Building A Neck

[Kith]

I have played guitar for 8 years, but this is the first time i am going to try to build one. Could a beginner like me build a set or bolt on neck?

[GregP]

Everybody's got to build their first one at some point in time. I haven't finished my first one yet, but so far I'm not finding it as difficult as I thought I would. We'll see what happens when I attach the fingerboard and shape the back.

[Gorecki]

I never want to say NO to anything but lets attempt to realize what is involved.

Skipping all the details of wood, tools and skills to use those tools and order of events can vary

You'll need to be able to cut a neck blank to a desired shape.

Cut a truss channel for the truss rod

The fretboard can be various situations, pre-cut, pre-slotted, radiused or not

Install (glue) fretboard to neck installing truss rod

Installing Inlay and side markers if desired (there is no law that says they have to exist) - too much to describe the process in a single sitting

Neck and possibly fingerboard shaping and radiusing and finishing

Drilling out and installing tuners

Fretting the neck - This process I couldn't even attempt to cover in a single response

If it's a set neck it should have already been set before fretting.

Final fret finishing and neck setup

I'm absolutely certain I've skipped touching on something or not properly represent its level of complexity.

With all this in mind, do YOU believe you can do it? Do all of your homework up front, what you will need (tools, supplies..etc), how you will do it (method to each step of the process)

I want to build necks but am simply not ready. The desire came from wanting to do inlay work but can't until I know how to fret but can't....and so on and so on.

[Devon Headen]

Go for it. I made the neck for my first guitar and it turned out perfectly fine. It's not perfect, but a good fret dressing took care of not getting the frets to seat properly.

[GregP]

I'm using pre-slotted and pre-radiused fingerboard, and haven't decided about the fretwork-- likely, it will be sourced. After all the time it's taking me to do this guitar, I'd rather have it playable.

Greg

[Gorecki]

Go for it. I made the neck for my first guitar and it turned out perfectly fine. It's not perfect, but a good fret dressing took care of not getting the frets to seat properly.

←

Now what Devon has said (Don't take this as a stab at you okay?) is that he has accepted the outcome as playable because of a fret dressing (and leveling I presume). But this in the long run will turn on you because if the frets aren't well seated, the will either, buzz, sound dead (internal slot play), shift (seat themselves in time, killing the leveling effort) or simply come loose due to play, humidity changes...etc.

These are the sorts of details I've discovered as I go and still amazed at how many production guitars are not fretted all that well.

PS, I forgot the NUT in my first description.

Edited June 23, 2005 by Gorecki

[jnewman]

I've never built a kit guitar or bought any pre-made guitar parts. I'm in the finishing stage of my very first guitar project, and I started with nothing but rectangular lumber, fretboard, neck laminates, body wings, etc. It's not perfect but it's come out very well so far, the neck feels nice, and I radiused the fretboard, cut the slots, and put in the frets myself. Looking at them with a straightedge they're almost perfectly flat, they'll just take a very quick level and should be fine.

Beginners can certainly build necks .

[Devon Headen]

Now what Devon has said (Don't take this as a stab at you okay?) is that he has accepted the outcome as playable because of a fret dressing (and leveling I presume).  But this in the long run will turn on you because if the frets aren't well seated, the will either, buzz, sound dead (internal slot play), shift (seat themselves in time, killing the leveling effort) or simply come loose due to play, humidity changes...etc.

These are the sorts of details I've discovered as I go and still amazed at how many production guitars are not fretted all that well.

PS, I forgot the NUT in my first description. 

←

I've accepted as playable because it is . I see your point, but your first fretjob won't be perfect. If you keep putting off building a neck because you think it won't be good, you'll never build one. So what if it isn't even playable? You WILL learn something in the process and the next one will be better.

[fryovanni]

You should give it a shot. Too many people hesitate to do necks. Take your time plan and learn so that you understand the process. When you know what to do and have your tools ready, it is just a matter of taking your time and learning to use the tools properly (practice, and there is only one way to get that). As for the fret seating issue. That is a simple matter of taking your time to get the surface of the fretboard leveled properly, and to cut your fret slots to the correct depth (don't leave them shallow). This can be done just fine if you take your time and check your work with straight edges and verify the depth is ok. No magic! With proper slots cut you can tap frets in with a soft hammer (should not have to beat the cr..p out of them) and they will seat fine. As long as you leveled the fret board well and seat those frets, you will have very little leveling to do on the frets. The only trick to necks is to check your work well and take your time. It is not that hard.

Peace, Rich

[!!METAL MATT!!]

Man Just Do it! You dont Want To get Stuck In A rut Like Me, man I've been building Guitar's For A few Year's now And I have yet to complete A neck, And Im just now Learing How To build My own necks with the Help of fryovanni and others hear on the forum, And I can Tell you That waiting this long like I have has Only hindered my progress! So do It And keep on doing it until your great at it

Good Luck to the both of us!!

!!METAL MATT!!

[frank falbo]

I didn't make my first neck until I had done lots of refrets. I don't know why I like to correllate the two, but I do. I think it's because doing refrets not only teaches you about fretting, but you learn all the things that can go wrong during neck construction. You get a chance to really analyze all those necks and use that knowledge on your own build.

My advice would be to try building the neck, but design your guitar around the standard strat or tele heel. That way if your neck doesn't turn out, you can just put a standard replacement neck on there and you've got something instantly playable. With a set neck, your whole guitar is dead, or at least you'd have major work replacing it.

[fryovanni]

Frank,

I started with re-frets also. It is much more difficult to re-fret than to fret a new neck. Repair work pushes you to be more patient, creative with solutions and like you said you learn a lot about how bad things can happen.

I think a first time builder is well advised to build a more common neck style (such as a Fender Strat style). You will have information as well as allready made necks to refer to. One way or the other plan well, and have a good clear picture in your head as to how you will do all of these tasks before you start cutting.

If you are looking to rush your first build an want to just cut a body then I guess a pre-made makes sense. IMO the heart of a guitar is the neck. The neck and set up again IMO sets apart a $700 guitar from a $2000. Also the cheaper guitar is made fast without attension to details. If you are going to build, plan on it taking time. Check your work and strive to be accept only the highest level of accuracy. Straight edges, calipers, and squares are your new best friends.

Peace, Rich

[sexybeast]

Hey man, I've gotten some good advice here and tons of bad advice as well. It boils down to just planning things out and doing them with enthusiasm. Being careful and being fearful are two different things. You certainly can build a neck and it will be harder than you think, but you won't know until you try. Mine's turning out pretty nice so far. I have rasps, files and sanding blocks, no other tools for shaping. It's hard and takes a lot of time but the work is therapy and when it's done I'll have made A GUITAR NECK!!! ME!!! It won't be perfect, but nothing is, yet I have every confidence it will be just what I want. You most certainly can do the same, just jump in.

[jnewman]

When I started building my neck I went from square to the right taper and profile with a surform - and I'd recommend that method to anyone getting started. It's fast enough that it doesn't kill you but it's slow enough you don't kill the neck if you slip or aren't paying as much attention as you should. You can just sit there with another finished neck and rough off spots until it feels right - it's not hard at all.

[Gregory]

Yes,

Lets keep in mind that you asked

Could a beginner like me build a set or bolt on neck?

[Kith]

im just worried about the fretboard and frets. is there anyplace you can buy these pre-fretted?

[GregP]

Haven't seen any places to buy pre-fretted. You could contact a local guy and find out how much he'd charge. Could be well worth it to the final product.

Greg

[westhemann]

Haven't seen any places to buy pre-fretted.  You could contact a local guy and find out how much he'd charge.  Could be well worth it to the final product.

Greg

←

key word being "local"

i think if it was shipped the frets would move

[GregP]

Yup, and since I wasn't clear the first time, I'll make it clear now: I meant a local guy who does fretwork to do the fretwork after the entire neck is built; not just a guy to fret a fingerboard blank.

Greg

[GREGMW]

Can a beginner learn the guitar. Same thing.

Really,What do you have to lose?

Give it a try .I made 2 ,the first one I stuffed the headstock up but the second one was fine. Let me tell you its a real good feeling doing the lot even if its not perfect.

Greg

[blazingblake]

You can find fretted fingerboards on ebay. I bought and awesome fretted inlayed rosewood fingerboard made of pearl and abolone some really cool dragons.

[fryovanni]

Sounds like "fretted" may mean slotted in some of these posts. I don't think anyone would even think about putting a Pre-fretted fingerboard on a neck.

My advice even if you are worried about installing frets is to get a cheap preslotted board and try installing a few frets. You may lose your fears as soon as you give it a try. Sometimes things seem more difficult only because you have never tried them. If you try and are still not comfortable then use a local luthier.

Good luck!!, Rich

[javacody]

Heck, for practice, just get some wood scraps, cut your slots, radius the wood, and practice putting in 5 or 10 frets and get a feel for it. We'll see if I'm smart enough (and patient enough) to take my own advice when I get ready to do my neck. LOL

[thegarehanman]

I say build it. Especially if it's a bolt on. If it's a set neck and you make a mistake...well you'll never make that mistake again, you can be sure of it. I built my first neck when I built my first guitar. It plays like a dream and I can set the action lower than a hoe on a dance floor. I got to use the inlays I wanted too. I didn't have many specialized tools. The only things I bought from stewmac to do it were a tang nipper, a leveling file, a radius block, and the caul for pressing the frets in which i adapted to a $20 press I bought from harbor freight. Don't waste your money on their hammers, home depot(or harbor freight, or any hardware store) has almost the same thing for a quarter of the price. I bent the frets by hand. I'll probably build a fret radius(er) soon though. And since then I've bought a crowning file.

If you can get access to the tools you need(which might I say aren't very specialized), then go for it. You will be so happy you did it when you're done. Just take your time and read all there is to read about it. And remember, truss rods are not magical mistical things, just pieces of metal.

And if you f*** it up...it wasn't my idea for you to do it.

[Digideus]

Theres an Old saying....

"NOTHING VENTURED, NOTHING GAINED!"

Have a go but dont be surprised if it goes wrong. If it does however, you just have to learn from your mistakes and try harder the next time. If its the first one youre making, a slotted fingerboard may be an easier route as I think cutting fret slots can be an area where lots of people make their mistakes with measurements and getting the slot cut straight.

Having refretted a neck before, I know that a fret radiuser will be helpful. Bending by hand can lead to the frets not sitting in the slot properly. You can build one from a block of wood as someone on here did when he build his neck through explorer (see the main forums for details) Its basically a block of wood cut in half with the same radius shape as the neck, then he cut a slot for the fret wire and used the two halves of the block to bend the fret to the correct shape.

I think yoiu need to be realistic that youre not going to create the best neck ever on your first attempt, but the learning process should be worth the risk. what have you got to lose except some wood?