How to Build a Neck-thru Guitar

A neck through guitar is a certain type of electric guitar in which the neck of the instrument goes all the way down through the body. This design allows for a more rigid neck in the instrument giving it cleaner highs and greater sustain.

In this part of the tutorial I will cover laminating and cutting the basic shape of the neck. Please read through the whole tutorial first before starting work so that you may have a complete understanding of what you are to be doing.

*All of this CAN be done by hand... but is MUCH easier with power tools*

Traditionally the wood used for necks is maple, so first you must obtain roughly 12 feet of quality quartersawn¹ maple 2x4 (this can be purchased in 4 foot sections if they are of higher quality, try to avoid warped sections and at all costs avoid knots). If you tell a member of their staff you are making a laminated guitar neck they may be able to help you find a suitable piece of wood. *Also if you can afford it try adding a thin strip of wenge or two into your neck for extra stiffness and that oh so cool 'skunk stripe' look you find on more expensive guitars*

Once you have the wood the next thing to do is to cut the wood into three 4-foot sections. Using a planer, plane a side and edge along each section of each 2x4 (Side=4'x4" Edge=4'x2")

Now you must determine the maximum width of your neck and divide this number by three (typical necks range from 50-60mm at the base where they attach to the body). Next plane the unfinished side of your 2x4 down until your 2x4 meets the previous dimension. Plane the remaining edge of your 2x4's so they are all uniform and then line them up side by side on their edges. Look at the grain along the edges and align them as best you can according to texture/color and direction.

To laminate the pieces together you must put a thin and even layer of wood glue on the inner sides of the two outside pieces of wood and then clamp them together. Clamp the wood FIRMLY with as many clamps as you can to spread out the force and push out excess glue (make sure you have clamps AT LEAST every foot). Use some clamps to make sure the boards remain aligned with each other as well, as the intense side pressure may cause them to twist and move. Leave this assembly for ~24 hours for the glue to fully dry.

Once the glue is dry, you may remove the clamps and begin to trace out the shape of your neck on the side of this assembly. A good angle for the headstock to sit from the neck is about 13 degrees back, and should be as thick as the tuners you have selected will allow, the length of the headstock is not really imporant so long as you leave enough room to attach the tuners without them overlapping in the back. For a typical 22 fret guitar your freboard will take up roughly 18.5 inches, however at the base of the fretboard where the neck attaches to the body the neck should be slightly thicker for strength. A good way do this is find where the bottom of the headstock is the desired thickness of your neck and mark a point that will be the nut, then figure out the thickness of the body (Dont go below 1 1/2 inches thick or you will not find pots to fit in the body) and mark this point 15-16" down the length of the assembly from the nut. Make a line between these two points. Where your body 'begins' (15-16" down the neck from the nut) you may choose to make another line at a 0-5 degree angle, to bring help bring the string action down if you have a taller style bridge, and to give a slightly more egronomic design (remember to make a parrallel line the thickness of the body down from this line).

Now that you have the profile of the neck you can take this to a bandsaw (or do it by hand if you are dedicated) and cut it out. What you are left with should look something like the picture below.

In the next hub I will cover routing the truss rod channel, starting the 'wings' or the body of the guitar, and attaching them to the neck blank.