Advice on cutting neck blanks, please

[Brian Evans]

I grabbed a board of maple from my stack today to get started on making some neck blanks. After I cleaned it up, I ended up with three 1" plus by 4 1/2" by 27" quartersawn boards. I was frankly expecting them to be flatsawn, and I planned to laminate them to cut two blanks that would have turned the flatsawn on it's side to become quartersawn after the glue up (I've done this before). If I do that now, I'll end up with flatsawn oriented glue-ups. If that makes sense.

The other way I have made necks is what I refer to as the "classical" method - take the plank, add a kerf cut piece for the headstock, and stack the heel (I've done this before too, I added a stripe in the heel stack to add some interest). If I did that, I could get three necks out of this, all one piece perfectly quartersawn in the actual neck part. I guess another option is half way - make one quartersawn kerf-and-stack neck blank from one board, and laminate the other two with a center stripe of some contrasting wood of some sort, and get two out of that, but laminated flatsawn.

What would you do? Interweb seems completely divided on the relative merits of quartersawn vs flatsawn necks.

Brian

[Peter Wilcox]

I'd say you have 3 nice neck blanks. If you want some multi-piece necks with a different grain orientation, grab another maple board.

[Patrick Hanna]

Your explanation makes perfect sense to me. Before I go a step further, I will restate for the umpteenth time that I am no expert. I have read lively arguments by people who insist that flat sawn necks will work as well as quarter sawn necks. Of course, the quarter sawn neck school replies that their philosophy is the only possible way to go.

As I am no expert, I can only go with my hunches. My hunches tell me to to glue up quarter sawn necks every time. I can't say you're wrong. I'm just telling you what I do.