BigKahune Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 A ran across an interesting report on a study done by the US Forest Service - http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/AP_Sports/25611060#news/AP_Sports/25611060 - baseball bats and guitar necks - not too much of a stretch. Basically, the more grain lines that angle off the neck, the weaker the neck and headstock/nut area. Below is a shot of one of my LPs' neck and headstock. You can see grain lines going off the neck between the heel and about fret 4, but in the area of the headstock/nut, the grain lines are going straight up - a good thing. I've seen some with grain lines going off the neck in the area of the headstock/nut, which would indicate weaker wood in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I'd never given it much thought. Good tip, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 "It's never good to have weak wood" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 When we first started practicing with wood bats (in order to increase bat speed and power as they are heavier than alloy bats) we were breaking them at a rate of 1-3 per day. The problem was hitting them in line with the label burned into the grain of the wood, a quarter turn and we broke maybe one the rest of the season in practice. Notice the openness of the grain when you hit it from this direction, you are going against a weaker direction of the wood when you do this. Now look at the section next to the baseball, this is much stronger. The strength from hitting the lines here also increased the dynamics of the hit as the power from the swing was imparted more efficiently into the ball, not as much was absorbed through shock from the bat and back into the hitter. Next time you sit and watch a game and see a wood bat break look to see which direction of the grain he hit the ball with.(I know some of you have HD televisions so you should be able to tell) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 http://www.fender.co...D-DXQY9-CY5B-v1 Quartersawn wood is as is shown in the link. Better guitar necks are quartersawn. Most Gibson necks are quartersawn..... However, what is as important is how long and how the wood is cured......Some companies cure their neck woods, and / or the finished necks, but not all companies cure the body wood..........( Carvin does )..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Your link isn't working Damian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl00dsm0k3 Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 what about hockey sticks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I'm not versed at all in the construction of hockey sticks and my use was when I was very young playing street hockey. No one ever broke one so I'm not sure on that Flood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 If you look at your Gibson neck from the side (as opposed to the rear) you should also see that the wood-blank has been cut at a slight angle to the plane of the 'board - it should be roughly half-way between the angles of the neck and peghead - to ensure the longest possible area of straight grain covers the neck/peghead transition area. For the same reason the grain is perpendicular to the plane of the 'board when looked-at from the top of the 'moustache'. The infamous 'volute' was introduced to allieviate this weakness problem to some extent but the purists didn't like this 'improvement' to the design of the LP guitar. I have to say I have a late '70s Japanese-made acoustic which has a volute and in the 30+ years in my ownership I've never once felt it to be a hindrance... I think I am correct in saying most manufacturers cut their neck blanks flat and then using a second bit of wood - scarf-jointed to the neck - for the main part of the peghead. This is more economical - and easier - than Gibson's (current) practice of using one-piece-wood necks. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 What aboot hockey pucks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Sometimes I just don't think you get the whole truth from people that have had headstocks snap on them. I've played with tons of musicians that span over a 30 year period and I have never seen one broken headstock..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 what about hockey sticks Well if the hockey stick had over 200 lbf of string tension applied to it then you hit a hockey puc, something bad might happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 In 1986 a line of guitars I had on stage was knocked over....An L6S headstock snapped and broke......I've smashed a large handful of Gibbies....... A Hamer I had fell and the headstock snapped off it.......Same with an acoustic.......So, it does happen.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Duane V.... Ditto here. I do recall once using a guitar as a bayonet in a saloon one eve without problems... But that's not lateral force. I don't think I'd have done it with a flat top or full hollow archtop though. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I've seen a few SG snaps on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 The thing I have seen snap Gibson heads off is the act of knocking the guitar straight forward off a guitar stand where the fret board slaps face down on the floor and the string tension and the *joilting* stop are too much for the short grained head to neck joint. The claims I have seen people make of head "Just snapping off" while sitting in a case or on and stand are bogus if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 http://www.fender.co...D-DXQY9-CY5B-v1 Quartersawn wood is as is shown in the link. Better guitar necks are quartersawn. Most Gibson necks are quartersawn..... However, what is as important is how long and how the wood is cured......Some companies cure their neck woods, and / or the finished necks, but not all companies cure the body wood..........( Carvin does )..... Very interesting, Thanks for the post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl00dsm0k3 Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 a guy who played guitar for roger waters 59 headstock broke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 ... ... I grew up in the era before wooden bats were condemned by small minded people. We were always taught to hold the bat label up. This put the grain in the proper orientation for knocking them out of the park, and less likely to split the bat. That was your first lesson at your first batting practice. Some little and junior leagues are going back to the wooden bat. Blamed for being dangerous, owing to the potential for breakage, following a rash of very public breakages in the majors, most attributed to illegally corked bats, the wood bats were outlawed in most childen's leagues. Now we know that metal bats, especially the newer, lighter livelier bats put more zing on the ball making them more dangerous to the players than the old fashioned wooden ones. Some children's leagues are returning to the wooden bats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 The reason most wooden bats break is because of thin handle. In effort to try and reduce weight with keeping surface area of the sweet spot large, the handle is shaved and the end of the bat is bored out about 1" deep. So if the ball hits near the handle, or at the end of the bat, it usually breaks. Wooden bat usually breaks around the 40 hit mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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