I Suck At Making Necks

[killemall8]

this is my fifth attempt at making a neck, and still as bad as the first time. i dont know how you guys do it. i run in to problems i never would of thought of even after i planned for 3 months for this one. how do all you do it. you all say its easy, but its the hardest thing i have ever done! i just cant get it to work!

[CrazyManAndy]

Can you specify what you have trouble with the most?

CMA

[killemall8]

Can you specify what you have trouble with the most?

CMA

lets see,

the scarf joint,

proper truss rod alignment and insertion and proper adjusting rout at the headstock

making

you know, only the MAJOR STUFF. no matter how many tutorials i read or books i read i can never get it right. i demo everything and practice and it seems ok, but then i get to the real project, and i screw up. i guess thats what happens when your self taught.

[Southpa]

What, specifically is wrong with your scarf joint, truss rod alignment, etc.? Are you making them right but they wind up in the wrong place? or are they in the right place but the actual cuts are botched = large glue lines etc.? Bad planning / order of neck building steps? What sort of tools are you using for each step? Need specific info to open that "can 'o worms" you have there.

[killemall8]

What, specifically is wrong with your scarf joint, truss rod alignment, etc.? Are you making them right but they wind up in the wrong place? or are they in the right place but the actual cuts are botched = large glue lines etc.? Bad planning / order of neck building steps? What sort of tools are you using for each step? Need specific info to open that "can 'o worms" you have there.

i dont really have a way to get the t rod channel straight, so the only thing i can do is make a fence with a big piece of wood, but it is really inaccurate. its not exactly the scarf joint itself, its how you cut a 2" neck to profile width and how you cut behind the scarf joing to keep it at an angle. also after the fretboard is glued on, to reach the truss rod nut. do you have to rout it deeper under the nut? because i diddnt think of that and now the t rod tool doesnt fit under the wood to fit on the nut. TOTAL CHAOS! i know its my fault for not thinking of everything, but after months of planning i diddnt see anything left to plan. i guess im not fit for this stuff. i think i will stick to making bodies. those come out great. i knew i shouldnt have tried it again. wasted a good 30"x3" piece of mahogany. dang. i hope i learn eventurall

[GregP]

Nothing wrong with using a piece of wood as a 'fence' for making the truss rod channel straight! Just use a straight piece of wood! Alternatively, rout the truss rod channel before tapering the neck-- use the edge of the wood itself as your guide, and the router base itself as the 'fence'-- if it doesn't have the appropriate attachment, one should be easily made with wood or materials already at-hand.

Greg

[biliousfrog]

I've really enjoyed making my last two necks but there were a few moments when I nearly jumped ahead of myself, it's far more important to do things in the right order with the neck.

Make sure that the blank is square & straight.

Cut the scarf joint precisely & plane it flat...this is very important, don't rush this part or try a shortcut.

Cut the trussrod channel before adding the taper to the neck

Allow enough room for adjustment.

Have you got Melvyn's book? It covers the entire process quite well.

[prs man]

buy Melvyn's book everything is in there.

[Mattia]

Basic rule for routers: they go LEFT. Keep the fence (factory edge on a sheet of MDF is straight) on the left side of the router relative to the direction it's moving, and you'll get a straight line.

It's how I do all my truss rod channels, easier/faster than getting the annoying edge guide set up.

[Daniel Sorbera]

As stated earlier its very important to do everything in the right order on necks.

make sure your blank is square and flat

cut and plane the scarf joint

glue scarf joint

rout the trussrod channel while the neck is still not tapered (it's very easy if you have a router table)

taper the neck and cutout the headstock shape

glue the pre-slotted/radius fingerboard on and trim it flush with the taper of the neck

drill your tunerholes

add binding (if desired)

drill/install side marker dots

fret/level/dress

carve

(some people prefer to fret after carving, because there is a chance that the neck might move after carving, therefore messing with the levelness of your frets. I've done it both ways, and it seemed to work fine with either method)

Thats pretty much what I do when making my necks. There are many ways to go about it, this is just what works for me.

It's really not that difficult if you do everything in the correct order. I would highly recommend getting Melvyn's book. It explains everything very well.

[WezV]

i follow Godins method almost to the letter - but there is something i do in a different order that makes more sense to me.

I usually glue on the pre tapered and slotted fretboard to the neck blank before trimming the neck to its final taper. If i am binding i will bind the tapered board (obviously) before sticking it to the square neck blank. or occasionally glue the fretboard on, then glue the binding on, then taper the neck.

I then cut the headsock, radius, carve and fret in that order.

[Maiden69]

Pretty good advise Godin! This is almost what I did for the necks I made with Hyunsu.

you forget

PATIENCE!!! One of the most important factors when working with wood! This is a hobby also demanded by skills, it is very easy to make bodies, I can make them with my eyes closed (well, not really) but the accuracy that a good neck requieres needs lots of attention to detail and a person with the right skills.

[Southpa]

Something I've been doing lately. Make a template of the neck (top view) for cutting side profiles. Trussrod slot already routed, best to do it while the block is still square. Draw out the side profiles on your block of wood and cut just outside the lines with jigsaw or whatever, doesn't have to be perfect. Line up the centerline of the template with the centerline on your neck and screw it down. Use a shaft bearing bit to follow the template and rout the rest of your side contours. I then install the truss rod and glue the square fretboard onto the side-contoured neck, once again paying attention to centerlines drawn on each. Then cut the sides of the fretboard flush to the sides of the neck. Two options for doing this, carefully with a hand saw OR flip the block, clamp to a bench with one side hanging over the edge, and use the shaft bearing bit with the already contoured neck as a guide.

[Geo]

No one has suggested using a table saw to cut the truss rod channel. That has worked quite well for me; you just run the blank along the rip fence while the blank is still square. With my blade kerf and the width of the rod, I only need two passes on the saw.

[GregP]

I've thought of table-saw before... but since the centre of the sawblade would have to end where the truss rod should end, there's going to be that sort of "ramp" up and out of the neck blade if you catch my meaning. Do you just leave it "hollow" and put the fretboard on?

Greg

[Mattia]

i follow Godins method almost to the letter - but there is something i do in a different order that makes more sense to me.

I usually glue on the pre tapered and slotted fretboard to the neck blank before trimming the neck to its final taper. If i am binding i will bind the tapered board (obviously) before sticking it to the square neck blank. or occasionally glue the fretboard on, then glue the binding on, then taper the neck.

I then cut the headsock, radius, carve and fret in that order.

Ditto. Ish. I tried gluing the oversized fingerboard to a pre-tapered neck once, and it really didn't work for me. Felt all wrong, the flow didn't quite work, and the carve took longer to 'take shape' (I carve into the fingerboard a little with most of my neck shapes, so I want a SHARP, planed, predefined outer edge to work towards).

I glue the board on tapered, slotted and radiussed (router radiussing jig and all that), I do cut out the headstock shape first, but leave the precise nut area/width a hair oversized (1/32" per side, say) to fine-tune. And I fret post-carving, after I've done one final once-over level to make sure it's all where it needs to be.

[killemall8]

I've thought of table-saw before... but since the centre of the sawblade would have to end where the truss rod should end, there's going to be that sort of "ramp" up and out of the neck blade if you catch my meaning. Do you just leave it "hollow" and put the fretboard on?

Greg

thanks guys for all of you advise. i will definitly use all of it in the future. thanks again

[GregP]

Hey wait-- mine was a question, not an advice.

[Daniel Sorbera]

Hey wait-- mine was a question, not an advice.

Well to answer your question, you can go all the way through to the back of the blank and glue in a spline that fills the gap.

Ditto. Ish. I tried gluing the oversized fingerboard to a pre-tapered neck once, and it really didn't work for me. Felt all wrong, the flow didn't quite work, and the carve took longer to 'take shape' (I carve into the fingerboard a little with most of my neck shapes, so I want a SHARP, planed, predefined outer edge to work towards).

I glue the board on tapered, slotted and radiussed (router radiussing jig and all that), I do cut out the headstock shape first, but leave the precise nut area/width a hair oversized (1/32" per side, say) to fine-tune. And I fret post-carving, after I've done one final once-over level to make sure it's all where it needs to be.

After gluing the oversize (still rectangle) fingerboard to the tapered neck blank I use a laminate trim bit on the router to cut the fingerboard flush with the neck, than proceed from there. Alternatively you could use a sharp plane to trim the fingerboard to the neck.

Like I said, there are multiple ways of doing it, this just seems to work for me.

[GregP]

By golly, you're right, Godin! It's so obvious I didn't see it. Dunno why I kept visualizing stopping partway through, but there ya go.

[killemall8]

By golly, you're right, Godin! It's so obvious I didn't see it. Dunno why I kept visualizing stopping partway through, but there ya go.

i just meant all of the advise on the board and you were the last one to post, so i just replied to you. thanks

[Geo]

I've thought of table-saw before... but since the centre of the sawblade would have to end where the truss rod should end, there's going to be that sort of "ramp" up and out of the neck blade if you catch my meaning. Do you just leave it "hollow" and put the fretboard on?

Greg

Well, I've only done two necks. The first was for an acoustic (which I may never finish ). I put the adjustment nut at the body end, so yeah, there was a "ramp" going up to the edge of the fingerboard (or to halfway under the nut, can't remember). I had to deepen the ramp a little bit I think so the rod would seat. POOR PLANNING.

On my second neck (electric), I put the adjustment at the head and just sawed all the way across, so the saw actually cut through part of the headstock. The saw went a little farther than necessary, but it was fine with the headplate glued on. I then gouged/chiseled through the headplate until I found the end of the channel and made that the basis of the adjustment recesss... if that makes sense?!...

[killemall8]

Something I've been doing lately. Make a template of the neck (top view) for cutting side profiles. Trussrod slot already routed, best to do it while the block is still square. Draw out the side profiles on your block of wood and cut just outside the lines with jigsaw or whatever, doesn't have to be perfect. Line up the centerline of the template with the centerline on your neck and screw it down. Use a shaft bearing bit to follow the template and rout the rest of your side contours. I then install the truss rod and glue the square fretboard onto the side-contoured neck, once again paying attention to centerlines drawn on each. Then cut the sides of the fretboard flush to the sides of the neck. Two options for doing this, carefully with a hand saw OR flip the block, clamp to a bench with one side hanging over the edge, and use the shaft bearing bit with the already contoured neck as a guide.

but how do you use a template when you already have the scarf joint? how can you rout it like that?

[Southpa]

but how do you use a template when you already have the scarf joint? how can you rout it like that?

Scarf or not doesn't matter. The important thing is that the back of the neck is still square and flat. You cut your scarf joint as usual, glue and clamp it on etc. Your template is only for the side profiles. So screw the template on, only goes up to the nut, lay the neck on your bench, worktable or whatever with the headstock hanging over the edge and rout your sides.

[angry_jeremy]

I've done the tablesaw thing and was fairly pleased with it. My only complaints were that you end up having to put a long t-rod cover on your headstock if you have an angled head, and that you can't have any neck wood extending beyond the fingerboard at the body end for a long tenon. I got around the tenon issue by butting my neck HB up to the end of the fingerboard and extending the tenon underneath the pickup about 2/3 of the way under the pickup.