daveq Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 I am wondering how you guys build yours. I have built many angled peghead necks but I am always looking for a way to improve or simplify the process. I'm not going to explain every detail and put you to sleep but here's a quick summary: For a scarf jointed, angled back neck: 1. Glue the peghead to the neck blank (peghead blank is usually between 5/4 and 4/4). I leave a little of the peghead wood sticking up beyond the surface of the neck blank (to be smoothed later). 2. After dry, I use a belt sander to smooth down the part of the peghead that is sticking up beyond the neck blank (roughly sand it - nothing precise yet). 3. Run the neck along the jointer starting with the peghead side first. This part is where some errors can be encountered. I need to be careful to hold the neck so that I don't take off more wood from one side (for example, I don't want the bass side to be thicker than the treble side). The jointer makes a very nice/flat surface for the fretboard to be mounted on. 4. One the peghead is smooth with the area of the neck that the fretboard will be glued to, I bandsaw the back side of the neck close to 3/4". 5. I use the router to finish the heel to 3/4" parallel to the fretboard surface of the neck. 6. Use the bandsaw to roughly shape the heel-to-peghead thickness of the neck. I'm leaving out some of the process but that's the basics of how I've been doing it. The only part that I don't care for is the #3. It's not a big deal but I don't like the possibility of error that can be introduced at this point. I have had to scrap several necks before getting the hang of it. I have seen the tutorial here on PG. I think that person used a hand plane to surface everything, right? I'm getting better at using a hand plane but I still don't think that's the best way for me to go. Also, I like scarf joints. I realize that I could greatly simplify the whole approach by just cutting a bigger blank and not gluing the peghead on - I just prefer the scarf joint. I'd love to hear from those of you who have had success doing it a different way. I'm not planning on scrapping my approach but I was hoping to maybe incorporate other ideas that may increase accuracy or save some time. Thanks, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 I do a 3 piece laminate neck, then I cut it. It is about 3" thick prior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 i do it the same way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 So you don't do scarf joints then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 i don't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 i just had an idea for saving wood when making one peice angled back necks (no scarf joint or glued on head stock peices..... usualy if you just make one neck at a time, and you make a one peice neck with angled head stock you have to buy a really thick blank right? and then you end up cutting off ALOT Of wood from the back, some of which can be used for other things, but for the most part will probably just sit around as scrap. So why not use that extra wood on the back as part of another neck. By buying a peice of wood that's a little bit longer and a tad thicker you can actualy get 2 neck blanks out of one peice of wood be it laminate of a solid block. Here's a photo to illustrate exactly what i mean, the drawing is not to really proportioned well but you should get the general idea that the closer you push the necks together, the harder it will be the bandsaw them apart, but you'll save more wood!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 Great idea Derek! I actually ordered a neck blank which is thick enough to cut out the angled peghead without a scarf joint. I think I'll exactly do what you wrote and try to get two necks out of it. It is a piece from a very old slow-growth maple tree with very dense grain so it would be a waste to not use that great piece to it's fullest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 well i use my thickness planner to get a smooth edge on both the sides that the fingerboard will sit on, won't that be kinda hard if you already have the angle cut out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 Well, thanks for the info. I was really looking for ideas from people who do necks similar to the way Ibanez does them - angled with a scarf joint. I guess there aren't many people building them here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 you could also take a thinner piece of wood, and glue the cutout pieces together to get the laminated neck idea. This is the way that Benedetto makes his necks for his arch tops. It looks like a great way to minimize waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 Thanks Alex - that's the way I've been doing mine. For a while, I was doing it the way you showed with pre-thicknessing the headstock. I wanted to have the scarf joint in the same position as the Ibanez necks so I siwtched to the first drawing's method. Now here's why I'm asking about this: On paper (or CAD), it looks easy. When you start taking the wood off of the headstock (the area that sticks up) - you have many options. I was wondering how others did this. I used to use the jointer (after sanding it down close enough) to get a nice flat even surface where the fretboard mounts. The drawback to this is that the opposite side (the bottom / heel side) is not going to be parallel to the fretboard anymore. This happened to me many times before I figured out what was happening. Obviously, you can't run it through the planer since the headstock angles up (well, you could but you'd have to shut it off before it reached the headstock - and that's probably not a good thing to do). So it's not the plans that I was interested in (but thanks for drawing them out so others could see) but the implementation of getting things flat and parallel. I wish I could see how Warmoth does theirs since they do the exact same thing with their angled neck blanks. Thanks Alex - the drawings are excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 Great drawings....as I love figured necks I cannot do scarf joints though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 I've done it this way. I haven't done it this way, because there is less cross section, then the above method, for gluing, and I also just think the joint is stronger being closer to the middle of the neck, then at the headstock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 OK, Lex - what tools did you use and how did you level the headstock with the rest of the neck (where the fretboard mounts)? If you used a jointer, how did you get the heel parallel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 OK, Lex - what tools did you use and how did you level the headstock with the rest of the neck (where the fretboard mounts)? If you used a jointer, how did you get the heel parallel? It's been a while since I did one of those, but I'll try to answer your questions. I used a bandsaw and bench top belt sander. I took the piece of wood, and cut the angle. I used the belt sander to flaten the bandsawed surface of the main piece for the neck. The bandsawed surface on the headstock portion becomes the fingerboard gluing surface. Once I have the pieces glued together I smoothen that portion. I've used a Jointer to do that, and my belt sander. I think I liked the belt sander better, I have more control. I also found it difficult to glue, because of the angle, it made the surfaces slide. I found dry clamping the pieces and bolting them together(placing the bolts in a scrap protion of the neck blank) help ALOT for stability during clamping AND for clampling. I don't remember having a problem with the heel when I used the jointer, but I would just mark out the heel thickness and use my belt sander if the heel diproportioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 The problems or error introduced by using the jointer can be small or large depending on how you hold the piece as it passes through. I have found that if I am very careful (or just lucky), it will come out close to being parallel with the back side. I have also tried running it through backwards (lead with the non-headstock end of the neck blank) but of course, it tears the crap out of the headstock piece. If that didn't happen, that would be the easiest for me. I'm thinking of clamping on a scrap piece to prevent the tear out. That way, the neck blank stays parallel when going through the jointer since I it's already been planed if you know what I mean. The problem with sending it through with the headstock piece first is that it is never quite level / parallel - since that's what the jointer step is all about. I'm not explaining this very well. I'll also consider trying the belt sander - I'm just not that accurate with those things. Thanks Lex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 I'm remembering now from when I used a jointer to do that, I first used a hand plane to smoothen out the rough sawed surface of the headstock piece, making it pretty much flat and level with the rest of the neck, but not perfect, though flat and level enough so the jointer doesn't cause stupidness in my piece. I must have planed it down so much by hand, that when I placed the neck on the jointer bed, it actually rested on the main fingerboard surface and bairly touched the headstock portion. Maybe that would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 i tried you're "loved "way alex and i got an ugly GLUE* line i clamped it really well.. maybe i'm missing a trick or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snork Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 watch out for shortgrain when you dont use a scarf joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryeisnotcool2 Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 i do my necks like the second picture, where you thickness the headstock first then glue it on. i find it works well and my necks are really freakin strong! I also do laminate necks, i havent used it yet though, i spent a few hours one day and made up about 4 necks,3 mahogany, and 1 exotics laminate its really cool looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryeisnotcool2 Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 for the laminate neck i glued up the wood so it was about 2.25 wide x 1 5/8" thick x 35" this way i can run it on a jointer then through my planer to get two smooth edges , then i rough out the back of the neck and headstock, then carefully i turn it over on its fret board side, and run it through the planer to get to the exact thickness i need for the heel, BUT!!!!! i have to shut the planer down befor it gets to the headstock,lol or else it will get ruined! lol then i just lower the table hieght and pull out the neck and wall lla! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 have to shut the planer down befor it gets to the headstock I don't know if you read my post concerning this. I tried doing this with a scrap neck and I just didn't like the whole idea of it. It sounded like my planer didn't care for it either. I have been playing around with using a router for the heel mounted on "rails" (jointed/planed pieces of wood) instead. I also considered running the whole neck through the planer mounted on a thick piece of maple (thick enough to raise the headstock off the base) but it just seemed too crazy. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snork Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 WATCH OUT FOR SHORT GRAIN!!!!!!!!!! use a volute for the love of god. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.