Hand Chiseling Neck Pocket

[woodsman1031]

has anyone ever chisled out a neck pocket? I could really use your help, I do not know where to start. Should I clamp the neck on my body and trace then remove and then start chiseling inside the lines or what. I have chisels but no router.I need help from start to finish PLEASE!!!!

[demonx]

has anyone ever chisled out a neck pocket? I could really use your help, I do not know where to start. Should I clamp the neck on my body and trace then remove and then start chiseling inside the lines or what. I have chisels but no router.I need help from start to finish PLEASE!!!! 

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I thought I had some pics to show, but I can't find them.

From a seated position, put the guitar body between your legs with the neck going down. Carve with your tool of choice (away from your body)

Hope this helps.

[Marzocchi705]

Do you have acces to a drill press at all? I did all tha cavitys on my build with a drill press and a chisel, usind the drill to remove the bulk of material.

If you dont have a drill press, follow this. Yes, lightly clamp your neck exactly where you want it to be, and make a dark line where it should be. Push your chisle down along the inside of the lines you just made, al the way around, dont push too hard just asfar as you can go with out use of a mallet. Then make the same depth of scorings parralel to the outer edge of the pocket, then make more lines at right angles to the last ones you made, you should have a grid pattern now. Carfully remove this material. it should have a small cavity depth of about 1mm, now mask your chisle to the depth you want, mine just so happend to be 19mm, and force it down about half that along the edges. Do exactly what you did to remove the top layer of wood, but at the depth that the sides now go down. Remove all the unwanted material. Next is the nerve racking thing for me, taking it down to final depth, repeat the last part to depth, but go extremely slow, you want a flat neck pocket not a crooked one. if you use the heel of the pocket as a guide, it should remain paralel through out.

The reason i said to take 1mm out first, as it stops you from pulling out the wood from the top of your guitar, tear out. It happens all to often in my woodwork class, so this is what i tell people to do. Im not a teacher, i just found an effective way to do the job.