Erlewine Neck Jig

[drezdin]

i have a couple questions about the Erlewine Neck Jig.

has anyone use the Erlewine Neck Jig here. i've read some places that you can get plans for one. anyone know where to get plans?

also if you put an unfretted neck in the jig to level the fretboard, what would you use to plane the board level?

[daveq]

The plans are mostly provided by stewmac on their website. They may not provide exact dimensions but the assembly diagram is shown with an exploded view. I think this was asked a while ago and most people believed their assembly view was enough for a guitar builder to use to construct their own. I think someone here actually did that if I remember correctly. I was planning on doing the same eventually but I never seem to have the time.

For the fretboard, I don't really know. It's an interesting question. I don't know if you'd want to level it under playing conditions or not. I guess it would make sense? Maybe someone with a good background in fretwork can answer this? As for the tool to level - my personal preference is the stewmac precision bar with the stikit sandpaper. It's great for both frets and the fretboard itself.

[drezdin]

i found the plans on the stew mac site.

i have read that the idea behind leveling the fretboard is that the frets will require very little leveling

[daveq]

Yes, you always need to level the fretboard but it is usually (in my experience) not done under simulated string and truss rod tension. Sorry if my reply confused you - I was only refering to the fretboard leveling being done on the neck jig not in general. The idea is that the better the fretboard is shaped, the less fretwork will be required so that's why I was wondering if people also do the fretboard on the jig as well. Maybe it's not something I consider common since most of the time, the neck jig is used for re-fretting and not new guitars.

[Guitarfrenzy]

I'm the one who has built one from scratch and it works great. I used the information off the Stew-Mac site and from watching the Dan Erlewine Video on Using the Neck Jig. I also watched my 3 DVD Fretting videos and compared the location of each part with the Les Paul I have, so I could have everything in the right location. I've noticed that the older models don't have the 2 dial indicators like the new ones have, but more support rods. I decided to build it similar to the new one and bought some good cheap Dial Indicators from Harbor Freight. You can get the rods, threaded inserts, straps, etc. at a local harwood store, such as Home Depot or Lowes. I took pictures of building it and when I get time I'll post them on a webpage with parts list and everything so people might can build their own.

[daveq]

Frenzy - that's funny - I was just looking at the dial indicators at harbor freight but I wasn't sure about their repeatability. So they are good enough for the job? The price (as usual with them) is definitely better than anywhere else I have seen.

BTW, any idea if people level the fretboard using the jig or is it mostly used for leveling the frets only. Just to be clear - I'm not saying that fretboards don't need to be leveled - I just don't know if people use the jig for that part.

[drezdin]

here is one place i read about leveling the fretboard under tension

http://www.stewmac.com/tradesecrets/fretwo...ts35jaros3.html

[Guitarfrenzy]

I've seen it done both ways. I'm gonna use it to level fretboard and frets myself. Really it's just whichever way you can make the guitar play good. If you have better luck leveling the fretboard first then I say go for it. And yes those dial indicators are really great for the price.. and looks just like the ones on the Neck Jig Stew Mac sells. So, I highly recommend saving alot of money when you can. I personally had a harder time finding some thumbscrews with knobs than anything else. I also used a 2x4 for the neck jig which I think the Stew Mac's might be a 2x6 or so, but not really sure.