Shaping Guitar Neck Outline

[GregP]

Hi all,

I have my headstock and neck templates ready to go... I have a pre-slotted and pre-radiused but otherwise untouched ebony fretboard, an ebony headplate, and a graph-tech nut blank.

Now, I still need to thickness the headstock somehow... I was thinking of just doing it with an orbital sander and using a bit of patience.

My main concern right now is the order in which to shape my neck outline (ie not the back, just the taper and headstock shape). I understand that ebony likes to splinter, crack, and otherwise do nasty things when it comes in contact with a router, and it took forever to get this fingerboard in the first place, so I'm not anxious to order a new one.

The neck blank isn't shaped yet, either, so I have the whole kit and kaboodle. Here are my options, as I see it:

1. glue it all up and then cut:

a ) glue all the ebony on

b ) rough out the outline using a fine-toothed blade and a scroll saw (I don't have a bandsaw)

c ) use the template and a router bit to shape the headstock and neck outline, but from the bottom since the pre-radiused fretboard will make putting it on top difficult

d ) use my binding channel router bit to do its job

2. shape and THEN ebony and then shape again

a ) use the template to rout the maple neck blank to the right shape

b ) glue on the ebony

c ) use scroll saw or a hand saw of some sort to cut off excess ebony hanging off the edges

d ) use sanding drum to get it down to shape as much as possible (I don't have a robo-sander to go flush, so I'll have to be careful)

e ) use binding channel router bit to do its job

The idea of sanding appeals to me with regards to the ebony, but since I don't have a robo sander and I'll be using a router bit at some point in time anyhow (for the binding channel) I wonder if it's worthwhile?

Greg

[RGGR]

I used method 2.

First with template (just straight piece of wood next to marked line) routed the basic neck shape (and headstock). (tid bit wider as final sanding will take bit more off guitar neck.

Then installed trussrod!!! (not forget this) and glue-on ebony fretboard. Flipped over and neckshape provided template for fretboard routing.

Small passes and everything worked pretty well. I had small tear-off at end of fretboard. That was at end of session and my lack of concentration was mearly fact that this happened (I already had noticed that in certain direction router was taking bit off and in other direction is was going smoothly without taking small tears out of wood........so had I taken more care it would not have happened.) I was just happy I was almost done without any tear-outs.....and bhwammmmm there it happened.

Cheared too soon, I guess.

Robo sander will eliminate the tear-out worries, though.

With CA glue and ebony saw dust I filled tear-out and it's not noticable anymore.

Unless you know.

I would use routing route again. (Although would make sure I had nice and sharp routing bit.)

Edited April 3, 2005 by RGGR

[GregP]

My bit has only been used for this one project so far, but it's already showing signs of wear. <grumble>

Can't seem to find any robo-sander available locally, which is weird. I would have though Lee Valley would carry something like that.

It seems like something that should be easy to "make", too, by modifying an existing drum sander; however, I'm not sure that my confidence in manufacturing shop parts is worth the hassle. If I had only thought of it with my last Stew-Mac order. Shipping is too expensive for me to make another order until my next project begins.

So that's one vote for method 2.

I forgot to mention-- the reason I'm even considering method #1 is that since the ebony will be bonded to the maple that way, I was imagining less risk of tearing the fingerboard. Any logic to that train of thought?

Greg

[Southpa]

I'd better reply to this since I just finished that part of my neck and its still fresh in my mind, . The order of things depends on the style of headstock you are doing, ie. angled Gibson style or Fender flat style. Mine is a tele neck, 7/8" thick maple w/ maple fretboard. Its easy because I could do the whole neck in one go rather than having to treat headstock and neck as 2 separate entities.

First, neck blank is still square, so I routed my truss rod channel. I then traced out my homemade neck template onto the neck wood. Rough cut the basic neck shape out with my jigsaw leaving about 1/8" outside the pencil line. Then clamped the neck template down and routed sides of neck, headstock shape and curved corners at butt of neck. Then routed down to headstock thickness and shaped the curve from nut area down to headstock, had to account for additional fretboard height in that curve too, juuuust made it.

Then I drilled out the truss rod access hole at the base of the headstock. I wanted about 1/4" overhang of the fretboard over the butt of the neck but had to shape the corner curves of the fretboard to match those of the butt. So I clamped the fretboard onto the neck and only routed the corners using the actual neckwood as the template/guide. Then installed trussrod and centered, glued and clamped the fretboard (still square) onto my neckwood with my 1/4" overhang at the butt.

Then routed the fretboard using the previously routed neckwood sides as my template/guide.

Thats about as far as I've gotten for now. Next step is to figure out what I want for inlays and do that. Install frets and then carve out the back of the neck to the same dimensions/shape as my strat neck. It alsways helps to have a model that you can get measurements from.

Edited April 3, 2005 by Southpa

[orgmorg]

One way to make your own pattern sander with a sanding drum on a drill press would be:

1) find a piece of pipe or some other cylindrical object the same diameter as your sanding drum, but just an inch long.

2) With a hole saw the same dimeter, make a hole in a piece of 3/4" (or thicker) plywood.

3)Epoxy the pipe in the hole so it sticks out about 1/4" from the top.

4)clamp or bolt the plywood to the drill press table so that the pipe is directly under the sanding drum.

[GregP]

Good call, orgmorg. I'll consider that one!

The neck has an angled headstock, but will be bolt-on construction.

Truss rod channel already routed, and I don't need to drill access holes and all that stuff since it's just a straight channel. The rest of what Southpa says sounds like the #2 option; ie. using the neckwood itself as the template afterwards. That makes 2 votes for option #2.

After orgmorg's suggestion, sanding to final shape is sounding more feasible again.

Greg

[Southpa]

I've certainly learned my lesson(s) about using templates for necks too! I don't know how I managed my first 2 builds w/ out neck templates, its all a blur.

[Setch]

If you're binding the neck, do it before you attach it. Simply make it narrower by 2x the thickness of your binding (1 for each side!) and glue the binding on, then scrape the top and bottom flush. See the link:

http://home.asparagine.net/ant/blog/?page_id=13

To taper the fretboard, mark out the taper with a sharp pencil. Find a piece of mdf with a factory (ie: straight) edge and attch it to the fretboard with doublsided tape, so it lines up perfectly with you marked out line. Clamp mdf and fretboard to your bench, mdf facing up, and run your bearing guided router cutter along the edge of the mdf.

Voila, straight, square edge. Pop off the mdf and repeat on the other side. I also taper my necks this way, sometimes with the neck clamped down and a plunge router, or sometimes the otherway up, on a router table.

[GregP]

I already have a neck taper that I'm happy with, and I DID use the straight-edge method; except, I used it to make a template which I will then use on a neck. I know it's an extra step for some people, but it gave me confidence that my neck will be the right size, so I didn't mind.

Thanks for the link to the binding stuff. I was just going to use this StewMac bit, but if your way will save me some tear-out, I'll give it a try.

Greg

[RGGR]

To taper the fretboard, mark out the taper with a sharp pencil. Find a piece of mdf with a factory (ie: straight) edge and attch it to the fretboard with doublsided tape, so it lines up perfectly with you marked out line. Clamp mdf and fretboard to your bench, mdf facing up, and run your bearing guided router cutter along the edge of the mdf.

Yeap, that's how I did it. Drew template with Autocad et voila.

[Setch]

I made a neck template too, but the first time I used it I accidentally nibbled the edge with my cutter, so it was useless. I've been using mdf with 1 straight edge ever since

Using the stewmac cutter on a fretboard is making your life harder than it need be. The board isn't flat, and all you need to do is cut a straight line, why complicate things? It isn't about tearout, it's just KISS at work.

[GregP]

What technique did you use to get the fretboard down to size? I couldn't tell by the website. Sanding? Routing with straight-edge same as the neck itself? Also, since the binding overlaps into the neckwood, how did you get a channel only part-way into the neck?

Greg

[Setch]

I trimmed the fretboard using the straight edge & router. The binding is only on the fretboard, which is pretty much the standard. I don't know why you'd want to extend it onto the neck, unless you've got a very thin fretboard.

[GregP]

Seems pretty thin. Also, I didn't realize that the way you described is the standard. I thought that due to tradition if not necessarily function, it should overlap both, thereby "binding" them together.

Shows my ignorance. I'll have another look at my fretboard, but I recall it being thin.

Greg

[Setch]

If you take a look at a Les Paul, you'll see that the fretboard binding is less tall than the the body binding, which is usually a hair under 1/4". Since fretboard is 1/4" thick in the centre, you either live with slightly shorter binding at the radiused edges, or buy a taller section to bind the end.

If your fretboard is significantly less than 1/4" at the centre, you may want to glue a thickness of constructional veneer onto the back to bring it up to the normal thickness. However, if you purchased it slotted and radiused from a guitar supply place, I'd be very surprised if it's less than 1/4".

[GregP]

You'd have good reason to be surprised. It's exactly 1/4" at the centre, which means that with the shallow radius, doing it the way you've suggested is sounding like the best option.

Greg

[erikbojerik]

#2

It is exactly how I'm doing the taper & board on my neck thru bass. One tip though...I would actually screw the template down onto the neck blank; I just clamped mine, and one clamp slid ever so slightly (forgot to check it), so now I have taken ~1/32" too much off the bass side of the neck (argh!).

I've completely gone over to screwing down all my wood templates when I rout edges.

[GregP]

Amen to that!

I'm ALL about screwing templates.

Er..

Well, you know what I mean.

Greg