Converting Bass Neck Pocket Into Guitar?

[Hughes]

i was beginning to make a mockingbird bass, and routed out the neckpocket for the bass size neck. my question is how could i fill it and re-rout it for a guitar sized neck?

my second question is i made a bass neck and glued a headstock on but i was testing it and the headstock ripped off where i glued it, now how could i put a head stock on it so it will be strong and stable?

last question. i read up how to get the taper of the neck by cutting as close as you can with a bandsaw then putting a template on it and rout the rest off. what would you do if you dont have a template? i have used a taper cutting jig on the tablesaw but the botom ends up perfect but the top is quite big.

thanks, Hughes

[Hughes]

could i just get a piece of maple the same thickness, glue is in an fill the rough spots?

[Hughes]

can anyone give me an idea how to glue of a headstock? the other stuff doesnt really matter right now.

thanks

[jmrentis]

Scarf Joint search

I got answers for you while searching with the words scarf joint. That is what you are looking for. It's a joint most guitar builders use to join a headstock to a neck. Many builders feel that making a one piece neck, results in a weak neck and can easily break at the point where the neck meets the headstock. I'm currently building a neck without a scarf joint, but I'm leaving a lot of extra wood at the angle which is called a volute. There has been a lot of recent discussion on volutes, so if you want to know more, type it in the search.

And for a link to the scarf joint tutorial, it's a little over half way down the page in the link I put, it's a tutorial from the Project Guitar Main Page. Check it out, it should give you the info you need. Good luck with that and if you have more questions just ask. Later. Jason

[Hughes]

oh yes, that was the word i was looking for, that would of made my search alot easier...thanks Jason

now if i had a piece of wood that wasnt wide enough for the width of the headstock, i could just add two pieces of wood to each side...would that work?

Edited July 27, 2005 by Hughes

[jmrentis]

I believe you can. Many people have to go that route! They call them ears! I'll look for a link for you right now.

Here you go Setch's neck built for simo he added extra wood for the ears as you will see about half way down in a couple of pics. It should not be too hard to do this, many people have to do it. Good luck!

No worries! If you need anymore help just ask, I can try to help you but I myself am relatively new to building guitars, although I have done a lot of research, experienced builders are still far more helpful and useful. But anyways I'm sure there some of the other member will have some better info for you, but that tutorial and link will be a good start for you. Good luck, I'll talk to you later. Jason

Edited July 27, 2005 by jmrentis

[Hughes]

ok thats a good link thats alot

[jmrentis]

I'm sure you know, Setch is a great builder around here. His stuff is excellent and he is a great source of information, while also being very personable. I have asked him a few questions and he was more than willing to help me. His page is great place to learn how to build, I have learned a lot from him. And that neck he built as I'm sure you know now that you've read it was built for Simo another member here and he used it on a guitar he built and it turned out super nice.

Also here is another members site that I found very useful in learning how to build a guitar from scratch, he also does some tool reviews and sells some wood when he has it, usually it's swamp ash I believe. Definately check out this site as well, there is almost every step to building a strat in there. And it really doesn't matter what you are building, the main steps for the most part are pretty close to the same. Good luck and enjoy the info, he is another great source of info and has no problems offering advice in his posts. Guitar Frenzy

Alright man have fun with those. There is a great amount of information on this site, and quite a few of the great spots with a ton of info from a very experienced luthier, such as Perry's site Ormsby Guitars.Another great site full of beautiful guitars and excellent information. There are many more I just can't think of them, oh wait here's anotherMyka Guitars. Man you are going to have a couple hours of info to read.

It's amazing how many great builders are on this site. Again there are many more and as I think of them I'll post them. These sites were really one of my favorite sources, because you get to see every step and how they did it, along with just beautiful guitars. And best of all you are able to talk with them and ask advice. Something you would rarely get in real life. You might find one person that could answer your question or show you how to do something but not dozens. And believe me you have already found the best site of all, Project Guitar. So many luthiers gather here, that I don't feel there is a better place around. Have fun. Later. Jason

[Hughes]

wow, nice post

i have heard of all these great builders and have seen their tutorials and learnt alot from them, and yes like you said...i will have many hours of reading to do, all which iam deeply thankful for

[jmrentis]

No worries! I'm grateful to the people that made those sites, I learned so much and am still learning and should be for a long time to come. Well have fun with those. Have you started a project yet? If you haven't I'm sure all these sites will make you want to. Good luck and I'll talk to you later. Jason

[Hughes]

im so dumb, i left it in my schools shop over the summer...im gonna have to wait till september 7th haha, oh well, give me more time to research and not screw up more

i was actually going to wait and buy a guitar i want this summer, but then i got thinking it would be even more cool to spend that money on parts for the one im making...not to many people my age can say "i build my own guitars" i bet that would be a really cool feeling

[jmrentis]

I fully agree with you, having a guitar you made with your own two has got to be a great feeling! The only thing I can say is, do you have a guitar to play in the meantime? It can a take a while to completely build a guitar and even then a lot of first try builds don't work or are not that great, so it might be a good idea to have a guitar to play while your building this one. If you don't you might end up rushing something like the paint and finish just to be able to play it, I hear that a lot, but the choice is yours. It's hard to spend a good amount of money that could pay for a bunch of wood and parts on a factory built guitar, but sometimes it's worth it to have something to play. Good luck either way you go. I can't wait to see how your project turns out. Later man. Jason

[Hughes]

i got all my wood fairly cheap from my teacher, and im planning on not using the greatest of parts since its my first time and it might not turn out so good...the shape and everything looks pretty good and almost identical to the actual mockingbird.

As for playing another guitar in the mean while, i have no problem with that, my brothers all have guitars that im sure i can use. The only thing im worried about making my own is im not sure if i want to spend the money i have right now in for the parts. Im having a difficult time convincing my parents to lend me some of the money i need for the guitar i want. I got money from them so i could buy a bass, and my dad said "sure it will be fun playing bass in a band, but when your alone it will be pretty dull" but i bought one anyways and was gonna start a band with my buddies but i moved, now i dont have many friends as i just moved here, so he was right, it is pretty dull playing bass alone. My mom thinks that same thing will happen though and i wont stay with the guitar, i've almost got her to lend me some of the money tho

the only real big thing i will have troubles with is making the bevels to make my mockingbird look like one, im afraid if i take a spokeshave ill just mangle the wood and ruin the whole project.

Edited July 28, 2005 by Hughes

[Hughes]

would it be possible to a scarf joint on an already rounded neck like this...

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/MartyrMetal/thing.jpg

make sure you enlarge the photo

EDIT: the neck isnt completly rounded just a tiny bit

Edited July 29, 2005 by Hughes

[jmrentis]

I cannot help you with this one unfortunately, I have not done a scarf yet and someone that has done many should be able to answer that question for you.. My guess would be yes, but would depend on how that akward spot was angled and how wide it was. Besides that, I don't think it would be a problem, just as long as you can set up the end of the neck for the joint properly to get a good joint surface.

It would have to be 100% flat as well. This is a joint you want to be perfect, you don't want to get a fretboard, nut, frets and everything else and have it pop off once you put string tension on it. That would be a lot of money and work for nothing, and would be very hard to fix at that point.

Well again wait for someone that knows about those joints. There are a lot of people here that do those here, hopefully one of them will help you out with this. Good luck with that and I hope you get it all figured out. Later. Jason

[Hughes]

ok thanks, but that happend to me before, i just tried gluing the "no angle" headstock on to the end on the neck..that was a terrible idea haha so ill be extra careful this time

[jmrentis]

Two things that are important in my eyes are getting the two mating surfaces as flat as possible, seriously flat! And the other would be use good glue like titebond original. I hear a lot that people don't like even titebond two, only the original. Although I have seen some really nice work that had no issues using titebond 2, but I still use titebond the original. So far I like it and it has not caused any problems, I would definately use this glue, so many people here use it, why use something that might not work, when you have something that is proven by so many luthiers.

Other than that I have nothing much to offer. I would assume that if you angled the cut on the neck and headstock it would then increase the surface area of the joint, which in turn should make it stronger. I believe that is basically what a scarf joint is, more or less. Maybe if you have some scraps laying around, you can do some practice with the scarf joint, I know I really need to start practicing that joint. I probably will be using it soon, I should be getting 2 necks plus a piece that will need a headstock glued on, out of my neck laminate. When I do the joint I will post my experience although I doubt it will be of use to anyone.

I hope you work out what you need to, if you can try and get some pics up so that some people can see exactly what you are trying to do. I understand what your asking but again I have no idea how you can fix it or which way would be the best to make it work, except the 3 points I made at the top, make sure it's flat as can be, use well known glue like titebond the original, and get as large surface area for the joint as you can by using an angled cut, like in a scarf joint. Good luck man and let us know how it goes. I hope some of the other members here will help you with this problem. Later. Jason