Headstock plate or not???

Not sure if I want a headstock plate or let it match the body.
Plain:

Morado, purpleheart, zebrano:

Clamps and done...

After Clamp:

Clamp:

Clamp -- but not so tight... do not want to starve the joint.

Clamp:

Forgot the headstock wings are glued on....

For now this will have a traditional Arrow Headstock (Gibson V).
Here are the wings glued on:

Neck is moving along

Fretboard before slotting:



Neck mock up:



Slotted Fingerboard:



Headstock plate. I still need to cut out the side stripes and glue it together.



Nevermind the cut in the face of the board it is in the radius.
I am thinking 16" radius for this neck since right now it is going to be a 7 String.

Trussrod Installed...

It fits tight. I should have leveled the neck blank first so after I finish leveling I will need to make it deeper.




The pencil marks the low spot... I used spray adhesive to glue sandpaper to my bench and am sanding it flat by hand.



Power tools are too brutal for truing. I did the hole for the trussrod by hand with a 5/16th bit and a rasp.

Progress

Most of this was done with a #4 Stanley. I plan to use some power tools on it soon...

The 7 Starts now....

I haven't decided on a body shape yet but I am working on the neck. For now it is going to be a 7 string. The neck is maple with zebrawood stringers.



Currently I am planning on using morado for the fret board and headstock overlay... however that could change. I had to do an Ibanez style scarf joint because of length issues. Since this is the first neck I have built in 15 years I figured I would conserve wood. Next time I am scarfing the headstock and capping and backstrapping it.

New Tools ...

Family gatherings are for work. So for this gathering Dad finished the Fret Bender while I got pizza for the rest. Yes, it is bigger than a Stew Mac model and made completely out of aluminum.



We spent an hour finishing out the $28.95 grizzly arbor press with a hole and set screw to accommodate the new fret pressing cal.



I found a few minutes to grind and polish my new fret pullers, since I lost my original set a few years ago.



The old man brought a 14" band saw to live in my shop that needed help. The deck brace broke. It is now patched up and awaiting some new blades and a fence. I setup my new planar table for my drill press and tuned up the Wagner Safe-T-Planar. Nice piece it is.



I still need to finish sharpening my scrapers but overall I cheated Stew Mac out of a couple hundred dollars. Not bad.