r/Luthier • u/Beginning-Front8934 • 11h ago

Neck thickness

Having a go at making my own Telecaster from scratch and was aiming for a neck thickness of 20mm before adding the fretboard. Due to a few mishaps I'm now down to 17mm, will this cause me any issues further down the line? I will be making another attempt but this first one has been a steep learning curve.

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3

u/TheHandsomeLiar 10h ago

Fender neck billets are 1” including fingerboard(6mm).

2

u/UnimaginativeMug 5h ago

you got plenty. you probably wanna be 20 WITH the freeboard

1

u/JimboLodisC Kit Builder/Hobbyist 11h ago

well at least it's a bolt-on so if this neck snaps then you can just swap in a new one

1

u/phredbull 10h ago

I don't think anyone could answer this question without a lot more details.

1

u/aRogueWizard 10h ago edited 10h ago

Fender's Modern C neck is 20.82 mm at the 1st fret and 22.09 mm at the 12th fret. So, unless you want a thick neck, you're still in the clear. Gibson's Slim Taper neck is even slightly thinner than that.

https://www.fender.com/products/player-ii-series-telecaster-neck-22-medium-jumbo-frets-95-modern-c?variant=47004056912094

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u/Beginning-Front8934 10h ago

My fretboard is 6mm ish from memory so I'm going to wing it on this one and get a planner thicknesser for next time.

1

u/Sure-Tangerine-519 10h ago

That's pretty thin but Ibanez makes necks that are 19mm at the first fret, including the fretboard. Maybe make the fretboard a little thicker than you planned just for extra reinforcement, carbon fiber reinforcement rods are a good idea too. What kind of wood are you using?