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Neck shaping


KevinS

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A little update on rear neck radiuses, i was kinda curious so i made some paper radius gagues and checked the back of my neck, the 1st fret is 3/4" radius and at the 12th fret it's 1" to 1-1/8" on both my fender necks, i'm going to measure some ibanez's soon so i know what to look for when i try and copy their neck profile

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  • 2 weeks later...

i usually get my necks to about 1/16 more than the finished thickness down the center of the neck, my necks are cut to the widths needed first, then i just use an old draw knife to remove the majority of the waste from the edges, then i go to a stanley made tool the has a removable :rasp"type blade on it this works really fast! then i go to a file rasp to finish it up but i usually get the headstock area and the heel area to a close to finished shape then i glue the fret board on and then finish shaping the neck this way i dont screw up anything! i might try the straight flush bit on my next neck and see how that works. but i think its quicker to do it by hand! and much safer! until i build my duplicarver wich im currently designing !

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measured some more necks at my music store that i liked..... ibanez was a constant 3/4" radius, and a nice jackson was 7/8" also constant. just refenrences if u like to have an alternative to just guessing how to shape the back of the neck. btw i'm measuring these just using some paper radius curves, the same peices of paper can be used to actually check the shaping on the back of a neck as it's made should i chose to use a hand tool instead of a router

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ya, i didn't really understand it in the other thread till i discovered it on my own... you're right wes, radius's are just one option, i don't think they can make a V shape.. just a U / C shape

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William Cumpiano gives a great explanation on carving a neck in "GUITARMAKING: Tradition and Technology." He recommends a 1 inch chisel (VERY SHARP), then moving to a spokeshave/drawknife and eventually files and sandpaper. I was able to carve a Mahogany neck using only a (sharp) 1" chisel and sandpaper. Final product was excellent, all owing to Cumpiano's excellent drawings and descriptions. The book focuses on building an acoustic guitar - but much of the info transposes to electrics if you're doing your own necks and fretwork.

If you're new to chisel work I recommend wearing a Kevlar glove (on the hand NOT holding the chisel - these gloves will prevent the business end from penetrating your skin (a bruise is better than a slice!)). My brother put a 1" chisel all the way through his hand with very little effort, severing numerous veins and nerves. Two surgeries and a couple month's worth of re-hab and he's as good as new - minus those dead spots where the nerves never re-connected.

Hope this helps...

Larry

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After reading through this thread, I'm really surprised no one seems to use a scraper for this. I nicely sharpened scraper and some sandpaper works very well. Unless I was doing dozens of necks a month, I wouldn't consider messing around with those router tables.

For the sandpaper, you can cut a belt (for a belt sander) or just put some duct tape on the back of a piece of normal sandpaper - it won't rip. Use it like a shoe shine and then finish it up with a scraper and finer sandpaper towards the end. The while process goes very quickly and is very enjoyable. Running it across a router table would be very nerve racking for me and I would never want to risk chipping the wood out.

The is one part of guitar building that really doesn't require power tools and in my opinion is best done without them. I don't know about you guys, but the neck shaping is one of the things I really look forward to doing when building. I wouldn't want to take away from that by automating it.

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RSERA- your freakin crazy!!!!!!!! but heck i'd probably do it if i had a shaper table! im thinkin of haveing my machinist make me a bit the cuts a 12 " radius sort of like that neck bit then i can make fret boards alot faster and more accurate! also i could get deferent radius's made maybe a few of the common ones. but that neck shaping bit looks cool, but i need more guards on the table for me!

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Just finished my first neck blank. Did the bulk wood removal on the back with a floor-standing belt sander (80 grit), just being careful to keep the thickness a little large down the center line (using my MIM strat neck as a guide). Then went at the back with 80-grit paper on a 9.5-inch radius block to smooth out the whole thing (for consistency along the length, not for the radius). Once I get the fretboard on, I'll finish it off by hand with a contour that just feels right.

Edges straightened using a drum sander on a drill press, with straight-edge jig. Feels good so far.

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