Making a mandolin neck

[Peter LaMorte]

I have some maple that is 1 3/4" thick x 8" wide x 96" long. All the books I read say I need at least 2" thick maple. On the templates it looks like the neck is traced from the side and the 2" thickness is the width looking straight down across the fretboard. When I measure that dimension I get 1 11/16 at the most and ears are glued on at the peg Head. Where does the 2" thickness come into play or can I use the 1 3/4 stock to produce neck blanks.
Thanks
Peter

[epicentre]

I think 1 3/4 stock is ample thickness for a neck.

Probably there are more folks better qualified than I to answer, but my necks are made from 1" (thick) x 2" wide maple, with 3 thickness glued at the headstock and neck join area.

The neck itself is 1" thick to begin with, then loses some in the shaping. No truss rods, and my 5 year old flat top has not moved yet........12th fret join. Short neck.

......fer WIW

Epi

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[sunburst]

It all comes down to your design and how wide the neck needs to be at it's widest part excluding the peghead. Normally, that's where the neck joins the body.

[buckhorn]

i have used 3/4 stock with a 1/4 spacer between...makes for a nice glueup..the rod channel is very clean..the 3/4 is reverse grained and is super tuff...there seems plenty of wood left for me to take off...