Acoustic Guitar Construction

peter havriluk wrote: I've seen comments that Martin made up their kits out of parts rejected for factory guitars. Maybe your neck looked like that when it went into the box...

Well, the story I got was that during this era Martin did use their cosmetic seconds in the kits but that the parts were suitable for making a quality instrument.
Whether the neck was warped when it went into the box... who knows?, could be.

I have a couple of theories to try out before I abandon. I'm not in this for my livelihood but for the experience.
Thanks for your comments.

I guess the pictures are deceiving. The gaps at the ends of the straightedge in the second picture are .050" to .060". If it were three times that I would indeed be concerned.

Ken, you mentioned the "slope" of the truss rod slot. Is the truss rod laid in deeper at one end than the other? Please pardon my naive questions.

I have contacted Martin about a replacement neck but have not heard back, yet. I don't expect they can supply one.

Thanks,
Ken

My concern would be the relationship of the finger board plane and the bottom of the slot once the FB plane is re-surfaced.

Yep looks like a lot more than .06 in the pixs.

If you do decide to use it, I recommend getting a two-way truss rod from LMII (if they still have them) they are a direct replacement -- this neck is telling you "I am trouble" so its best to be prepared as much as possible.

Well, I am surprised!
I emailed Martin about a neck and later the same day got a call from them. They have four necks that fit the specs I gave them: mahogany, 14-fret, long scale, solid head, mortise and tenon, single bolt, routed for one-way truss rod.
The price was reasonable, I thought, ($40) so I bit the bullet and ordered one.
I guess we'll see if it works with what I have.

Ken, thanks for all your help and attention.

By the way, the Martin store now lists two-way truss rods, in 12-fret or 14-fret for $13.

$40?? That's giving them away. If those are first quality and all that, I may have to give them a call.

That is a great price even for kit quality, might be made of Cedar which is fine but dents easily. The Martin two-way TR is a totally different design and will not work with a neck slotted for a one way rod.

I just picked up some of the two way truss rods. They are very nice. 1/4"x 3/8". They could be a little longer though and it took a pretty long time for them to ship. I am happy with them anyway.