The scarf joint (arrow above) is where the maple headstock attaches to to the neck just behind frets 1-3. The separate headstock allows for a much stronger neck. Some Ibanez guitars don't have the scarf joint, and instead have the volute (hump at the nut) where the neck wood extends straight thru the headstock in a continuous piece.
This is one of the most critical joints that we will make in stringed instrument construction. That is why and entire post is devoted to this subject.
Scarf Joint:
Many may ask, why is there a need for this joint anyway? Why not just cut the neck from a thicker piece of wood? Good question! There are many guitars that are made just that way. The problem is that as you turn this 15+ degree angle (Note that this is 8.13 degrees for a Classical Guitar), you turn into the short grain of the wood. That is it becomes in a sense runout of the grain. Since we avoid runout at all costs in our guitar tops, we should avoid it in the neck too.
There is over 200# of pressure that is exerted by the steel strings of the guitar, (Much less for the Classical Guitar). The strings are constantly trying to pop that good ‘ol head piece right off the guitar. Bump your strung-up guitar off a stool and let the head hit the floor and it will do just that too. By making this 15+ degree Cut (Note that this is 8.13 degrees for a Classical Guitar), we keep the grain going straight even though we changed direction. Plus, if this joint in constructed properly, it will make for a much stronger neck.
Secondly, making a neck with separate pieces of wood for the head and heel consumes much less wood and is far more efficient use of often very expensive wood.
Neck Headstock Joint:
Step 1:
As the plans from Georgia Luthier Supply show, the neck is usually shipped as single piece of wood from the supplier. It will most likely be 3/4″ to 7/8″ thick. The first thing to do is surface sand or plane the 2 wood faces perfectly flat and parallel to each other.
As the plans from Georgia Luthier Supply show, the neck is usually shipped as single piece of wood from the supplier. It will most likely be 3/4″ to 7/8″ thick. The first thing to do is surface sand or plane the 2 wood faces perfectly flat and parallel to each other.
Step 2 – Make The First Cut:
Next, make the First Cut as indicated on the plans. The best way to make this cut is with a powered miter saw or a miter box and saw. Additionally, this joint can be cut with a Bandsaw that is set up perfectly, and an accurate fence. It is essential that this joint be smooth, flat and straight.
Next, make the First Cut as indicated on the plans. The best way to make this cut is with a powered miter saw or a miter box and saw. Additionally, this joint can be cut with a Bandsaw that is set up perfectly, and an accurate fence. It is essential that this joint be smooth, flat and straight.
If done with a very fine blade in a power saw, you will need very little touch-up to get a hairline joint. The joint should be cut at about a 15 degree angle.
Step 3 – Plane Down The Headstock:
Plane down the headstock piece to the desired thickness and sand smooth. Note: There are many neck construction options prior to gluing the Neck Scarf Joint. Here are some options that I have come up with for you to consider and the related articles that we have.
Plane down the headstock piece to the desired thickness and sand smooth. Note: There are many neck construction options prior to gluing the Neck Scarf Joint. Here are some options that I have come up with for you to consider and the related articles that we have.
Laminated Neck & Headstock:
This option results in a continuous laminated neck from the guitar heel through the entire headstock. It gives the guitar a look of continuity, but is a bit tricky. See our Article on Laminated Neck and Headstock for more information.
This option results in a continuous laminated neck from the guitar heel through the entire headstock. It gives the guitar a look of continuity, but is a bit tricky. See our Article on Laminated Neck and Headstock for more information.
Laminated Neck Solid Headstock:
The neck only option is typically used for Classical Guitars and is seldom implemented for Acoustic Guitars. Take a look at a Jose Ramirez neck. You will see it used on their guitars. See our Article on Laminated Neck Without the Headstock for more information.
The neck only option is typically used for Classical Guitars and is seldom implemented for Acoustic Guitars. Take a look at a Jose Ramirez neck. You will see it used on their guitars. See our Article on Laminated Neck Without the Headstock for more information.
Gluing the Neck Scarf Joint:
Since this is an involved procedure, we have devoted an article to this. See our Article Gluing the Neck Scarf Joint for this information.
Since this is an involved procedure, we have devoted an article to this. See our Article Gluing the Neck Scarf Joint for this information.
Innovative and superior
Taylor's New Neck Joint
© Frank Ford, 5/12/99; Photos by FF
Bob Taylor is an unusual fellow. As soon as he comes up with a really cool methodor process to improve his guitars, he shares it openly with other guitar makers,including his biggest competitors. This is pretty strange behavior, considering thatthe leading manufacturers in most industries try to keep any proprietary method abig secret so they can stay ahead of the others.
It's been a long time since Bob Taylor was an young guitar maker building instrumentsone at a time. Now, he's an industrialist. His factory employs hundreds, and makesthousands of guitars every year. Through all the growth that has brought the companythis far, Bob has never lost sight of an important guiding principal: Every timeyou increase production, you must also make a significant increase in quality.
When we hear of a manufacturer upping production, our gut reaction is to presumethat quality will drop and service will go out the window. You know, the same stuffwe all hate about bank mergers. But not so with Taylor. When they moved into theirnew factory, we wondered where they would find room for improvement in the guitars.
Well, here's where they found something to do:
Right at the old neck joint.
First, let me give you some background. Guitars are made of two major parts, thebody and neck. How you stick those two parts together has become something of a controversialtopic, thanks to one Bob Taylor. He founded Taylor Guitars with the idea of bringinginnovation to the methods of construction of a traditional instrument. Specifically,he popularized the concept of bolting the neck to the body rather than gluing iton.
A bolted neck can be removed easily for repair. It's simple as that, and becauseguitars change over time, it eventually becomes necessary to remove and realign theneck to correct for eventual changes in the shape of body as a result of string tension.At a time when all the big manufacturers of quality guitars were using a glued dovetailjoint, Taylor bolted his necks on. The success of Taylor instruments has certainlyproven that a bolted neck is a solid concept! In fact, it's now considered by many,if not most guitar makers to be a standard neck attachment method because it's easierto do, works as well, sounds as good, and facilitates repair.
Now Bob's attacking this area from a new perspective. Having licked the neck attachmentissue, he's actually looking at the 'tongue' of the fingerboard that sitson the top of the guitar. Here's the problem. You get the neck aligned correctlyto the body, but the end of the fingerboard may not be in a direct line with therest of the neck. Sure, you can correct for that during manufacture, and most buildersdo just that.
But, what about later, as the guitar ages? The neck pulls upward at the body, eventuallyreaching the point where it needs to be reset to the original angle. Then, you removethe neck, change the angle, and reinstall it. Oops! The fingerboard still has tobe glued to the top of the guitar. You can shim it up if it appears to 'droop'at the body, or you can just leave it that way. After all, playability above the14th fret isn't that big a deal, right?
In generations past there have been any number of patented attempts to resolve thisissue with guitar necks that pivot at the body, with elevated reinforced fingerboardextensions which move with the rest of the neck. All these methods had one big flaw.They looked funny, and they looked (or were) unstable.
Now, look at Bob Taylor's new neck joint:
I've laid a mirror inside this guitar so you can see the single bolt under the endof the fingerboard. The label, upside down because you're seeing it in the mirror,hides the bolts that hold the neck in place.
Here's the neck, off the body:
Notice that the end of the fingerboard is supported through its entire length byan extension of the mahogany neck. In fact, the entire length of the neck, from nutto 20th fret is made from the same piece of wood to ensure stability.
This is where it fits on the body:
The end of the neck is mortised into the sides of the guitar, and the end of thefingerboard is mortised into the reinforced top.
Lets look closer at the mortise, because it's a big deal:
The end of the neck is mortised into the sides and neck block. The end of the fingerboardand its extension support are mortised into the top.
Taylor's New Neck Joint
© Frank Ford, 5/12/99; Photos by FF
Bob Taylor is an unusual fellow. As soon as he comes up with a really cool methodor process to improve his guitars, he shares it openly with other guitar makers,including his biggest competitors. This is pretty strange behavior, considering thatthe leading manufacturers in most industries try to keep any proprietary method abig secret so they can stay ahead of the others.
It's been a long time since Bob Taylor was an young guitar maker building instrumentsone at a time. Now, he's an industrialist. His factory employs hundreds, and makesthousands of guitars every year. Through all the growth that has brought the companythis far, Bob has never lost sight of an important guiding principal: Every timeyou increase production, you must also make a significant increase in quality.
When we hear of a manufacturer upping production, our gut reaction is to presumethat quality will drop and service will go out the window. You know, the same stuffwe all hate about bank mergers. But not so with Taylor. When they moved into theirnew factory, we wondered where they would find room for improvement in the guitars.
Well, here's where they found something to do:
Right at the old neck joint.
First, let me give you some background. Guitars are made of two major parts, thebody and neck. How you stick those two parts together has become something of a controversialtopic, thanks to one Bob Taylor. He founded Taylor Guitars with the idea of bringinginnovation to the methods of construction of a traditional instrument. Specifically,he popularized the concept of bolting the neck to the body rather than gluing iton.
A bolted neck can be removed easily for repair. It's simple as that, and becauseguitars change over time, it eventually becomes necessary to remove and realign theneck to correct for eventual changes in the shape of body as a result of string tension.At a time when all the big manufacturers of quality guitars were using a glued dovetailjoint, Taylor bolted his necks on. The success of Taylor instruments has certainlyproven that a bolted neck is a solid concept! In fact, it's now considered by many,if not most guitar makers to be a standard neck attachment method because it's easierto do, works as well, sounds as good, and facilitates repair.
Now Bob's attacking this area from a new perspective. Having licked the neck attachmentissue, he's actually looking at the 'tongue' of the fingerboard that sitson the top of the guitar. Here's the problem. You get the neck aligned correctlyto the body, but the end of the fingerboard may not be in a direct line with therest of the neck. Sure, you can correct for that during manufacture, and most buildersdo just that.
But, what about later, as the guitar ages? The neck pulls upward at the body, eventuallyreaching the point where it needs to be reset to the original angle. Then, you removethe neck, change the angle, and reinstall it. Oops! The fingerboard still has tobe glued to the top of the guitar. You can shim it up if it appears to 'droop'at the body, or you can just leave it that way. After all, playability above the14th fret isn't that big a deal, right?
In generations past there have been any number of patented attempts to resolve thisissue with guitar necks that pivot at the body, with elevated reinforced fingerboardextensions which move with the rest of the neck. All these methods had one big flaw.They looked funny, and they looked (or were) unstable.
Now, look at Bob Taylor's new neck joint:
I've laid a mirror inside this guitar so you can see the single bolt under the endof the fingerboard. The label, upside down because you're seeing it in the mirror,hides the bolts that hold the neck in place.
Here's the neck, off the body:
Notice that the end of the fingerboard is supported through its entire length byan extension of the mahogany neck. In fact, the entire length of the neck, from nutto 20th fret is made from the same piece of wood to ensure stability.
This is where it fits on the body:
The end of the neck is mortised into the sides of the guitar, and the end of thefingerboard is mortised into the reinforced top.
Lets look closer at the mortise, because it's a big deal:
The end of the neck is mortised into the sides and neck block. The end of the fingerboardand its extension support are mortised into the top.
Now, this, in itself, is not such a big innovation. The Martin guitar company made instruments with necks mortised in exactly this way, before the Civil War! Those necks attached with a bolt that was accessible from back of the heel, allowing the neck to pivot and be adjustable without even removing the strings. These necks were not solidly mounted to the body, so the joint was easily damaged. Of course, these were all gut strung guitars, so I suspect that the tension of steel strings would be too much for this kind of neck joint design. Another old timer with a similar pivoting neck system was the Howe Orme guitar. Click here to take a quick look at Rick Turner's collection of Howe Orme instruments.
OK, so Bob Taylor didn't invent the idea of a bolt-on neck, andhe didn't invent the idea that the fingerboard should be supported so it can pivotwith the neck. What's the big deal then?
The big deal is that he came up with a way to make the system work with steel strings,and to make it as solid as a fully glued up neck,fingerboard and body assembly. Andhe made it all go together so you can't even see how he did it without taking everythingapart!
As with so many other aspects of the Taylor guitar, the key to the system is precisionwoodworking.
First, take a reallyclose look at the neck joint from the outside.
See what I mean? Even if you really zoom in, you simply can't see that the fingerboardis actually set into the top. The clearance around the entire neck and fingerboardis a maximum of 0.002 inches. That's only a hair at the most!
Fitting thousands of necks with this kind of precision means using computer guidedequipment and very tight quality control indeed. The big computer controlled millingmachines make the work go quickly, too. It turns out that the heel fits so preciselythat the finishing department must be very careful, because just an extra coat offinish will interfere with the neck installation.
To make the neck fit exactly at the right angle, there are laser cut shims graduatedin thousandths of an inch for both the fingerboard extension and the heel:
The perimeters of these shims are laser cut with precision, so they simply drop inplace and stay there without falling out while the body and neck are assembled.
So, here it is. Another innovation that makes the assembly of guitars even fasterand easier.
We luthiers have to remember that this is all industrial process. That means it isgreat for production work, but not the essence of traditional hand made acousticguitars. I believe there's also a place for traditional design and craft in thisbusiness, and there will always be serious musicians interested in truly hand craftedinstruments.
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The big deal is that he came up with a way to make the system work with steel strings,and to make it as solid as a fully glued up neck,fingerboard and body assembly. Andhe made it all go together so you can't even see how he did it without taking everythingapart!
As with so many other aspects of the Taylor guitar, the key to the system is precisionwoodworking.
First, take a reallyclose look at the neck joint from the outside.
See what I mean? Even if you really zoom in, you simply can't see that the fingerboardis actually set into the top. The clearance around the entire neck and fingerboardis a maximum of 0.002 inches. That's only a hair at the most!
Fitting thousands of necks with this kind of precision means using computer guidedequipment and very tight quality control indeed. The big computer controlled millingmachines make the work go quickly, too. It turns out that the heel fits so preciselythat the finishing department must be very careful, because just an extra coat offinish will interfere with the neck installation.
To make the neck fit exactly at the right angle, there are laser cut shims graduatedin thousandths of an inch for both the fingerboard extension and the heel:
The perimeters of these shims are laser cut with precision, so they simply drop inplace and stay there without falling out while the body and neck are assembled.
So, here it is. Another innovation that makes the assembly of guitars even fasterand easier.
We luthiers have to remember that this is all industrial process. That means it isgreat for production work, but not the essence of traditional hand made acousticguitars. I believe there's also a place for traditional design and craft in thisbusiness, and there will always be serious musicians interested in truly hand craftedinstruments.
Back to Index Page