I'm going to try and make a couple of necks. (PG-13 - May contain mild profanity)

[Ironwolf]

I bought a big chunk of flamed maple last week end. So I'm going to try and chop it up for 2 or 3 necks.



After finishing up the other things I had to do this weekend, I made my first neck template.



This one is, obviously, for a Strat. If I can pull it off, the next one will be for a set neck Tele.

[Shepherd]

I just started building necks and my profanity would have gotten an R rating. But man does it feel good when you finish one.

[Mojotron]

I would do 5 using 2"x4"s first. There's a number of jigs to be made that will need to be tweaked and my experience suggests that it will take at least 3 necks to get the jigs right. There's a few 'gotcha's in making necks.

[ratter]

Originally Posted by Mojotron

I would do 5 using 2"x4"s first. There's a number of jigs to be made that will need to be tweaked and my experience suggests that it will take at least 3 necks to get the jigs right. There's a few 'gotcha's in making necks.

Big +1. I burn through a lot of maple because it doesn't cost me much more than 2x4s. But when you are tweaking neck cuts/designs, or learning how to build for the first time, it's very possible to need lots of do-overs!

[JasonRobert]

make sure you rough cut as close as you can to the line, as maple is very hard and is easy to burn when routing. And also shaping the back is hard work on maple if you are doing it by hand. I would love to have some router bits like preeb has for shaping the backs.

[Ironwolf]

Today I assembled a table saw I bought awhile back and started the project. I cut a piece from the hunk'o'maple with my band saw and then used the table saw to rip it down to an inch and a quarter thick (that left another piece that can be used in the future for a maple fingerboard). Then I used the planer to clean and even it up to an inch thick. Didn't take any photos (it's just a flat piece of wood).

I've ordered a truss rod and a 71/4 inch radius sanding block. The next big step is making jigs for the truss rod channel, fingerboard radius and fret slots. I will provide pictures of these as I make them. If I have time tomorrow, I'll trim the blank, mount the template and route the necks outline.

[Ironwolf]

!*##%&!! I trimmed and routed the neck blank to shape and on the last little turn around the heel, it blew out a chip on the edge of what would have been the fingerboard. I say again, !*##%&!. When I get the neck jig made, I'll trim it down to 3/4 inch thick and use a 1/4 inch finger board. !*##%&!.

I did drill a 1/4 inch hole through a 3/8 inch black walnut dowel to use in the truss rod access. Took a little time to think out how to do it, but it turned out to be exceptionally easy.

[olaftheholy]

Originally Posted by JasonRobert

I would love to have some router bits like preeb has for shaping the backs.

If i ever start building necks, i want a custom ellips bit like his too!

;o)

[Shepherd]

First necks usually get the R rating . How bad is the tearout? Maybe it will come out with the 7 1/4 radius.

[Ironwolf]

Originally Posted by Shepherd

First necks usually get the R rating . How bad is the tearout? Maybe it will come out with the 7 1/4 radius.

Nope too wide. If it was any wider, even thining it down for a cap wouldn't cover it.

[Amadhunter]

Turn it over, make a reverse headstock neck. Fill in the tearout, it won't show in the pocket. ?????

[Ironwolf]

Actually, I've decided to call it quits on this one; I'll use it for practice cuts and setting up the jigs. I'm going to start again with another chunk of wood.

[Amadhunter]

Best of luck.:)

[Ironwolf]

So I made a new template from 3/4" mdf and cut a new blank. After trimming and routing (cleanly, this time, with no tearouts) I have a nice looking blank with a fair amount of flame.



I had to work in extremely nasty weather this weekend, so I've quit for the day. We went from 90 degree temperatures to temps in the 40 to 50 degree range in 48 hours.

I did buy some materials for the jigs. I'm planning to work on them after work this week.

[Buckocaster51]

Atta boy!

Back on the horse!

BTW - I like you choice of snacks...

[Michael Allen]

Originally Posted by Ironwolf

I had to work in extremely nasty weather this weekend, so I've quit for the day. We went from 90 degree temperatures to temps in the 40 to 50 degree range in 48 hours.

My family is in Twin Falls and my dad sent me some pictures of a tree that fell into the garage when it loaded down with snow. No damage, just more firewood!

[scubadoo]

Originally Posted by JasonRobert

And also shaping the back is hard work on maple if you are doing it by hand. I would love to have some router bits like preeb has for shaping the backs.

I found it went well using those one of those microplane rasps


and a spokeshave. I did my first with a cheap old Stanley spokeshave but now have a lovely little Lie-Nielsen one that my wife bought me. It cuts like a dream!


Lovely piece of maple you have there! Have you already cut the truss rod slot?

[Ironwolf]

No, I haven't cut the truss rod channel yet; I need to put the jigs for routing and fret slotting together. I haven't had a chance yet, as I've been working late the last couple of days. I'm having a new roof put on the house starting today, so it maybe this weekend before I can do any further work done on anything. I did receive my table saw blade from Stew Mac for fret slotting. There are a lot more tools and supplies to order though. This is definitely not a cheap hobby.

[preeb]

Originally Posted by Ironwolf

!*##%&!! I trimmed and routed the neck blank to shape and on the last little turn around the heel, it blew out a chip on the edge of what would have been the fingerboard. I say again, !*##%&!.

]!*##%&! happens.
Use a robosander before flush trimming...

[Mojotron]

Originally Posted by preeb

]!*##%&! happens.
Use a robosander before flush trimming...

1+ on the robosander - I have a flush trim bit that is getting a little dull and even that bit did ok as long as I used a robosander first. I'm getting a new bit now, but I'm totally sold on the robosander. I only use the 1" and 2" for necks ones - I guess I could use the 3" one on a body - but the 3" is a little big. You may save a few bucks and just get the 1" or just the 1" and 2" robosander bits - assuming you have a drill press that has enough torque to push them - my ryobi 12" press does fine with these.

[Ironwolf]

Originally Posted by Michael Allen

My family is in Twin Falls and my dad sent me some pictures of a tree that fell into the garage when it loaded down with snow. No damage, just more firewood!

Yeah, some of the areas right above Boise had as much as 2 feet of snow over the weekend. We have had a typical Idaho fall. It lasted 24 hours. 90 degrees on Monday, 70 degrees on Tuesday (Autumn), 40s and 50s since, with snow storms and some freezing rain over the weekend.

[Guitarnut]

Originally Posted by Ironwolf

!*##%&!! I trimmed and routed the neck blank to shape and on the last little turn around the heel, it blew out a chip on the edge of what would have been the fingerboard. I say again, !*##%&!. When I get the neck jig made, I'll trim it down to 3/4 inch thick and use a 1/4 inch finger board. !*##%&!.

Just my personal preference, but after suffering thru this several times, I no longer use a router on my necks. I rough profile on the band saw, and then shape on a spindle/belt sander. I have absolute control and no burning from router bits as maple is prone to doing.

I shape the back of the neck with a small curved-sole plane. It takes only an hour or so and again, you have ultimate control...especially when taking it to final thickness.

Here's a link to one of my recent neck builds. It covers all the steps and the jigs, too...might be able to find something useful there.

Neck Page

Good luck with the learning curve and as others have said, it feels GREAT when you get it right!

Peace,
Mark

[Ironwolf]

I managed to get the first jig built this weekend. It was tough going because it's cold way too early in the year. The box has had an indexing line scribed in the bottom since I took the picture. The slider shown will allow me to cut the truss rod slot. I will make another flat slider to cut the nut slot and take the headstock down to thickness, and an arched slider to cut the finger board radius. Then I will make a slide board/jig for my table saw to cut the fret slots.

[Mojotron]

Looks like a top notch jig!

[fishtownmike]

Originally Posted by Mojotron

I would do 5 using 2"x4"s first. There's a number of jigs to be made that will need to be tweaked and my experience suggests that it will take at least 3 necks to get the jigs right. There's a few 'gotcha's in making necks.

I agree with this 100%. i ruined 3 neck blanks before i got it right on my first neck. Practice with cheap wood first! I also recommend doing the truss slot before cutting out the neck shape. A lot easier that way.

[Ironwolf]

I put the finishing touches on the shooting board/fret slotting jig today and made the sliding router plate for taking the head stock down to thickness.





The only jig left to make is the routing slider for cutting the fretboard radius.

[Ironwolf]

The next thing I did was put the router slide to work for the first time.





After drilling the nut hole in the heel, inserting the Hot Rod truss rod and making and gluing in a black walnut skunk stripe, I have this.



Hopefully, I'll be able to do some work on it after work this week.

[mcgeorgerl]

Two questions.....

How are you holding the neck secure in the jig?

Is the slot a consistent depth? I'm not familiar with the Hot Shot rod. I've only installed a few single rods and if the red thing is the rod, it looks like a double rod.

Okay....three questions...which end of the neck gets the block and which end gets the adjuster?

[Ironwolf]

Okay...


The neck was held in the jig with double sided tape. Quite stable. Double sided tape and a screw clamp arrangement will hold the neck to the slide on the fret slotting jig.

The slot is a consistent depth, per instructions for the double action Hot Rod. (That is it in the picture.)

I had intended to have the adjustment at the head, but the depth of the adjustment nut mandated it be at the heel instead. Next time I'll try the Martin style rod; it looks to sit shallowly enough to allow the adjustment nut to be higher than the top surface of the headstock.

[mcgeorgerl]

Thanks, I look forward to watching your neck build. The only ones that I have done were for a couple of small acoustic instruments that required a lot of bandsawing, spokeshaves, drawknives and carving.....I managed to squeek by and it was a slow, tedious,stressfull process. I did not enjoy it.

The Tele neck eliminates a lot of the stuff that I'm not good at. So I'll be watching you go through the process. Expect a bunch more questions from me as well. Now, get busy!

[Ironwolf]

I gave up on the shooting board/jig for the fret slots. I couldn't get it to slide stably enough to risk trying to cut the fret slots with it. Instead, I converted the slider box into a miter box and used the hand saw. I then used the slider box to thin down the head stock, and the oscillating sander to put the blending curve into it. A quarter inch brad point bit in the drill press and a quarter inch black walnut dowel, and we have the top fret markers. I did all this between 1 and 4 this afternoon.



I need to run my tiny router bit through the nut area to clean it out, but that leads to a question: How deep should the nut slot be. It appears to me to be 1/8 inch. but I want to be sure.

[Buckocaster51]

I'm enjoying this!

Keep the info, technique, and photos coming.

Cheers

[Ironwolf]

I didn't have time to work on the router slide for radiusing tonight, but I did trim the fret markers and sand everything smooth on the fretboard. Here's what it looks like after being wiped down with a damp paper towel.

[anon2424]

Originally Posted by Ironwolf

!*##%&!! I trimmed and routed the neck blank to shape and on the last little turn around the heel, it blew out a chip on the edge of what would have been the fingerboard. I say again, !*##%&!. When I get the neck jig made, I'll trim it down to 3/4 inch thick and use a 1/4 inch finger board. !*##%&!.

I did drill a 1/4 inch hole through a 3/8 inch black walnut dowel to use in the truss rod access. Took a little time to think out how to do it, but it turned out to be exceptionally easy.

Dr. Pepper, you're a good man.

[barkley]

So how did you cut and measure the fret slots?
Ive never built a neck, but it seems to me that would be the hardest, most accident prone part of the whole job!

[Ironwolf]

I converted the routing box to a miter box with a couple of small slots and some metal brackets from the hard ware store, then used Stewmac's hand held fretting saw and their fretting template. I measured the distance from the necks heel for the position of the 21st fret and used that as the baseline to line everything up. I attached the template to the back of the neck with some double sided tape and then just moved the template along in the box, setting each alignment slot in turn on the alignment pin. I think it took longer to get the neck taped to the template and everything initially lined up, than it did to cut the slots.

[Ironwolf]

Well, I went to work on it with a sanding blade, wood rasps, a spoke shave, and a random orbit sander, and in about an hour I had it looking like this.

[Ironwolf]

Another 1/2 hour with a radiusing block and about 15 minutes with a regular sanding block, and every thing is there.





Now its just some finish sanding with finer grits of paper and it will be ready for some dye followed by wipe on poly.

[mgdesigns]

Looks very good. Nice job.

[Buckocaster51]

We'll have to start calling you "Tadeo Jr."