Make My Life Easier!

[Boocan]

Alright, so as it stands I have completed 1 build so far. A 32'' scale 4 string mahogany/bubinga bass with maple neck and cocobolo fretboard. It is by no means perfect, but it makes sound and scores about a 7/10 on playability.

When I made it I had access to a full shop, with great professional woodworking tools.

Now I no longer have that luxury and am stuck in an 8x10 shed with shite for tools.

I'm about to dive into another build (hell-bent on perfection this time) But I've found a snag. I have a 9'' ryobi bandsaw with an inability to adjust the blade guides to keep the thing from wandering and twisting like crazy. And when I go to do the cut for scarf join on a neck it mangles it completely.

SO

The question to you gentlemen (and ladies if present) is:

Is there an easier/more effective way to cut a nice straight line on a 15 degree angle through a 3'' high piece of wood?

Please help me stop mangling my maple/padauk/whatever!

-Chris

[Mitch]

I carefully cut mine off with a saw then spent a couple of hours with a plane planing it until there is no gaps round the edge and it doesnt wobble at all.

[jaydawg]

You can use a tapering jig on the table saw.

These are cheap and you can find them at any woodworking store.

[doug]

What you didn't tell us is what sort of tools you do have that might be leveraged...

The taper jig is a good suggestion.

You could also make a sanding jig to block sand it, or something along those lines. I had a big disk sander for long with a jig attached that honestly I can't recall what I did the first time around years ago. I wish I could help more.

-Doug

[jaycee]

Have a look at This thread

[jaydawg]

Have a look at This thread

Cool, that link had the other jig I was looking for.

[Crusader]

I rough-cut on a saw then make a jig and finish it with a router (and sanding of course)

[Boocan]

Thank's everyone- big help! I'm going to try the tapering jig on a tablesaw method first- if that doesn't pan out successful then I will build the sliding board jig for tablesaw. And the routing jig for planing the surface is great! I've only recently in the past few days come to realize that routers can be very useful in planing surfaces! Multi-purpose tool or what, eh?

[ihocky2]

I'm a big fan of doing things the hard way (even though I find them easier). Rough cut with either a hand or table saw, and then a bevel gauge and #5 handplane. Gapless seams everytime, no expensive tool, no fancy or expensive jigs.

[jaydawg]

Thank's everyone- big help! I'm going to try the tapering jig on a tablesaw method first- if that doesn't pan out successful then I will build the sliding board jig for tablesaw. And the routing jig for planing the surface is great! I've only recently in the past few days come to realize that routers can be very useful in planing surfaces! Multi-purpose tool or what, eh?

Just make sure you've got the height you need from the table saw blade to cut your neck blank in one pass.

[j. pierce]

I'm a big fan of doing things the hard way (even though I find them easier). Rough cut with either a hand or table saw, and then a bevel gauge and #5 handplane. Gapless seams everytime, no expensive tool, no fancy or expensive jigs.

+1. I've tried other methods with less success. Seeing as I have to pack/unpack my tools everytime I use them, it's also much quicker for me to do a job like this with a handsaw and handplane.

[Daniel Sorbera]

I've had excellent results from my Powermatic bandsaw and a really good 3/4" blade. It only requires minimal sanding to remove the saw marks and it's perfect every time.

[RDub]

I always do mine by hand, then plane it to get it perfect. If you stack one piece on top of the other, it's really not too difficult to get it right. Just double check everything with a good straight edge.

I also have the Ryobi saw, and after not being able to get it to cut even close to straight, I threw away the stock blade and bought a Timberwolf blade for it. Cuts straight enough now that I haven't even bought a table saw yet. I even rip braces for my acoustics on it with no problems. The stock blade is junk.

[Boocan]

Yea, the stock blade really is junk. I've considered selling the saw and just using a jigsaw for doing body cutout, use a handsaw/plane or tablesaw/router to do everything else. The little ryobi bandsaw doesn't have enough throat room or height for resawing any fair sized boards- I might as well have saved up a bit longer and bought the delta 14''.

[Flon Klar Guitars]

Or you could cut the whole neck and head from 1 piece and not worry about a scarf at all. Just a thought...

[Boocan]

ironically enough did that with the first bass I made. But im trying to go through my wood pile and clear out what is left. A bunch of pieces big enough to be necks if scarfed...hence the current situation.