OTHER NECK FINISH INFO:
To Finish or Not to Finish?
All our necks are dipped in an oil based penetrating sealer which is compatible with virtually all secondary finishes. This provides enhanced stability; however, it is not adequate protection for playing. We strongly recommend you apply a hard finish to all Maple, Mahogany, and Koa necks. Oils do not validate our warranty requirements.
We understand the attraction of raw or lightly oiled necks. They feel fast and are not sticky. Unfortunately, they are much more susceptible to moisture related warping and twisting. Our experience is that hard finished necks seldom warp. Less than 1 out of 200 (0.5%) are returned for warpage. Raw or oiled necks don't fare as well. About 10% are rendered useless from the torture. The more acidic your perspiration, the higher the odds are against you.
If you must play a raw neck, that's cool; it's ok. A neck is just a tool. Just be aware of the risk. If yours does the pretzel act, we don't want to hear about it.
For a valid warranty, a hard finish must be sufficiently thick to completely cover the wood. That means no wood is exposed and you are actually playing on the finish, not the wood. Now, it does not matter to us who applies the finish. Of course we would like to do the finish for you, but if you choose to do it yourself or have it done elsewhere the warranty is still valid.
You might get away with fixing a few small dings with acetone to soften a bit of the lacquer and using the CA for "dropping in" as it's called. Not a good idea if the lacquer has worn though for two reasons. Its only good for small areas, and unless you get the dirt out its gonna be trapped there.I got a recipie from a tech at Ernie Ball. It involves Super glue and acetone. Super-hard finish.
Rock Maple is common on many guitars and is fine. There are many maples used on instruments these days and have been for hundreds of years. To correctly identify ant species of timber you need to use the botanical name. Rock maple in one country or region can mean something else in another. To illustrate a lot of Sycamore from the UK used to be shipped in un worked condition from the UK, processed and dried and shipped back to the UK as maple. When I buy timber I always ask for the botanical name so I can be sure of what I'm getting. It dosen't end there either take a look at this classification. Rock maple is listed twice as two different species Acer distichum is rock maple, Acer saccharinum is sugar maple as far as I'm concerned. Both are fine for guitars.Well, this is an area that I'm very interested in. I've got two Wolfgangs, both come from the factory unfinished. They're supposed to be hard or rock maple? Is this a different wood than the maple necks you guys are talking about? I really don't know.
You might get away with fixing a few small dings with acetone to soften a bit of the lacquer and using the CA for "dropping in" as it's called. Not a good idea if the lacquer has worn though for two reasons. Its only good for small areas, and unless you get the dirt out its gonna be trapped there.
It is my opinion that a good hard finish on a maple fingerboard improves wear by penetrating and adding to the bond of the lignin fibers. This makes a composit surface more resistant to abrasion than raw wood .
There would be easier ways of finishing that neck. If anyone wants to try it do it on a bit of scrap first to test your process and keep all water and moisture away from the surface until it's hardened or you could get a milky cloudy finish.This formula and process would be for raw probably new necks. Yes you would want to do it on a clean neck. The process spreads the superglue throughout the neck by thinning it with acetone. I actually did it on a warmoth I made, and it was great.
Sorry punkin, I'm not sure exactly what you are asking here? What manufacturers make unstable necks?My brain hurts.
Seriously, I've heard that before. I'm just currious why some manufacturers do it and seem to make stable unfinished necks while others seem to struggle with it. I'd think there would be an obvious list of woods that are suitable for this, those that require specialized structural support systems while others simply shouldn't be used.
Personally, I'd never have a concern picking up a Wolfie now that I've had a couple but anything else would simply scare the snot out of me for fear of having a wooden pretzel in a few years. I wonder if there (I'm sure there are) other manufacturers that build them naked like this and stand by their product?
It's the tech in me wanting cold hard answers. Thanks for the enlightenment.