Helluvacaster 7

[holzon]

Hi!

After pushing this first guitar project for years, I've finally pulled the trigger and gathered all(?) the material and hardware. Actual building will start in a week, but I wanted to get it up here so that I could ask you guys a few questions before sawing the blanks to pieces. Here are the specs and design for your amusement and critique.

Rough sketch:

Specs:

Scale: 26"

Body: Swamp ash, stained blackish

Neck: One-piece Maple, C-profile, flat radius, bolt-on, double-action truss-rod

Bridge: Hipshot Fixed 7 0.125" black

Tuners: Gotoh Rock Solid cosmo black

Pickup: Seymour Duncan Black Winter

Frets: zero fret + 24 frets + minifrets, Wagner extra jumbo

Nut: Graph Tech XL Jumbo

Controls: Single speed knob for volume

Finish: Danish Oil + Wax

I had to source it from four different places, phew!

And finally the questions for you guys!

Q1. Angled or flat headstock? The design I am going for is basically a one-piece maple neck with reversed head. My blank seems to be too thin to make an angled headstock without a join. Do I do an angled headstock and live with the split line, or do a classic flat head? Would the B and E-string be able to be held down by a string tree, or would it pop free?

Q2. Would you oil and wax fretboard too?

Since this is my first build you'd better be praying for me, and maybe for the guitar too. Any critique or tips are most welcome, I'll need it for sure!

Thanks for reading if you got this far,
Jens

[RestorationAD]

Angle the headstock with a scarf joint.

Or use a flat headstock and make a nice string tree from aluminum

I would oil the fretboard with Danish oil or Behlens Teak Oil. Behlens Fretboard Oil works great as well.

I would avoid the wax. 3 coats of Danish oil will be enough and you won't have to de-wax it to touch it up.

[RestorationAD]

The flat headstock is going to be tricky to get enough break angle/down force on the nut.

Read a few of the build threads here to see how to do it.

I think I covered it pretty well in this thread... can't remember now. -->

[curtisa]

+1 on the angled headstock with scarf joint. The old Gibson method of making an angled headstock from a one-piece neck blank requires a thicker blank to start with, wastes more timber (half the blank gets thrown away) and creates a headstock/neck transistion that can be prone to weakness. Scarfed neck joints have been used reliably for years by many manufacturers as a method of creating strong headstock/neck transitions and for their efficient use of timber. Don't be too concerned about the visible transition line - embrace it! Do what many builders here do and make it a feature by laminating some contrasting timber into the scarf.

[Original]

A one piece with a flat headstock would be my pick.

[RestorationAD]

The problem I have with a one piece flat headstock (especially on ERGs) is the right downforce at the nut. The sharp break angle always seems to cause the tuning to be "grabby" for lack of a better word.

With an angled headstock the string has one friction point. The nut.

With a flat headstock the string has 2 friction points (the nut and the retainer) and a very sharp angle . On the really large strings the large winds like to get stuck as they pass through the angles...

There are work arounds, rollers, making sure everything is rounded and smooth. The problem with the retainers is that you need to have a large enough radius on the friction point so that the string always has more than 2 winds touching for smooth tuning.

[holzon]

Thanks for the feedback!

Although the sampling set might be too small for a statistically sound decision, sounds like angled based on your replies. I am a bit worried with the scarf joint without a fretboard piece to support it, didn't find any guitars online with a full maple scarf joint.

Now, what do I do with a can full of wax? You wouldn't wax the back of the neck either?

Thanks for the link RestorationAD, looks super useful with the routing tips and what not.

[curtisa]

There are two ways to do a scarf - one has the extension joined under the fretboard at about the 2nd/3rd fret, the other has the extension joined through the headstock.

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.ning.com%2Ffiles%2FKUh3i5J4pFthuEO7rQPcAk6SEXU-TKWdTjXUyS48JpjpQ6zRyizVvbVdZlMeKnVLRrV-hkiF6EDpKCElF6VaptdATFSHgg2c%2FNeckscarfcut.jpg%253Fwidth%253D750&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cigarboxnation.com%2Fforum%2Ftopics%2Fneck-scarf-joint-question%3Fid%3D2592684%253ATopic%253A1359079%26page%3D2&h=360&w=750&tbnid=RRJ2dFVdNTRSDM%3A&zoom=1&docid=y56qAzcory34mM&ei=L6vJU9_QC4_c8AWJgoLQDg&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ved=0CCgQMygLMAs&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=2274&page=1&start=0&ndsp=20

For maximum strength you want the first option, where the fretboard supports the join between the two pieces.

Lots of examples of a simple scarf on a plain maple neck:

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fi1008.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faf201%2Fwurmluke%2FDSC02767.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jemsite.com%2Fforums%2Ff21%2Fneck-scarf-joint-97809.html&h=768&w=1024&tbnid=oCRvm5bpYm86OM%3A&zoom=1&docid=0o2WuJ_TATDb1M&ei=L6vJU9_QC4_c8AWJgoLQDg&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ved=0CC4QMygRMBE&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=830&page=1&start=0&ndsp=20

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsglguitars.s5.com%2FImages%2F051015StrattonJemPainted049.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsglguitars.s5.com%2FCustom%2520Gallery.html&h=427&w=640&tbnid=-wSzVxsO8iSgeM%3A&zoom=1&docid=th9qN9_qdAd2xM&ei=mazJU5X3Lszh8AXPvIKYAQ&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ved=0CB8QMygEMAQ&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=1576&page=1&start=0&ndsp=22

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.warmoth.com%2Fguitar%2Fimages%2Fnecks%2Fscarf_joint.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.acousticguitarforum.com%2Fforums%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D81858%26page%3D3&h=128&w=360&tbnid=G6jdEh9jg-hbMM%3A&zoom=1&docid=UmEDR9iaYU7p8M&ei=mazJU5X3Lszh8AXPvIKYAQ&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ved=0CEMQMyggMCA&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=796&page=2&start=22&ndsp=24

Every base model Ibanez RG or S I've ever owned had a maple neck done this way.

[holzon]

curtisa: Just to be clear, as I may use the incorrect descriptions for these things, here's kind of a similar neck to what i'm going for:

http://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v3/584558772_1/Sell-Free-Shipping-One-piece-Flamed-maple-DIY-Tele-guitar-neck-replacement-abalone-dot-markers-nature.jpg

So the main difference, and worry, to me is that this neck has no explicit fretboard piece, whereas all the examples you posted had a rosewood fretboard or similar. In my mind I would have a split line all around the neck going on the front of the fretboard too. Would this joint be viable still?

[SwedishLuthier]

Have a look at "no 2" in Curtisas first link:

That kan be done with a one piece neck.

Now to another question at hand: This is your first guitar, right? To do that build with a one piece neck and a traditional one-way truss rod takes for some serious planing, lots of jigs and requires (IMHO) quite a bit of experience. After almost 20 years of building guitarist that concept still scares me enough to keep me away from that. Add to that the extra step of making this a double action truss rod, I think that is too much for a first build. Have you really got the skills and understanding to get this done in a good way (please don't get me wrong, not trying to put you down here)? My sincere suggestion is that you question yourself why you want the one piece solution. Is it because you want a flame maple neck and fretboard look? If so you can get a separate flame maple fretboard and separate neck blank and use the much simpler solution with the truss rod sandwiched between those.

Pros with two-pice solution

- Straight rout for the rod

- no curved jig for routing the back of the neck needed

- no jigs needed for drilling holes as body and head end

- ready available truss rods

- Easier to do an angled head supported by the fret board

Cons with two-piece solution

- visible joint between neck and fret board

- no visible skunk stripe at back of neck

So mostly ascetics here... For a first build there will be so many obstacles to get around anyway. I therefore suggest to keep as much as possible, as simple as possible and that you considering being willing to compromise a bit with the ascetics to be sure that you really get to the goal line and make a fully functional. nicely playing guitar. For a first guitar that is maybe a more realistic goal that to produce the guitar of your dreams.

EDIT: I see that you are in Sweden. I'm in Stockholm and might be able to lend a hand if you are somewhere near me.

[guitar2005]

+1 on the angled headstock with scarf joint. The old Gibson method of making an angled headstock from a one-piece neck blank requires a thicker blank to start with, wastes more timber (half the blank gets thrown away) and creates a headstock/neck transistion that can be prone to weakness. Scarfed neck joints have been used reliably for years by many manufacturers as a method of creating strong headstock/neck transitions and for their efficient use of timber. Don't be too concerned about the visible transition line - embrace it! Do what many builders here do and make it a feature by laminating some contrasting timber into the scarf.

But if you plan properly, you can get 3 necks out of a neck blank.

I usually get two neck blanks that I can cut as one piece with a 13 degree headstock, although I do laminate wood for strength, and one neck blank with scarf joint.

In terms of difficulty, my first neck was a scarf joint neck with 2-way rod, eye of ra inlay and sheduah fretboard. That was in 2005 and its one of the best necks you'll ever play on

I say do you you really want and take your time to do things right.

Because you'll be using a fixed bridge, go with the angled headstock and scarf joint. You'll have proper string pressure on the nut without having to resort to string tees or special staggered tuners. Scarf joints are also very strong and look nice IMO.

[holzon]

...

Now to another question at hand: This is your first guitar, right? To do that build with a one piece neck and a traditional one-way truss rod takes for some serious planing, lots of jigs and requires (IMHO) quite a bit of experience. After almost 20 years of building guitarist that concept still scares me enough to keep me away from that. Add to that the extra step of making this a double action truss rod, I think that is too much for a first build. Have you really got the skills and understanding to get this done in a good way (please don't get me wrong, not trying to put you down here)? My sincere suggestion is that you question yourself why you want the one piece solution. Is it because you want a flame maple neck and fretboard look? If so you can get a separate flame maple fretboard and separate neck blank and use the much simpler solution with the truss rod sandwiched between those.

...

This comes out of my ignorance to the difficulties of guitar building.... I simply thought that a one-piece maple neck was in line with keeping things as simple as possible. Thanks for the heads up, I'm thinking of cutting off a fretboard from the back of my neck blank. Still, it seems like my blank is very tight as it is (30" x 4" x 1"), so we'll see how it goes.

I tried to keep the specs and design close to telecaster to keep it simple this first time, I think the only really dream features I put in there on purpose were the zero fret and the mini frets on the angled end of the fretboard. Any other bonkers features that you think will be impossible to build comes out of my ignorance.

I was under the impression that a double-action truss rod would allow me to do a straight rout on any kind of neck? This is the truss-rod I got (460mm), there weren't an awful lot to choose from:

http://gitarrdelar.se/images/RD003-460.JPG

Thanks a ton for the offer of help! I'm living in Gothenburg at the moment, and planning to start building the guitar up in Jamtland during my vacation, so unfortunately I will be way off to be able to claim any help.

+1 on the angled headstock with scarf joint. The old Gibson method of making an angled headstock from a one-piece neck blank requires a thicker blank to start with, wastes more timber (half the blank gets thrown away) and creates a headstock/neck transistion that can be prone to weakness. Scarfed neck joints have been used reliably for years by many manufacturers as a method of creating strong headstock/neck transitions and for their efficient use of timber. Don't be too concerned about the visible transition line - embrace it! Do what many builders here do and make it a feature by laminating some contrasting timber into the scarf.

But if you plan properly, you can get 3 necks out of a neck blank.

I usually get two neck blanks that I can cut as one piece with a 13 degree headstock, although I do laminate wood for strength, and one neck blank with scarf joint.

In terms of difficulty, my first neck was a scarf joint neck with 2-way rod, eye of ra inlay and sheduah fretboard. That was in 2005 and its one of the best necks you'll ever play on

I say do you you really want and take your time to do things right.

Because you'll be using a fixed bridge, go with the angled headstock and scarf joint. You'll have proper string pressure on the nut without having to resort to string tees or special staggered tuners. Scarf joints are also very strong and look nice IMO.

Woah, what size neck blanks do you use? I'm having difficulties figuring out how I will get one neck out of my blank! Good to hear that you got a nice neck done the first time. I'm at least aiming for building something that I wouldn't be ashamed of playing myself, and if everything goes to hell, my backup plan is to reuse the hardware for Helluvacaster II. My main goal is to keep all fingers, and hopefully learn a bit about do's and don'ts of guitar building for the next project... A working guitar would be a nice bonus!

[SwedishLuthier]

OK, the rod from Gitarrdelar need to be put in between a separate fretboard and a neck blank. So you need to either slice a bit of the neck blank or find a flame maple fretboard. I did a quick search and only found flame maple board blanks available with Perry Ormsby in oz land... He's a semi regular here under the moniker rhoades56 so you can shoot him a PM and ask. Some years ago, when I started building there were ample supply of flame maple fretboard blanks.

1" is generally too thin to slice off a fretboard if you also take in account that you need to clean up the surfaces that is being glued and that the saw blade, however thin it might be, eats away a bit of the wood.

[guitar2005]

My neck blanks are about 3" high, 2.5" wide and 34-35" long.

The bottom and top parts are the single piece necks and the middle portion (leftover) becomes the scarf neck shaft portion. That's 3 blanks right there with minimal waste.

I just completed two raw 3"x2.5"x35" neck blanks and cut them up into 6 neck blanks.

[holzon]

OK, the rod from Gitarrdelar need to be put in between a separate fretboard and a neck blank. So you need to either slice a bit of the neck blank or find a flame maple fretboard. I did a quick search and only found flame maple board blanks available with Perry Ormsby in oz land... He's a semi regular here under the moniker rhoades56 so you can shoot him a PM and ask. Some years ago, when I started building there were ample supply of flame maple fretboard blanks.

1" is generally too thin to slice off a fretboard if you also take in account that you need to clean up the surfaces that is being glued and that the saw blade, however thin it might be, eats away a bit of the wood.

Given that this i my first guitar build, I only opted for basic woods, so neck blank is regular american maple. Body being swamp ash is more of a happy accident where the retailer offered me that instead of standard american ash for the same price due to going on vacation the same day.

I'll drop by the local wood shop and see if they have any swedish maple or similar that I can get, I'm out of time to have any wood shipped before I leave for vacation/fabrication. I guess the backup plan is to skip fretboard until later, but I guess that halts shaping of the neck and stuff like that too.

[holzon]

Raining like crazy today, so I thought I'd try to update the build thread. Internet is crazy slow up here, linking over my iPhone on a very weak connection.

First and second day was spent trying to clear up this mess. There used to be a carpenters desk somewhere under there 20 years ago. Also got some help bringing in a newer carpenters table that we sanded and put some hard wax oil on.

Did some rough shapes out of plywood with measurements a mix from a Tele CAD drawing, my sketch, and some measurements from the few sevens I had at home.

Making sure that I've measured roughly ok, and placing bridge, neck and pickup markings.

Routed out a channel for the truss rod with a thick board for support. First time ever with a router, phew! Still after trying on a few scrap pieces, the bloody router piece came loose in the hard maple of course. Didn't screw up the neck completely at least.

Don't weep now, but this is the only thing I could come up with to get the neck cut at 12 degrees something. It went surprisingly well, drifted maybe 0.5 cm, but I still have some leveling to do for sure...

Another crazy setup, maybe I was just lucky drilling, but I managed to find the truss rod channel at least.

After some filing, the truss rod slides in from the head end, and sits very snugly. It's supported on both ends by the heel of the body and the truss rod channel ending quite early up towards the head.

Next step is getting the head piece on there, cutting out the main shape of the neck and salvaging a truss rod skunk stripe from the scraps!

[RestorationAD]

I like the trussrod drill jig. I think I am going to make something like that for myself. I still struggle with trussrod access holes being perfect. I want them as small as they can be and still work so I need to make a very accurate jig for them. The one I made slips to easy...

[holzon]

I like the trussrod drill jig. I think I am going to make something like that for myself. I still struggle with trussrod access holes being perfect. I want them as small as they can be and still work so I need to make a very accurate jig for them. The one I made slips to easy...

Thanks! The problem with my truss rod jig is that I needed to move the whole drill press for micro adjustments, and I didn't find a good way to get the neck guaranteed straight.

Almost back in civilization, so here are a few more pictures from the build. My time plan to finish a first guitar in two weeks was completely ridiculous in hindsight, so I opted to finish everything that required power tools instead. Shaping, fretting and finishing will be done at home. I didn't have time to clean up the pickup cavity, routing is probably the most difficult part of guitar building! It's like trying to paint but having a small door mounted on the brush, and you can only look through the keyhole.

Thinning out the head, a pain to saw through the hard maple...

Glueing the head after leveling my rough sawing out... Still kind of wonky, but I blame that on my manual sawing of the 12 degree angle.

Planed the body blank, pretty nice figuration, so I'm happy I accidentally got the swamp ash instead of regular ash.

Cut out the body shape, a bit scared of sawing so there was quite a lot to file away later.

Neck ready for cutting. At the last minute I increased the head width by a cm, which was pure luck, as I later found out my head piece was way undersized when actually measuring the Gotoh tuning machines.

Neck cut out. I noticed the wing was a bit thick near the neck, so maybe I should have pulled the head shape further down, but I hope I can sculpt it thinner.

I then did routing and drilling of the body, fitting metal groovings in neck, and using bolts through the body, since I like to tinker with my stuff a lot.

Here's the rough unshaped, unfinished guitar in all it's glory!

Next step is getting it home in one piece, and then finding the time to shape the neck and body.

[holzon]

Reviving this thread back from the dead! You probably thought that this guitar was fire wood, but I've slowly worked on it during the winter. I found a wood working group, but we're drinking coffee about as much as we're doing actual work

I've sculpted a few ergonomic details for the body, like the beer belly shelf and the underarm rest. I mostly aimed for interesting curves, so I will probably not win any real ergonomy awards.

Been doing some experiments with how to saw the frets cheaply, and after a few failures I settled for a pretty cheap zona saw. My fret wire tang was really thin and I had to thin out the saw a bit more even though it should be the same width (0.5 mm). After the thinning of the saw, it was a real pain sawing the frets, it really wanted to get stuck in the slits. I had to superglue the handle and wear a gym glove to be able to cope with sawing 30 something slits.

I cut out thinner guide slits with one of those table saws at the wood work group. Looks quite good, but we'll see about the precision first later I guess when it's getting setup.

Now the question for you experts... Do I bang in frets before sculpting the neck or after for one of these one-piece maple necks?

[holzon]

Ok, I interpreted the silence of the forum as "Of course stupid, you should sculpt the neck before fretting! sheesh..."

I was very happy to have a spokeshave, the rasp didn't do much damage on the hard maple neck. Rasp on the body though to get some bevels on the edges.

Next up is sanding neck and body. I have to order a new Graph Tech nut, the one I ordered earlier is too short :-(

Questions if anyone has the time:

1. What's the science in fitting a nut to a one piece neck? How deep does the slot need to be? Does it need to be recessed on both sides? I kind of mean if it's good enough if it's supported at the bottom and the side next to the fretboard, but the wood on the other side is removed.

2. I'm scared of removing more wood at the back of the neck/head angle. Ok for a first guitar, or do you recommend I get a smoother join when I'm at it?

[psikoT]

Ok, I interpreted the silence of the forum as "Of course stupid, you should sculpt the neck before fretting! sheesh..."

It's a good idea to carve the neck before giving radius to the fretboard... when you remove wood from the back of the neck, the remaining wood tends to stabilize according to the new shape, which means that the neck could get bent, including the front side... so you can loose the leveling. I usually wait about two weeks from carving to giving radius.

Sorry if it's too late for reply. ^^

Questions if anyone has the time:

1. What's the science in fitting a nut to a one piece neck? How deep does the slot need to be? Does it need to be recessed on both sides? I kind of mean if it's good enough if it's supported at the bottom and the side next to the fretboard, but the wood on the other side is removed.

There's no science behind that. A LP doesn't have any slot, but you can find it in a telecaster. In your case, I would make a slot, since there's no step between the 'fretboard' and the headstock...

2. I'm scared of removing more wood at the back of the neck/head angle. Ok for a first guitar, or do you recommend I get a smoother join when I'm at it?

I would make it cooler... 20-21 mm is the ideal thickness for a neck IMO (including the fretboard)... I usually give 15 mm to the neck + 5-6 mm to the fretboard. If the scarf joint is well done and the truss rod channel is the usual (about 9mm) should not be a problem. And you will not regret.

[ScottR]

Dang man, I meant to respond to your question last week when I read it, but wan't in a position to then.....and obviously didn't look in again since it showed I had already read your last post.

I prefer to fret first then shape the neck, mostly because it is still square and therefore sits still better whilst knocking in frets. Others like to shape the neck first. You can find arguments for both ways that make sense, but ultimately both work. Just think- all re-fret jobs are certainly done on finished necks.

Most two piece necks end up with the nut sitting on the top surface of the neck when butted up against the fretboard like Gibsons, and when in a slot like Fenders, they can be set to the depth of the neck surface or just slightly less than that. I use the headstock cap to create a little back edge, and butt it up against the board for a front edge. String tension is going to hold it in place and a little glue will keep it from going sideways. The only depth you need is enough to keep it in its proper position as the terminal end of the scale. 3/16" to 1/4" is a good target if you need one.

Everyone is scared to remove too much wood at the neck head join on their first guitars, it's the main reason for all those volutes we carve. You'll get more comforatable as you go......but volutes are still cool and give you confidence when making a thinner neck. You can keep wood thickness under your trussrod and still make the neck feel thinner by removing more wood to the sides of the centerline and maintaining a comforatble thickness right down the centerline.

SR

[psikoT]

I think you have wood enough to make a volute...

[holzon]

It's a good idea to carve the neck before giving radius to the fretboard... when you remove wood from the back of the neck, the remaining wood tends to stabilize according to the new shape, which means that the neck could get bent, including the front side... so you can loose the leveling. I usually wait about two weeks from carving to giving radius.

Yikes, gotta remember to let it rest then... I'm actually going for a flat fretboard just for fun, but I guess the thing will warp all the same.

I would make it cooler... 20-21 mm is the ideal thickness for a neck IMO (including the fretboard)... I usually give 15 mm to the neck + 5-6 mm to the fretboard. If the scarf joint is well done and the truss rod channel is the usual (about 9mm) should not be a problem. And you will not regret.

It's 23 mm now, I'll try shaving some more off of it then!

I prefer to fret first then shape the neck, mostly because it is still square and therefore sits still better whilst knocking in frets. Others like to shape the neck first. You can find arguments for both ways that make sense, but ultimately both work. Just think- all re-fret jobs are certainly done on finished necks.

I remember reading that somewhere, but what confused me a bit though was sculpting against that fret wire metal ends, it seemed a bit scary.

Most two piece necks end up with the nut sitting on the top surface of the neck when butted up against the fretboard like Gibsons, and when in a slot like Fenders, they can be set to the depth of the neck surface or just slightly less than that. I use the headstock cap to create a little back edge, and butt it up against the board for a front edge. String tension is going to hold it in place and a little glue will keep it from going sideways. The only depth you need is enough to keep it in its proper position as the terminal end of the scale. 3/16" to 1/4" is a good target if you need one.

Thanks, targets like that was exactly what I was fishing for :-D

Everyone is scared to remove too much wood at the neck head join on their first guitars, it's the main reason for all those volutes we carve. You'll get more comforatable as you go......but volutes are still cool and give you confidence when making a thinner neck. You can keep wood thickness under your trussrod and still make the neck feel thinner by removing more wood to the sides of the centerline and maintaining a comforatble thickness right down the centerline.

I don't think I'm mentally prepared to volute anything :-D

I didn't plan for it, so I don't honestly know if there's any wood there to account for it, or do you guys manage to do it out of standard neck blanks?

Like said above, the thickness is like 24 mm maybe close to the angle.

Thinning out generally + the sides and trying to get a bit more forgiving join will be the plan I guess.

Thanks for the quick replies, much appreciated!

Edited April 24, 2015 by ScottR

[ScottR]

(I fixed a grammatical error in my post and again in yours since you quoted it).

I didn't plan for it, so I don't honestly know if there's any wood there to account for it, or do you guys manage to do it out of standard neck blanks?

Like said above, the thickness is like 24 mm maybe close to the angle.

There's nothing standard about my builds . I cut my necks to rough shape with the volute in mind. Depending on how much wood you have under your truss rod, you probably do have enough wood there to make a shallow volute. Look at some of killemall8's builds to get an idea of how one could be shaped into your neck. His are much larger than what you could do but you could get an idea of how to shape it.

SR