Here we go

I've always wanted to build a guitar from nearly scratch, which to me means constructing the neck as well as the body. I've finally decided to do it. I've already started buying materials and assembling some of the materials I'll need to build the neck. I am making this up as I go along, although I have done a bunch of internet research.

I was going to build the neck from a laminate of carbon fiber and epoxy, plus some kind of fancy tone wood - initially, I was thinking mahogany. Then I checked out the price of mahogany and settled on basswood. Basswood? That's for making guitar bodies! Well, please consider a few things:

1. It's cheap - I got it from National Balsa Wood Company; here is the page for 36" long basswood sheets; mine are 1/16" x 4"
2. I just read yesterday that Parkers have composite-wrapped basswood necks, and people seem to like those alright
3. There's a good chance I'll mess up and have to try again, and like I said, it's cheap

In the picture of the basswood sheets, with my Samick jazz box for a size comparison (a good guitar, but I have no idea why I own it), you can see a stack of 16 sheets, each 1/16" thick. I measured the thickness of several guitar necks and they always come in under an inch (minus the fingerboard layer). Only after I ordered the wood did I realize that after I laminate stuff between the basswood, it's going to be thicker than an inch by some as-yet-unknown amount.

Next, after I checked the price of carbon fiber cloth ($30+/yard) I decided to go with fiberglass. Here's why:

1. It's cheap - I got it for about $7/yard from US Composites; here is the page for fiberglass cloth; mine is the 8.9oz S-glass, which is an upgrade from the "regular
2. There's a good chance I'll mess up and have to try again, and like I said, it's cheap

In the picture of the fiberglass, from left to right is the 635 epoxy, the medium duration hardener, a little jar of blue dye (my idea is to stain the neck blue, so maybe this will help tone down the epoxy stripes), some measuring cups, and the fiberglass itself - 3 yards of it.

Here's my parts list so far, along with cost:

Basswood from National Balsa:

Code	Item	Qty	Price	Total
116436B	1/16 x 4 x 36 basswood sheets	16	$1.76	$28.16

Fiberglass and epoxy from US Composites:

EPOX-635313 Medium 635 1/2 gallon,
  21.3oz $34.25
FG-6781-38  8.9oz S Glass -
Satin Weave Thickness: 0.0097"
4 yards @ 13.95/yd
TRA - PB001 1oz transparent blue tint
   (< .25oz/gallon) 5.95
CON-C08 25x 8oz graduated plastic cups 5.5

Total: I'm about $130 into this thing already. Wow.

NEXT: A "heat box" to cure the laminate!