vally
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Registered: 3-13-2023
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Building the neck
Being new to the forum, I'd like to first point out how useful this forum has been during my first build completed just a few days ago. Now planning
for the next one, I have two questions regarding the neck.
1) Regarding the neck scale, let's say I aim for a scale length of 60 cm. My bridge-to-face length is set to 40 cm. Now, do I want the distance from
the front (i.e., towards the body of the oud) of the nut to the neck-body joint be 20 cm, or from behind the nut (or neither)? Subquestion: when
notching the fingerboard for the nut, the position of that notch depends on the answer to the above question, correct? I'm also aware another way to
build the neck is not do any notch but rather attach the peg box a big higher such that its bottom wall act as the nut support. How does this impact
the scale length?
2) My first oud follows the tradition and ends its fingerboard at the neck-body joint. However, I may plan to have a fingerboard from the nut to the
sound hole for one of my next projects. What is the best way to design such as a fingerboard from the start? I know that they can be added afterwards,
on top of previous fingerboards, but I'm wondering how this is designed from the start? I'd just like to note that for my first build, I attached the
neck to the body before gluing the face on.
Thank you!
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bulerias1981
Oud Junkie
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Location: Beacon, NY
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Vally,
Welcome to the forum.
The scale will begin at the inside of the nut, the area contacting the fingerboard. Basically, the vibrating part of the string. You can make a
special ledge for the nut to sit on, I do so often, and it protrudes 4mm or 5mm. I've also done it where the nut will sit on the top of the pegbox. I
prefer the ledge method these days. None of this impacts the scale length as it has to be added in while measuring and marking.
For your next question, you need a fingerboard blank that's going to be wide enough for the expansion that occurs as it goes close to the soundhole.
To know this width, take a straight edge and place it along the neck and on top of the face, trace that line on top of the face all the way to the
soundhole. Do this on both sides. Now measure those lines at its widest and you'll know the max width of the fingerboard.
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vally
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Thank you for the answer bulerias1981! I have follow-up questions:
1) I understand that both methods work as long as the neck length is changed to keep the scale length the same, right? Hence, if my ledge is 5 mm
wide, I should have the neck 5 mm longer compared to the other option where the pegbox acts as the nut support, correct?
2) I've probably misexpressed myself, let me rephrase my question. In the traditional design where the fingerboard stops at the neck-body joint, the
neck is flush with the neck block, such that the fingerboard has the thickness of the face. For a long fingerboard, however, how does it work? Is the
neck still flush with the neck block, or is it made flush with the face instead such that the fingerboard can be added on the neck-face surface?
Thanks again!
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bulerias1981
Oud Junkie
Posts: 771
Registered: 4-26-2009
Location: Beacon, NY
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Mood: John Vergara Luthier Lord of the Strings instrument making and repair
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The overall neck length needed would indeed by an extra 5mm in order to achieve this.
For the second question, yes, the fingerboard can be the same thickness of the face (about 2mm). However, some oud makers make the fingerboard thicker
at the nut side and tapers to the same thickness as the board goes towards the face. The reason for this is should the action rise (which it often
does), there is more material to plane by the nut to lower the action. Future-proof I call it.
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vally
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Registered: 3-13-2023
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Thank you that makes sense. Final question on this topic: for a new oud you’re building, if you intend to install a long fingerboard that extends to
the rose hole, how would you do that? I have built 2 ouds already so I’m accustomed to the overall process, just not sure how one would install a
long fingerboard for a new oud. I understand that for an existing oud, a long fingerboard can directly be installed directly on the old one.
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