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Posted

The back of the neck (neck contour) is probably THE most personal part of the guitar. A guitar could be impeccable in every aspect, but if it feels like a telephone pole in your hand, you'll hate it.

Best bet is to try & copy a neck contour off a guitar that you really like, by measuring thickness taper and cutting out & shaping back contour templates out of cardboard (like every 3 frets or so). Then you basically go about shaping it with rasps, and/or a spokeshave, and lots of sanding.

Some guys (like me) get close using a 7/8" or 1" radius roundover router bit, but there's still a fair bit of hand work to do after that.

Posted

i like to use chisels. just chisel in the contour the way you like it. it will take a while, but using chisels and patience, i got the VERY first neck i ever did to turn out exactly how i wanted it.

Posted

i like to use chisels. just chisel in the contour the way you like it. it will take a while, but using chisels and patience, i got the VERY first neck i ever did to turn out exactly how i wanted it.

Dude...chisels? Bit hardcore, that. Wouldn't reccomend it.

I used to use my spokeshave, but until/unless I get a decent one (mine was cheap, iron wouldn't hold an edge, the whole thing was just...nasty), I'm sticking with my various rasps and scrapers to fine-tune. Most fun part of neck making, for me.

Posted

Did anyone see the namm video of Neil Moser showing some of the tools he used? They had some guy shaping a neck blank with chisels, and you could here the people gooing ouch, ooo, ahh, but it actually worked out good for rough shaping. Not my taste, but there is always more than one way to skin a cat.

Posted

Did anyone see the namm video of Neil Moser showing some of the tools he used? They had some guy shaping a neck blank with chisels, and you could here the people gooing ouch, ooo, ahh, but it actually worked out good for rough shaping. Not my taste, but there is always more than one way to skin a cat.

I just measure, rasp, file sand.

And i find a sharp chisel will do wonders for rough shaping.

  • 3 months later...
Posted

I've made a few necks, and I'm sure the way I go about it would make some of you cringe.

I actually start out using a good sharp knife to get close to the desired shape. Certainly not an act for the squeamish, but with practice I have found it to be a very adequate way to rough shape a neck.

After getting it close to the desired shape, I take it even closer with a rasp, and then finish up with progressively finer grits of sandpaper.

Three necks and it's never let me down.

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