scab Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 hey guys, I was working on my first build and was wondering how you guys did a certian type of neck. The neck I want has a seperate piece for the head and the neck.. How do you guys get your dimensions so perfect.. I started with a scarf joint and that didn't go to well.. mostly eyeballing it.. Is their an easier way to do it?? I know that you can cut the angle you want and just glue the piece you cut off flipped over on the other side.. But I'm a little beyond that point @ the moment... I need help BAD!!!! Thanks for reading Scab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGGR Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Pics would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 mostly eyeballing it.. That's your first problem. Try measuring and then use a tool that'll cut the scarf angle accurately. Several tools come to mind: compound radius miter box, radial arm saw, table saw... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Tools that come to mind to me: 1) Melvyn Hiscock's 'Make your own electric guitar' 2) A ruler and/or compass 3) A smale straightedge/square 4) A saw 5) A plane, block or number 4-ish (though you could make a routing jig, but that really needs to be accurate) Seriously, you need to MEASURE the angle, cut it accurately, and true (flatten) the gluing surfaces dead on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scab Posted December 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 but I was a moron and glued the wings on already.. The closest thing I can think of using is a table saw. but thats still eyeballing it.. anymore suggestions?? possibly using a different joint like this.. I'd have to look @ our motorized miter saw, to see if I could get the whole thing up their.. I should probly just restart.. I kinda f**ked this one up.. I guess live and learn.. Later Scab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 Cut the wings off and redo it right. You're going waaay too fast if you glued the wings on before you got the neck right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scab Posted December 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 Cut the wings off and redo it right. You're going waaay too fast if you glued the wings on before you got the neck right. holy crap!! I think that might work, but I don't like it.. I had a hell of a lot of problems with this thing so far.. I think I should probly just restart.. I don't know.. I started it a while ago and I just put it in a corner and never touched it.. We'll see, I have a whole week off so I'll see how board I get.. I just might start it back up again... Just to start building these things you need so many tools.. or you can just go to a local shop and have them make all of your cuts.. Like a planer, NICE bandsaw (one that can cut through hardwood), nice miter saw, etc.. Just to build a guitar you need to invest a good couple G's (probly around $2000) just to get your projects off the ground.. Later Scab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 Cut the wings off and redo it right. You're going waaay too fast if you glued the wings on before you got the neck right. +1 A neck through is not a difficult design, but it can be very tuff if you don't plan ahead. Also as you are finding out you only get one shot at the neck, and working with that neck is a lot more difficult after wings are attached(this is why you want to wait until the neck is pretty much done before messing with wings). I would not recommend trying alternative joints. Not that they can't work, but the scarf joint is easier to exicute accurately and provides a better glueing surface area. Another fella pushed a finger joint instead of a scarf in a recent post. He had to overcome some clamping issues and was not really happy with the finished work. Peace Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElysianGuitars Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 (edited) scab are you from sevenstring.org? i also agree that cutting the wings off is the best idea... if you can't salvage the neck blank at all, then cut into it and try and salvage the wings... Edited December 26, 2006 by ElysianGuitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scab Posted December 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 scab are you from sevenstring.org? Yes, I think my name is scab on their also.. I'll see what I can do with this project.. Thanks guys for all of your input.. Later Scab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted December 27, 2006 Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 Just to start building these things you need so many tools.. or you can just go to a local shop and have them make all of your cuts.. Like a planer, NICE bandsaw (one that can cut through hardwood), nice miter saw, etc.. Just to build a guitar you need to invest a good couple G's (probly around $2000) just to get your projects off the ground.. Later Scab The problem isn't the tools, it's that you're not thinking things through first. You could have marked the correct angle with a protractor, a ruler & a pencil....cut it slowely & (fairly) accurately with a plastic handled diy saw...& smoothed & levelled the cuts with sandpaper stuck to something flat. The correct tools would speed things up but won't make up for sloppy workmanship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scab Posted December 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 The problem isn't the tools, it's that you're not thinking things through first. You could have marked the correct angle with a protractor, a ruler & a pencil....cut it slowely & (fairly) accurately with a plastic handled diy saw...& smoothed & levelled the cuts with sandpaper stuck to something flat. The correct tools would speed things up but won't make up for sloppy workmanship. Well what hapened was that I had good workmans ship I just tried to do things without certian tools which WILL NOT WORK (unless your god).. I know what your saying but I just couldn't get the things done that I wanted without certian tools.. but ya know I learned the hard way.. later Scab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted December 28, 2006 Report Share Posted December 28, 2006 I'm with biley-frog-dude on this one; it's about patience, planning, and yes, practice. You can build a guitar with relatively minimal tooling, and without a massive amount of experience; I went into this game with almost zero experience, a router, a hand drill, and a bunch of hand tools. And I came out fine. Scarf joints aren't that simple the first time around, but with care and patience they are certainly achievable. I still don't have a 'complete shop', I still don't have my bandsaw (only bought after 9 years of building) up and running (soon, though, soon...), but I've built neck throughs, set necks, bolt ons, no probs. It's all about planning, perseverance, and more planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 28, 2006 Report Share Posted December 28, 2006 My first ever guitar had a spliced on headstock. I did that join with carefull measuring, a normal £2.99 handsaw and a fair bit of sanding to get it right. No special tools needed, just patience and a bit of thought. I still do my splices the same way except i have a better handsaw now. I also made my first body with a coping saw and chisels, that job becomes a lot easier with a jigsaw (i prefer my bandsaw) and router. Not really expensive tools are they. the only special tool i had for my first build was a fretsaw. And by the way, i am not generally considered a God but if you want to worship at my handcut splices feel free This is one my cousin did under my carefull guidance, only his second ever splice and all done with handtools. It was his idea to put the wenge accent line in the splice as well as the laminations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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