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Mike OMelia
01-18-2011, 5:44 PM
Who builds their own necks? I have built 3 guitars and am starting number four. Yet I buy my necks. For some reason, I have convinced myself that its not worth the risk/trouble. The body of a guitar is very forgiving... but the neck must be correct (scale, etc). Same thing for finger boards. Perhaps it is that I just do not understand the science behind the neck and finger board.

Mike

Josiah Bartlett
01-18-2011, 7:15 PM
I'm about to embark on my 1st fretted neck, we'll see how it goes. I did a fretless bass neck but that almost doesn't count.

John Coloccia
01-18-2011, 8:15 PM
There just really isn't that much to it, to be honest. There's a lot of small details to get right. For example, make your headstock + veneer thin enough that the tuning machines fit. Stupid things like that that are easy to get right but also easy to forget. It's also easy to do something out of order, thereby obliterating a line or an edge that would have proved invaluable in a later step. For example, if you intend to route a truss rod channel using a fence of any kind (including on a handheld router), and if you intend to use headstock wings, gluing the headstock wings on before routing the channel can cause you all sorts of grief. Think about it for a second and you'll see why :) Nothing that can't easily be recovered from, but it just makes it more difficult. So instead of thinking in terms of just vaguely making a measurement, for example, think of exactly where you will measure from. Sometimes you'll find that in your sequence, the convenient place has been destroyed earlier on and you'll rethink things. It's also easy to do things like gluing over centerlines. Fingerboards and veneers come to mind. It's not that they can't be reestablished, but it's so much easier to mark them down the edges as well so when you glue over them you can simply remark them from the edge. Little details like that.

Making a couple of practice necks out of 2X4s can be really helpful and confidence inspiring!

Bryan Morgan
01-19-2011, 12:56 AM
John pretty much summed it up. I build my own necks. I prefer it as I can make sure the scale is perfect, the profile and radius is how I like and whatnot. I prefer a 10" radius and a thin D profile. The most useful tip I'd say is to always keep track of your center line. Be mindful of the materials you are using. I made one not too long ago that came out really nice but a few days later developed a significant back bow. I'm not entirely sure why this happened though I had an idea why and the one I made to replace it came out great. Even though I wasted a nice piece of flat sawn maple and a great birdseye maple fingerboard, I don't chalk it up as a complete waste. I got to experience how to remove a fingerboard that has been glued on with titebond. Seems possible if you use a heat gun and go real slow. It was a learning process for me so I ended up ruining it.

Mike OMelia
01-19-2011, 2:00 AM
Well, given the complexity of my current projects, I just have not wanted to go there yet. $120 for a custom neck is small change in the bigger scheme of the project. But I do plan to try soon.

Mike

Chris Fournier
01-19-2011, 2:39 PM
If you are "building" guitars then certainly you must be building the necks. A guitar neck is the primary interface between the player and instrument and I wouldn't want to leave that up to a factory that pumps out neck copies of factory designs. Make your own neck and your overall guitar design can be truly yours, integrated with your body design - you choose the joinery too. So much of any given guitars playability and character comes from the players impression of the neck - make your own necks and your customers can truly get a custom instrument - you build to their specs. I always suggest to my guitar customers that they come to my shop when I'm carving the neck for their guitar so that they can have it exactly as they want it. Good relationship builder!

Making a neck seems to be very involved at the start, but a methodical build will break the process down into simple steps.

I know that there are many ways to skin a cat but I started building guitars from raw lumber/logs and I think that it really helps a builder develop a complete skill set and integrated understanding of guitar building.

All of this being said I tie my own flies when I go fishing so maybe I just can't help but get in over my head...

Mike OMelia
01-19-2011, 4:22 PM
I agree, I just have not gone there yet. And I am talking about acoustic guitars. My necks are made by a skilled individual (actually well known in the trade). Hand made, no cnc (though I see nothing wrong with that). Of all the things I have done in guitar building... this is the one I wish I could see someone else do (in person).

Mike

Chris Fournier
01-19-2011, 4:52 PM
I agree, I just have not gone there yet. And I am talking about acoustic guitars. My necks are made by a skilled individual (actually well known in the trade). Hand made, no cnc (though I see nothing wrong with that). Of all the things I have done in guitar building... this is the one I wish I could see someone else do (in person).

Mike

At waht level of completion is this $120 neck? At this price I'd get this person to make the body too!

Bob Frey
01-20-2011, 12:22 AM
I actually find the neck one of the more fun parts of the guitar to build with carving the profile and all. Plus most of the "playability" of a guitar is determined by the neck. If you want to build guitars that play great, and feel great when playing, its all in the neck.

Bryan Morgan
01-20-2011, 1:24 AM
If you are "building" guitars then certainly you must be building the necks.

Thats a good point. I never considered it actually building without making the neck too. The bodies (solid body electrics anyway) are just too easy. You can bolt a neck to any block of wood and have something that makes noise. The neck, in my opinion, basically IS the guitar. Obviously other things play a part too but the neck is where the magic happens.

John Coloccia
01-20-2011, 7:23 AM
He's making acoustics, though. I'll go out on a limb and say that I spend more time making the box on an acoustic than I do making the neck. The neck is pretty simple. Still, for $120, that's tough to beat!

Mike OMelia
01-20-2011, 9:15 AM
The neck for $120 is an unshaped peghead, heel, block, joint, and truss rod. The neck is shaped. Mahogony. You still have to shape the peghead, apply fingerbaord, etc. I will attempt them when I get an edge sander... but those take up too much space.

Mike

Chris Fournier
01-20-2011, 12:46 PM
Is the peghead veneer glued on when you get the necks?

I'm not sure what you want to use the edge sander for when it comes to neck construction. The edge sander is one of my least favourite machines in my shop as it is perfectly happy to remove all and any stock in a rapid and haphazard fashion!

Once the neck is laminated, scarfed and the heel block is glued on I find that the bandsaw, router and drill press are the go to machines for my methods. The rest of the work is hand tools.

Granted a big instrument year for me would have been 8 - 10 instruments but I've found that neck production can move along pretty nicely with mostly hand tools for the shaping aspects of the build.

Now a big disc sander is another story...

Mike OMelia
01-20-2011, 12:53 PM
No peghead veneer. I have a 9" disk sander. Do you cut the general shape of the neck on the band saw first? When do you rout the truss rod chanel? And what are your primary shaping tools?

Mike

Floyd Mah
02-10-2011, 1:03 PM
I've built two fretted necks recently. I came up with a good trick. John mentioned losing the centerline in the process of developing the parts. I made the blank for the fingerboard longer than the final size and drilled two small holes on the centerline in the waste area at each end. I used the holes to line up the board in my fretting fixture (home made), radiusing jig (also homemade), and tapering jig (for cutting the sides on my tablesaw). (Almost sounds like that bank ad: "I can my own jam: apricot.") In the case of the tapering jig, I could flip the board and cut the same taper on the opposite side without problems. I placed small screw eyes thru the holes to fasten them to the jigs. Since I had a milling machine, I used the bed to help me mark an aluminum bar with the distances for the fret locations. I used the bar to index my square as I cut each fret slot. I also came up with a new idea for a fret wire bender out of spare parts (http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/luthiers-corner/105184-diy-fret-bender-cheap-fret-saw-new-approach-diy.html). There's also a description in that link of how I did the frets using low budget tools.

I made the neck from mahogany which turned out to be remarkably easy to shape. I was able to use my spokeshaves and drawknife. It was a very labor-intensive task, but I enjoyed doing it as well as the planning and construction of jigs to make it possible. Here's a link (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/194271-1959-les-paul-build-94.html#post2722986) to the final results.

george wilson
02-11-2011, 10:00 AM
I have built for 57 years. Never bought a neck,and only recently had a sander like you are mentioning. Yes,you really do need to learn to make your own necks. About the only help I use is bandsawing them out,and cutting the truss rod groove down them with a table saw. The rest is hand carving.

Mike OMelia
02-12-2011, 3:05 AM
OK George. I will take that step on my next build. Promise.

Mike

Kevin L. Waldron
02-12-2011, 7:42 PM
182443182442182441 We regularly cut these kinds of things on our cnc. We are one of the commercial vendors on this forum. WaldronInstruments.com

Bo McCorkle
02-15-2011, 12:07 PM
Anyone here able to maybe tutor me in a step by step of a neck??? I an wanting to build a neck thru guitar with a tunomatic bridge but am honestly very stumped I have no clue where to start, how large my blank should be, what included angles I need....... Please???

John Coloccia
02-15-2011, 6:00 PM
Anyone here able to maybe tutor me in a step by step of a neck??? I an wanting to build a neck thru guitar with a tunomatic bridge but am honestly very stumped I have no clue where to start, how large my blank should be, what included angles I need....... Please???

This is difficult to do in this sort of format. A good first step is to go to StewMac and order an electric guitar building book, and then read it cover to cover. For example, there's no way of figuring out your neck angle without knowing the exact dimensions of your bridge, any arching you might do on the body, the thickness of the fingerboard, etc. You may even be able to find some plans for something close to what you want.

Larry Fox
02-16-2011, 5:33 PM
Do a youtube search for bobo9977 and have a look at his One Piece Neck Build series - quite well done and should give you a place to start. It is where I a starting as well.

Max Speedwell
08-16-2013, 6:08 PM
I had some walnut that wasn't worth much more than firewood, so instead of
chopping-up 2x4 framing lumber, I used the walnut to build eighteen necks.
The build went fast as these were for practice only and would never be attached
to a guitar body. By the time neck #18 was finished I was confident I had the
ability to build my own necks. My eighteen neck practice session only took a
day or two. Quality necks that are a little more accurate take a little longer
to build. Get some lumber and start practicing. It won't take long to build your
skill or confidence.

-Max

Larry Pommo
08-17-2013, 7:05 AM
The order of operations is really the key to neck building, like John said. I build electrics, but my order of ops is this:



Square up neck blank four sides (true sides will be valuable later for referencing, easier to start with everything square.
Square up fretboard blank after thicknessed to 1/4"
Slot fretboard blank in slotting jig (homemade)
Cut scarf joint in neck blank, true edges and glue scarf (ensure it's again square after gluing)
Rout truss rod slot
Install truss rod
Glue squared fretboard blank to neck blank
Bandsaw neck taper rough, route to finish
If a set neck, fit to body and route it for neck; if a bolt on, shape neck end as needed
Spindle sand headstock to shape
Drill tuner holes (front to back)
Thickness peghead (this gives a bit of room for any tearout from the drilling)
Drill for face and side dots and install
Radius fretboard (I use a sanding block, hate it with a passion)
Check fret slots for depth, touch up as necessary
Shape neck (back) to near finish
Set neck in body (if set neck)
Check fretboard for straightness (after shaping neck it can/will move) and touch-up
Fret
Final neck shaping (roll edges, 'hand check' shaping)
Fret dress
Apply finish


Not to say this is 'best', but it's been working for me for several years, and hope it helps.

Larry

george wilson
09-02-2013, 3:39 PM
When I first started making guitars,I found the neck was the easiest part to make. I was trying to make acoustics at the time -1952.

george wilson
09-11-2013, 9:27 AM
One thing I do that might help you to not make "wavy" necks is this: I got a horse shoe rasp. It has big rasp teeth on 1 side,but on the other are large,pretty sharp file teeth that cut quite well. I use that side. I got a broken horse rasp that was still nearly un used, and broke off a piece about 4" long. Ground the ends nice and square. Use it like a plane up and down the neck to shave off high or wavy places. Works quite well.

You can buy horse rasps at most hardware stores. Check the file type teeth to make sure they are pretty sharp.

John Coloccia
09-11-2013, 10:26 AM
That's a great idea, George. My Iwasakis are pretty straight and sometimes I use those to get the nice straight lines, but I also ended up making some sanding blocks that are just a little bit shorter than the length from headstock transition to heel. I can wiggle them back and forth to get it straight up and down the neck, but I can drag them sideways around the profile as well (cross grain but who cares at this stage). I've been known to put 40 grit on there and it makes quick work straightening out the mess I make with draw knives and rasps.

To anyone who's never built a guitar, it's absolutely amazing just how sensitive your hands can be. You may not pick up the exact profile of the neck, but the SLIGHTEST little bump, dip or deviation from a nice straight line stands out like a sore thumb when you're actually playing. You may not even realize why a particular neck feels so lousy but everyone will know something's "off".

george wilson
09-12-2013, 10:22 AM
I got my broken horse shoe rasp from the museum's stables,laying on the floor broken. Horses swell their bellies up when they are putting the cinch of the saddle on. The horse wants the cinch to be looser,so they learn to swell their bellies up,making the cinch too loose when the rider is in the saddle. It can let the saddle fall off,or rotate around the horse.

Anyhow,someone smacked the horse's belly with the rasp,and he must have hit one of the big metal rings on the cinch,and broke the rasp in two!! I have no idea who it was,and I would not have wanted to hurt the horse. I'd have waited till he got tired and quit swelling his belly!!

Mel Fulks
09-12-2013, 12:48 PM
With the lady horses the trick is to say "you seem to be putting on a little weight".