In part 2 with our neck pocket template fabrication, we’re now performing a rough cut and removing the surrounding material with a bandsaw. The photos below shows how it’s done: Next up, the bottom hardboard piece has its excess middle portion removed flush to the edges of where the glued pieces on top meet: Above … Read more
Fabricating a template is arguably the most difficult part of the process, as the template must be correct the first time. If not correct, the neck will never fit correctly in the pocket. Tip: Make your template out of 1/4-inch hardboard. The advantage is that this is a “voidless” material. For example, plywood is inconsistent … Read more
(Note: While this particular build step is short, it’s important.) It is assumed for this step that you have already made or purchased an appropriate body blank. It is also assumed that you have a plan on paper. It might be a plan that you have drawn from scratch for your own custom design or … Read more
Note up front: Carving a neck is largely about feel rather than process; this is not something that can be described as a 1-2-3 method, nor would we even attempt to. Neck carving is a fundamental reason why luthiery schools exist, and is best learned in that style of environment. However, we will do our … Read more
At this point, the frets have been installed, but the fret ends are sticking out from either side of the neck and need to be dressed appropriately. The tool needed to start dressing frets is known as a fret cutter; this tool is generally available online, but not so much in hardware stores as it … Read more
The fret wire used here was nickel/silver. It was of the narrow/tall style like a banjo or Martin guitar. Height is .040 tall and .080 wide. Neck prep The fingerboard has been radiused and is flat at this point. All fret slots are deep enough to accept the tang of the fret wire chosen. The … Read more
Why do we do this? To smooth the transition from the peghead face to the edge of the fingerboard. Do all headstocks require scalloping? No. Fender style headstocks require scalloping due to the curve of the peghead face. Pitched bevel headstocks do not require scalloping due to the fact the face is flat. What is … Read more
Inlay material An inlay material can be almost anything as long as it can be installed in a fingerboard. Examples of inlay materials are plastic, abalone, mother-of-pearl, stone, shell, acrylic and so on. Some examples of inlay materials (there are many): However, the easy route is to use premade inlay set of discs for standard … Read more
Radiusing a neck can be done in a number ways. But generally speaking, there are two major methods. The expensive way and the cheap way. Expensive way – Use a machine to radius the neck The above is the Grizzly G0574 Guitar Fretboard Radiusing Sander. Not cheap, but very nice to have. It’s a good … Read more
In a previous step, the neck blank was cut with a band saw, leaving a rough cut. At this point, we now smooth the neck. The goal is to have the edges of the neck long and straight, and in addition make a good line to the headstock. There is no one go-to tool that … Read more
