Oiled Necks Pt. 2

[St.James]

First thanks to everyone who answered my previous question about how to oil necks. Much appreciated!

Now, I have read Sully's post in the stickies that mentioned oiled necks. He says oiled necks are prone to twisting. Is this common? what causes it? How can it be avoided? Is it something to really be concerned about?

I've never had an oiled neck until now and I really like it. Very smooth and fast, but if it's something that is likely to twist up on me I need to make changes to a CS order before I send it in.

[Shawn Lutz]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

They are prone to warp in my opinion if they go untreated and neglected. If you treat them reguarly you'll be fine. Look at all the vintage oiled neck Charvels out there still playing perfect [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

if you neglect to put gas in your car and it won't start....that is no fault of the car [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[DonP]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

I have a DK-1 neck and I'm not so sure I prefer this over the typical clear finished neck.

Thanks for the heads up on oiling the neck - it's got 3,000 miles on it - maybe it's due for an oil change.

[sully]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

exactly what shawn said. also consider that a clear or hard finish on the neck won't guarantee that it won't twist, etc. i'm sure we've all come across guitars that had painted and twisted necks. i know i have.

sully

[St.James]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

I see. Thanks guys. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I've seen bowed necks, but I don't think I've seen one twist yet. Sounds nasty. How do you fix that?

[sully]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

you can use a heat press to try to get it back to how it was, or you can pull the frets, plane and radius the fretboard, and then refret.

or you can just shoot it.

[St.James]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

Sounds like a good excuse to buy a new guitar. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[slevy007]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

I prefer oiled necks. I REALLY prefer unfinished necks... I lean towards oiled as a middle between bare wood and clear coat. Anyway, ,my understanding is that having a light finish, like Ibanez's do for example, plugs the natural pores in the wood making it less likely for the wood to be influenced by temp/humidty and warp. Now I believe that oiled necks don't have this problem, as these "pores" are essentially sealed... but I think it does wear off. Just hit it with some lemon or gunstock oil every now and then.
While we are talking about oiled necks, my favorite oil jobs are Ernie Ball/Musicman. I hear they use a blend of gunstock oil, and something else. Wish I could get/make a batch of that stuff.

slevy007

[Twisteramps]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

I still give thumbs up to boiled linseed oil... drys harder/faster than tung oil or gunstock oil, protects better than lemon oil too. Has a great feel also.

Pete

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

i say natural tint danish oil if you like it closer to all wood feeling. the danish oil is thinner and leaves no smell after its been dried and buffed. the boilded linseed is great but smelly. a little bit thicker than danish oil. the gunnstock oil is the thickest, almost like a satin finish. i bought some to try on my sully guitar and after i put some on a rag and let it dry it became a hard crusty spot. now i'm sure this will protect your wood very well. but i wanted to feel more of the wood so i opted to stay with danish oil just to seal the pours. i'll most likely re-oil it every 3-6 months to keep it sealed and protected.

overall i think gunstock oil will protect it the best. birchwood casey's tru-oil what is allegedly used by ernie ball and jackson. and you can get it at wallmart.

[LRGman]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

[ QUOTE ]
I still give thumbs up to boiled linseed oil... drys harder/faster than tung oil or gunstock oil, protects better than lemon oil too. Has a great feel also.

Pete

[/ QUOTE ]


Yep cheap easy on works great-

[slevy007]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

Does anybody know what EBMM uses exactly? Their necks feel broken in because of what they use. Honestly, it almost feels like a nice old Jackson or Charvel...texture wise that is.

Thanks!
slevy007

[blindmuddy]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

[ QUOTE ]
Does anybody know what EBMM uses exactly? Their necks feel broken in because of what they use. Honestly, it almost feels like a nice old Jackson or Charvel...texture wise that is.

[/ QUOTE ]
My friend works there, he's the head of their repair dept. He did a Warmoth neck for me and sealed it with a superglue/water mixture and then I believe he used the gunstock oil. He's a regular at the EBMM forum and probably be happy to elaborate.

[Bengal65]

Re: Oiled Necks Pt. 2

My favorite is "Woodcraft Urethane Oil Finish". It's a linseed based oil with a Urethane additive. This finish is much thinner than the gunstock oil that uses a varnish additive. It is crystal clear and provides a very thin finish. I'm going to do a comparison with pics on some of the more common oil finishes. I just did another maple one that has 2 coats and I have to look close to see if I got any finish on it. It looks and feels like bare maple.