13 Piece Neck

[bluesman94]

I've made a maple/ ebony/ maple/ ebony/ maple neck, and there are 2 veneers in between each laminate.

Edited April 6, 2008 by bluesman94

[FlashJim]

I've made a maple/ ebony/ maple/ ebony/ maple neck, and there are 2 veneers in between each laminate. I'm going to upload a picture shortly.

I love laminated pieces. I'll be sure to check back for the pics.

[godzilla]

I'd like to see some pics too...I'm very close to taking the leap to making a neck and am looking for any information.

Steve

[Woodenspoke]

I just want to point out you are not using a lucky number there. Quick add on two more pieces. LOL

Looks great though.

[bluesman94]

I'd like to see some pics too...I'm very close to taking the leap to making a neck and am looking for any information.

Steve

okay, if you plan on laminating, i would make all the laminates a little bit oversized in the "body depth" (or width, whatever. about 1.5") dimension. My laminates moved a little bit on me, but I can just skin them with a table saw and they'll be fine. Everything will be fine on my guitar, because the body depth isn't really crucial, but it could have been a real problem.

[fryovanni]

Your inner lams look pretty wide to me, How do they compair to the nut width? If your inner group of lams are too wide you may have little or no outer lam at the nut. That of course may be what you want, but it is a design consideration for me when making lams.

Will this neck need to have any angle to accomodate the bridge? Sounds like you went very close to the body depth, when I am planning for a bit of neck angle I have to add a bit of extra neck blank depth.

I do love the look of fine lines using thinner veneers.

Rich

[bluesman94]

Your inner lams look pretty wide to me, How do they compair to the nut width? If your inner group of lams are too wide you may have little or no outer lam at the nut. That of course may be what you want, but it is a design consideration for me when making lams.

Will this neck need to have any angle to accomodate the bridge? Sounds like you went very close to the body depth, when I am planning for a bit of neck angle I have to add a bit of extra neck blank depth.

I do love the look of fine lines using thinner veneers.

Rich

It doesn't require a neck angle, and the outer lams are going to be at 1/16 at the nut, which is quite thin, but it doesn't really matter. Yeah, the veneers in there are the coolest things ever

[godzilla]

It looks really nice. Do you just cut a taper on the TS or use a router with a template?

[erikbojerik]

Looks nice....its a lovely wood combo, but be aware that fine sanding will force the ebony dust into the maple grain, and your maple will start to look real dirty real quick. Starting at about 220 grit.

I can normally prevent that by taping off the ebony and shooting a layer of rattle-can shellac on the maple (new layer with each new sanding grit), but that will be impossible with those very fine maple/ebony veneers. So you will need to smooth everything out with scrapers.

Start practicing now....there's a learning curve with sharpening-burnishing-using scrapers.

[bluesman94]

It looks really nice. Do you just cut a taper on the TS or use a router with a template?

I'm planning on using a rasp to do the whole thing. Someone tell me if this is a bad idea. I can't use the table saw because the outer lams at the headstock will be parallel to the inner ones

Edited April 7, 2008 by bluesman94

[low end fuzz]

routers are the way to go, and a nescesity; id go that route, even if you had to buy a 60$ router you'll need it later for the pickups and cavities

[Mattia]

Use good rasps, and fine-tune with scrapers.

[fryovanni]

It looks really nice. Do you just cut a taper on the TS or use a router with a template?

I'm planning on using a rasp to do the whole thing. Someone tell me if this is a bad idea. I can't use the table saw because the outer lams at the headstock will be parallel to the inner ones

First, I want to make sure I understand. When you say your planning to use rasps for the whole thing, does that mean you will ruff shape the whole neck and then shape the back of the neck with rasps? That is probably a poor choice if that is the case. You would do much better to ruff cut the taper and basic shape of the neck with a saw, then true it up with a template and router or some method referencing a template. I may just be mis-understanding what you are saying though.

With regards to your outer maple lams. 1/16th of outer lam at the nut is going to createa sliver like look. You may have a full 16th of an inch where the fretboard meets the neck blank, but as soon as you shape the neck much at all you will lose the maple lam(also be extreamly careful to not carve away that bit of maple, as any deviation is going to be very appearant when referencing such a small bit of wood). I just want to make sure you understand that now, and are not taken off gaurd when you get to that point, If that was not your intent, now would be the time to change up the lam configuration if you had invisioned something a little different.

Rich

[bluesman94]

It looks really nice. Do you just cut a taper on the TS or use a router with a template?

I'm planning on using a rasp to do the whole thing. Someone tell me if this is a bad idea. I can't use the table saw because the outer lams at the headstock will be parallel to the inner ones

First, I want to make sure I understand. When you say your planning to use rasps for the whole thing, does that mean you will ruff shape the whole neck and then shape the back of the neck with rasps? That is probably a poor choice if that is the case. You would do much better to ruff cut the taper and basic shape of the neck with a saw, then true it up with a template and router or some method referencing a template. I may just be mis-understanding what you are saying though.

With regards to your outer maple lams. 1/16th of outer lam at the nut is going to createa sliver like look. You may have a full 16th of an inch where the fretboard meets the neck blank, but as soon as you shape the neck much at all you will lose the maple lam(also be extreamly careful to not carve away that bit of maple, as any deviation is going to be very appearant when referencing such a small bit of wood). I just want to make sure you understand that now, and are not taken off gaurd when you get to that point, If that was not your intent, now would be the time to change up the lam configuration if you had invisioned something a little different.

Rich

why would 1/16 be so bad? Are you just talking aesthetically? I really don't like that look on some neck- throughs where the inner lams are really close together, with huge outer lams. I am going to use a router to cut the taper and to carve out the back. Then I'll use a rasp to round it out. how does that sound? The outer lams really aren't my concern. Yes, they'll be thin, but you say I'll lose them when I shape the neck. how?

Also, you say i should ruff cut the taper and basic shape with a saw. Can't I just cut it out with a router and a template first? And you say that it would be a bad idea to ruff cut the whole shape, and then shape the back with rasps. How do you shape the back of your necks? I thought of using a router bit use for cutting curved edges on corners, but it gets wider towards the bridge. you sound pretty experienced with this stuff. this is my first guitar, so your advice is really appreciated!

Edited April 7, 2008 by bluesman94

[fryovanni]

why would 1/16 be so bad? Are you just talking aesthetically? I really don't like that look on some neck- throughs where the inner lams are really close together, with huge outer lams.

I am really just trying to make sure that you understand what 1/16" worth of material on the sides at the nut will look like. Think about what happens when you carve (rasp) the shape of the back of the neck. You will not see 1/16" worth of material all the way through the neck, the maple will stop after just a bit of your shape is carved. This is ok, but it does look different, the lams will seem to be very slight bits. Try shaping a little piece of wood as you would the back of the neck at the nut, allowing for 1/16" worth of material that is tapering. No harm though, just wanted to make sure you understood(sometimes it is hard to picture what a carved surface will do to the look of lams). If you are clear as to what that look will be, then I am happy, my only thought was I wanted to be sure you understood

I am going to use a router to cut the taper and to carve out the back. Then I'll use a rasp to round it out. how does that sound?

That sounds fine. You will need to take a lot of passes with the router to get it close to your final taper(and be really careful not to try to take much at all when you get close to that final 1/16" worth of maple, it is really easy to get tear out). I usually ruff cut the shape of my necks within about 1/8" of the final shape (I use a bandsaw, but on my first I actually used a hand held jig saw), then I true up the final shape with my router using a template. Then I shape the back of the neck. For shaping, I use spokeshave, small plane, rasp, scraper, and a bit of sand paper.

The outer lams really aren't my concern. Yes, they'll be thin, but you say I'll lose them when I shape the neck. how?

As I described above.

Also, you say i should ruff cut the taper and basic shape with a saw.

Yes, as I described above.

Can't I just cut it out with a router and a template first?

You can, but it requires a lot of small passes, and is going to put a lot of wear and tear on your router bit. Doable, just painful method.

And you say that it would be a bad idea to ruff cut the whole shape, and then shape the back with rasps.

No, I said it would be a bad idea to ruff out the whole neck with only a rasp. That is what I wanted to make sure you were not going to try.

How do you shape the back of your necks?

As I described above.

I thought of using a router bit use for cutting curved edges on corners, but it gets wider towards the bridge.

I have ruff shaped the profile of the back of a neck with a roundover pattern bit. It isn't the method I prefer though, as a spokeshave does the job about as fast if not faster than setting up and using a router.

you sound pretty experienced with this stuff. this is my first guitar, so your advice is really appreciated!

I am just a weekend hobbiest, but if I can pass on a heads up from a mistake I made along the way

Peace,Rich

[bluesman94]

i understand how thin the lams will be, because they are on the side and will barely be there, but I don't mind. bit late in the game to change it anyway, unless i change my inner lams. But ebony is hard to find and really expensive, so that's really not an option. it sounded like you said it was bad to cut out the rough shape and then round it out, and I really couldn't think of any other way to carve a neck. How did tapering out the neck with a jigsaw go?

[fryovanni]

How did tapering out the neck with a jigsaw go?

It worked fine, but it was like I said ruff cut and then cleaned up. The trick to using a jig saw is to not allow the blade to wander sideways on you. Not as big a problem with straight cuts, but you have to be careful turning around a radius.

it sounded like you said it was bad to cut out the rough shape and then round it out, and I really couldn't think of any other way to carve a neck.

Nope, this is what I was asking.

First, I want to make sure I understand. When you say your planning to use rasps for the whole thing, does that mean you will ruff shape the whole neck and then shape the back of the neck with rasps? That is probably a poor choice if that is the case.

Peace,Rich

[bluesman94]

ok I get it, you threw me off when you said

does that mean you will ruff shape the neck and then shape the back of the neck with rasps? That is probably a poor choice if that is the case.

Oh well, next thing i have to do is route for the truss rod, then I have to inlay the fretboard, and glue it to the body, at which point i can taper and shape, then It's on to fretting. that's the plan anyway.

[fryovanni]

ok I get it, you threw me off when you said

does that mean you will ruff shape the neck and then shape the back of the neck with rasps? That is probably a poor choice if that is the case.

Oh well, next thing i have to do is route for the truss rod, then I have to inlay the fretboard, and glue it to the body, at which point i can taper and shape, then It's on to fretting. that's the plan anyway.

When I do a neck through I usually route for the truss and then carbon fiber rods(when using them) while the blank is still square. I taper the neck, ruff shape the back, shape and drill the headstock, and basically get everything with the exception of final shaping of the transition to the body on the back of the neck done before attaching the body wings. It makes it much easier to work with the neck if you don't have the wings attached. FWIW, tapering close to the body is particularly painful if you attach the wings before tapering is done.

Peace,Rich

[godzilla]

Hi, great thread going here, I'm really enjoying this.

Steve

[bluesman94]

sounds good, jigsaw it within 1/8, and route with template. Do you use a template to cut out the rough shape for the back of the neck?

[Kenny]

fwiw i have an easier way of doing all the tapers

if you ahve a table saw and a long fence this is all you need (longer than 30")

make a taper jig this is the one i use

this gets you a perfect taper every time on the fingerboard (its my favorite way) glue it onto the neck blank and use a router with a bearing to follow the FB taper, this perfectly tapers the neck

thats just how i do it though, its works pretty well, and i do it after i attatch the wings on my neck thrus. just make sure that your body shape is final before you start routing so you dont have to worry about anything else except the taper.

just got to be careful

hope this helps

Edited April 9, 2008 by Kenny

[fryovanni]

sounds good, jigsaw it within 1/8, and route with template. Do you use a template to cut out the rough shape for the back of the neck?

I sometimes use templates to check the shape of the back as I am shaping (but only if I am making a copy of a profile). The most important tool to have on hand at all times and use often is a set of calipers to monitor your thickness accurately. As long as you watch your thickness(by all means do not allow your self to get rushed and get too close or cut right through to the truss rod slot) you can adjust the shape of the back to suit your prference. It is usually easiest to shape your heel area somewhat close(say 1/8" fat) and the nut area(again leave it a little thick), then connect the two points. Shaping the nut and heel take most of the time when shaping the back, the points between on the shaft go much faster. Really slow down as you get close to final thickness, be sure not to get too agressive. Also be sure you know exactly what thickness you are shooting for, and make sure it allows at least 1/8" of material behind the truss rod slot. Scrapers are great tools when you get close say +.080- .060", and go to smooth sanding(buffing) when you are at about +.020".

Rich

P.S. All of this work is best done before you attach the wings. A neck through guitar neck can be pretty close to 90% when you attach wings. All of your tasks will be more straight forward and you will not risk dinging up your body(or accidentally damaging the area where the wings meet the neck).

Edited April 9, 2008 by fryovanni

[ae3]

13 peices! your awesome!