ESDictor Posted May 14, 2011 Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 While working with a template router bit on the neck this happened: It's about midway up the neck (12th fret-ish). How can I recover from this? Is the template garbage now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted May 14, 2011 Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 You should make a new template & scrap that one. The neck may still be salvagable, but it would mead ripping it along the sides & laminating it with new timber. Id just rip it down the middle & put in a centre strip of contrasting material & go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula Posted May 15, 2011 Report Share Posted May 15, 2011 Yeah, template's gone for sure. You could try plugging it with something, but its just a template, and theres the danger the same thing could happen in the same place. Its just a template, make a new one if I were you. I agree with the idea of cutting the neck in two down it's length and adding a center laminate - make a feature of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESDictor Posted May 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 I don't have the tools to make a laminate strip, so I'm going to do what I can to repair it. The part I cut is very small and won't be in an area that's easily visible. I'm going to try to cut the rest and see exactly what I'm dealing with and probably make a small patch from scrap with the grain running the same way and sawdust-infused glue holding it together. Wish me luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted May 18, 2011 Report Share Posted May 18, 2011 I don't have the tools to make a laminate strip, so I'm going to do what I can to repair it. The part I cut is very small and won't be in an area that's easily visible. I'm going to try to cut the rest and see exactly what I'm dealing with and probably make a small patch from scrap with the grain running the same way and sawdust-infused glue holding it together. Wish me luck If you can repair the template, why can't you use it to make another template? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESDictor Posted May 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2011 I wasn't talking about fixing the template, I was talking about fixing the neck. The only saw I have is a jigsaw, so I can't make a straight enough cut to get a laminate in there, and I don't have a planer to clean anything up anyway. The template piece is trash, but the damage is on a straight edge, so I should be able to fix this one neck by working around the damaged area and then sanding flat afterwards on the belt sander. After I have the neck shape cleaned up, I'll clean up the damaged part of the neck and glue in a patch the best I can. If there's a visible defect it will be beneath the fretboard where it will only be seen by looking from above while playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eljib Posted May 19, 2011 Report Share Posted May 19, 2011 (edited) Since it's obvious you have a router , you could try this technique i read about here a while ago. I can't remember any keywords the thread might have contained, so i can't redirect you to it, and the technique was offered as a way to make perfect joins with a router for bodies and tops, but it should work here as well. First, rip the neck in half (using the jigsaw would probably be fine), and then clamp the new spacer piece of wood (contrasting color would be cool) between the outside lams you just created. After that, you should be able to route freehand along the joint without the worry of keeping straight lines, because the straight bit will be making mirror image cuts on either side. Repeat the process on the other joint and when you're finished you'll be able to put the three piece neck together like a jigsaw puzzle. The only problem i see is that this would need to be done in one pass, so if you're worried about wear on your router and bit i suppose you could widen the gap between the pieces to lessen the amount of wood you're try to hog out. Good luck with the build and the repair. Edited May 19, 2011 by eljib Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESDictor Posted May 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2011 Without the template attached and with the cut finished, it doesn't look quite as bad as it did However, that's the least of my problems now .. because of a nice tear-out while doing the headstock So .. what's the word on painting a neck/headstock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eljib Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 that tear-out could be cut off and a new piece attached and shaped. it's under no stress whatsoever from the strings, and would barely be noticeable with good grain matching. I've done it several times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESDictor Posted June 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2011 The neck was so thick that I was able to plane it down and the blemish on the side is now gone. I'm considering a few different ways to handle the headstock, one of which is reshaping it to a more unique take on the Fender headstock like this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae3 Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 Reshaping around a defect can sometimes end up being really ace. Sometimes not. Since you've had two seperate tear outs, I'd step back and check your bits and your method. The last thing you want is another tear out. You could reshape it to be a suhr style headstock: Your one is also a pretty cool solution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reinhold Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 The neck was so thick that I was able to plane it down and the blemish on the side is now gone. I'm considering a few different ways to handle the headstock, one of which is reshaping it to a more unique take on the Fender headstock like this: I kinda like that headstock better than the fender one, it makes it more your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESDictor Posted June 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 Reshaping around a defect can sometimes end up being really ace. Sometimes not. Since you've had two seperate tear outs, I'd step back and check your bits and your method. The last thing you want is another tear out. To be 100% honest, I really don't have a "method" ... and I'm not sure how to check if I'm doing this the wrong way. I'm just glad/lucky I didn't have any tear-outs like that on the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESDictor Posted June 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 I kinda like how it came out ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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