn grain for stability too

[Nadz1lla]

Okies, thanks for the advice! I think I'll probably make a neck-thru. I keep messing up neck pockets.  :?

Usually all my other routs (pups / electrics cavity etc) are fine, but I always seem to mess neck pockets for bolt-ons up, so that the neck wobbles and doesn't quite fit snugly enough. Plus neck-thrus seem to sound better.

[Frank]

uber sustain is overrated - who holds a note for more than 10 seconds

Amen to that. "Sustain" is just a marketing buzzword in the guitar world.

[valentinweitz]

i wouldn't do it because i think is pretty difficult. and one mistake and maybe you can kick the whole piece...
BUT jens ritter did a wonderful job:



http://www.ritter-royals.com/detail-picture-sites/detail-one-piece-concept.htm
valentin

[WezV]

if only pieces of wood like that were easy to find - you may come across them every so often but i garantee if you were actually looking for it the search for the holy grail would seem like an easier task