sam_c

if youve got the ability to cut/route the concave neck profile into the body, then why not do that on the single cut body shape only and keep the flat heel section of the neck the same as in your single cut neck shape? if that makes sense??? so for the double cut version you have a slight flat heel at the neck/body joint and it will give you more wood/thickness which you need in the weak spot. for the single cut version, you have what is shown in your 2nd drawing, but with only a slight area of heel on the treble side. You could then route the body with the concave neck profile and let it wrap around the neck. You may need some kind of thin compressible material in there so theres no gaps and it feels solid. It would also keep the neck free from scratches if you did want to swap it over to a double cut body. I hope that made some sense, I can picture it in my head but I doubt Id be able to draw it

I made a thick template and used a brand new stanley knife (is it called a box cutter in the US?) and got through 2mm plastic in 3-4 passes and it gave a really nice crisp edge. Not much force needed at all. That was on rectangular trem back plates though and if I were doing circular/amorphous shapes Id use a jewelers saw. A router seems a bit excessive, but I guess if you had to do a few covers in one go then you could pack the 2mm plastic together and it would save alot of time.

The gecko wins for me. If these were all hanging on a wall in front of me, thats the first guitar Id pick up and play.

Im still finishing off that neck, Ive not shaped any of the heel section in that photo. I dont plan on using grain filler but I will oil and sand the heck out of it once its shaped. As spoke said, a big problem with it is the colour gets everywhere and anywhere. As a fretboard Ive not played one before, but Ive seen manufacturers use it. I think there are better looking/performing woods to use for a fretboard and a padauk FB doesnt look good on a padauk neck IMO.

Ive got an all padauk washburn and it sounds fantastic. Im putting another one together for a bandmate and ive got 3 more solid padauk necks which I'll use aswell. I prefer the feel of it compared to maple. It is quite heavy but on the right guitar it can be balanced out nicely. I also quite like the dark brown/purple colour padauk goes with age. In my experience it happens regardless of UV exposure, but UV definitely speeds the process up.

I think a solid black back finish over the critters with burst edges on the front would look cool. Could you not do something crazy with the back carvings to make em look like cave paintings or something? Id try and work the carving cut offs into the front of the headstock if there is something subtle/small enough to go on there. Maybe recess the tuners slightly with a cove bit to give room for your fingers to get in there and finish it black.