neck strip

[Martian]

I am building a mando for a guy and told him I was working on the neck. He messaged back, and asked if he " could have a maple neck strip over ebony? or could the ebony be thinned some" . I told him if we do maple/maple/maple, You won't see it, so he asked about not strip at all. It occurs that I don't know if the neck strip is bling, or strength . do you need it?. I would be doing a 2 piece, or as he asked just a thinner ebony on a three piece

[pops1]

A two piece neck is plenty strong. The strip, as far as I am concerned, is bling. Some old mandolins would have been better without the center strip. It was dyed wood that is deterioration, making it a pain to repair. Two piece necks would not have that problem. If the customer would like it to not be there by all means I would leave it out.