Contraptions

I built this rig to radius fretboards. Well I really didn't like the way it worked so it has been on the shelf. Lately I have not been happy with the consistency of my necks. I decided to mechanize the process a bit. I still like to carve them by hand but this will help make them uniform from headstock to tenon.



Center up the neck



Put a mark for a stop point



Mark the heal stop point



Need a stop to make sure I don't cut to far into the heal.



And after a few passes we have the proper thickness for a neck...I left it a little proud so that I can sand and shape without taking to much off.



Side shot.



Time to glue the fretboard on. I use some tape to keep excess glue out of the channel. I remove it right before assembly. The other trick is a piece of scotch tape over the allen head end of the trussrod. I trim it up after the glue has dried.



And half the clamps in the shop.

Never stops

I am using this contraption to make my necks uniform thickness. I am not building normal tele necks. Instead I am building thin flat radius necks like I like. Hopefully someone else will like them too. One of my complaints about my old telecaster was the radius.





After the rough profile it is time to glue on the fretboard.

V continued

So I get asked about neck angles a lot. I thought I would put together how I did the neck angle for the V.
First up mark the end of the fretboard. Then lay the fretboard on the neck where it will be set.


Mark off the scale length.

Measure the bridge height.


With the neck blank on its side lay a straight edge along the fretboard and mark your bridge height at the bridge position.


Now draw a line from the end of the fretboard (or where ever the body will start .. might be hte 21st fret) through your mark and it will give you your angle. I didn't use this angle since I like to recess my TOM I used about half this angle.


Usually I finish the neck first. However on this guitar I want to do all the carving and sanding before I attach the fretboard (to keep it safe). I hate to waste wood so I built the wings close to the rough shape. It allows me to get a V out of a single blank. Clamping a V is a chore and I am going to make a real jig for this soon. I forgot to take pictures of how I clamped the first wing on but basically I clamped the neck to the table at the proper neck angle (use some shims) then I make a stop block to stop the wing from sliding out of the clamps. Then I clamp it, curse, fix the clamps, accidentally bump one and watch them all pop off, curse, and finally get them right. The trick is to wait for the titebond to tak up before applying to much pressure. In the last picture you can see my neck angle.



Radiusing the fretboard with my 16" radius bit (thanks SJE). I squared up a 4x4 and draw a center line on it. Next I center and double sided tape the fretboard to the block. Set the bearing to ride on the center line and make a pass. Flip the block and make another pass. Done rough radius in 5 minutes. After slotting I profiled the board with my neck template and we are ready to roll.



A look at he board on the neck



Allright time for a better pictorial on gluing Vs. Clamp the neck and wing to the bench with proper shims.Do a few test fits to make sure everything is lined up right. Freshen up the edges to be glued. Use a block at the end of the neck to keep the wing from sliding back. Then glue the wing on.




Next I use cuttofs from neck scarf joints as V blocks. I cut off a little from the sharp end so I can stack them. I brace the first 2 and clamp them. I let the next 2 ride against the first and clamp then and so on. I try not to use too much pressure until the Titebond taks up.





Out of the ugly clamping jig and I will leave it until the weekend to make sure it is cured before carving it up.

Lot of telecaster work

Neck blanks finally shaped out. I ended up making my template thicker by gluing 2 together. I get better bearing shelf and smooth on both sides. Then I soak the template in CA so it doesn't warp. NC humidity is brutal.


I covered this in the V thread but here it is again. I radiused and slotted 10 fretboards in 3 hours Sunday. Got real boring but at least it is done. I radiused all the tele fretboards with my 16" radius bit (thanks SJE). I squared up a 4x4 and draw a center line on it. Next I center and double sided tape the fretboard to the block. Set the bearing to ride on the center line and make a pass. Flip the block and make another pass. Done rough radius in 5 minutes. I might change the radii to a more traditional radius on some but most will stay flat. These are going to be supped up Teles.



Results.


And a pile of fretboards.



Slotted.

7_B continued

Attached the template to profile the neck sides. I have glued 2 templates together to get a smooth surface on both sides and get a little thicker so I have a better surface for the bearing to run on.



Fret board radiused, sloted, profiled.


Headstock rough shaped and volute roughed in. After covering the threads with wax I glue the trussrod in with a little bit of silicon. One thing I learned from a piece of firewood was that I need to let the silicon dry before gluing the fretboard on. Not long ago I was very surprised when I ripped the fretboard off a 3 month old neck and the silicon was not dry yet.





Here is where we are now. I am going to try a new method of shaping the neck. I am looking for a little more consistency so I am going to use my old radius sled jig to cut the back of the neck down before gluing the fret board on. This way I will have a consistent thickness across the back of the neck.