Star in...

Star inlays are hard enough when the stars are even. It is doubly hard when they are not even and the sides are not square. This was a learning experience and made me realize that a laser cutter or cnc machine would be a serious upgrade to exacto knives and dremel bits.














I spent a few hours working on an inlay for my padauk neck after finishing up the stars and learned some more valuable lessons about not using zero clearance inserts for my scroll saw, cutting against the grain, and drilling with dull forstner bits. But that is a story for another day.

Progress....

Headstock plate glued

Shaping the 7 string Padauk neck

Neck joint still needs to be cleaned up.

So this is the 7 string... Padauk neck. Northern Ash Body (from a 20 Year old blank)




Three projects... Poplar, Zebra, Ash

Finishing unfinished

Finishing up some pictures.

Fretboard leveling

The beam I ordered from StewMac is the best tool I have bought since the Dragon rasps. However I think I am going to have to get a custom made 36" radius block. The 18" radius beam works great when you use it against the fretboard, but when I clamped it and used the neck against it it didn't work as well. It was hard to not rock the neck and cause low spots on the ends.
I think with a 36" block attached to the bench it would be easier to control.
Once again the Dragon rasps are worth every penny.


Sanding Beam after a couple of passes with 80 grit


Since I was doing 4 necks at a time I worked through the grits on each.

• Initial rough of the radius 80grit


• Remove the 80grit scratches with my 8" block and 120 grit


• Hit the necks with 320grit on the StewMac beam


• Buff out with 00 steel wool.

After I fret the necks I will take them to 0000 steal wool.


The trick is to sand in one direction while not letting the beam off center. After a few swings, turn the beam around to unclog the sandpaper. It helps to use the shopvac often.

Rough shape the neck with the spoke shave



Couple of passes with the coarse then the fine dragon rasp

Dragons with purple heartwood handles...

The Dragons....

There is something to be said for doing work by hand. To be out in the workshop at 11pm and no one complains. The dragon rasps make this easy. I was able to shape 2 headstocks by hand including planing the faces flat for veneer with the rasps and a scraper. These are the big 10" models and are perfect for big work. I will purchase the smaller pair very soon.







The results from a night of hand shaping... the padauk neck was roughed in with a bandsaw and was a mess. The dragons tore right through the Padauk with ease. The maple is really hard and the dragons had to work harder but still finished the job with ease.


Before

After



And the maple after






Future Projects -- Quilted redwood and Flamed myrtle drop tops.