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| A young guy making a start
with instrument making asked for some advice on making a neck recently.
I had a neck that I'd already started, so I took some photos of each stage
from that point on. I figured I might as well put the information onto
my website in case anyone else is interested. Here goes! |
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The neck had been shaped,
the steel reinforcing rod set into the neck, and the slotted fretboard
glued to the neck
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First job will be to
trim the fretboard flush with the neck timber. I use a disk sander for
a lot of the basic neck work.
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So the fretboard's flush,
and I've tapered the neck down from about 60mm in front of the heel to
the nut area.
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I know this is very 19th
century, but I prefer to use a spokeshave to shape necks.
When I first started making
my instruments I used various belt sanding devices to get the neck contours,
but you end up with a baseball bat with one flat side rather than a comfortable
neck profile.
For a tenor guitar I like
a fairly heavy half round kind of profile. Something that fills the hand.
For a uke I prefer a thinner
profile, but not the wafer thin profile that seems to be the standard for
acoustic ukes.
For a mandolin or octave
mandolin a deeper V style profile seems to work better with the narrower
nut width.
The only tool that gives
me that flexibility is a spokeshave. I bought myself a basic, small spokeshave
on eBay for a few dollars. I use the "scary sharp" method of sharpening...
a belt sander! |
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I start by chamfering
both sides of the neck to remove a heap of the excess timber.
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Then I break the edges
of the flats. Running my hands along the neck I can feel the high spots
or ridges and shave them away.
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I've now got the shape
I want. The next stage involves 80 grit, 120 grit and 240 grit sandpaper
and lots of elbow-grease,
once again feeling for high
or rough spots and often going back a grade of sandpaper to get it right.
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Side dots for position
markers go in next.
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Drill shallow
holes to suit the material, then trim them flush.
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Sand flush with 120
grit, then 240 grit sandpaper.
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Time to press the frets
into their slots.
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Next trim the fret ends
flush and chamfer them.
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If the fretboard's flat
and the frets have been pressed in evenly they should only need a light
levelling.
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There's nothing that
screams bad fretwork more than sharp fret ends.
They don't have to be a
work of art, but they should be smooth and rounded.
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| So there's your neck - shaped,
contoured, sanded, position markers and frets installed, frets levelled
and dressed. My choice for a finish to protect the timber is clear nitrocellulose,
and to dress the fretboard I rub in a light smear of fretboard oil. The
stuff I use smells like Southern Comfort. It's discontinued now but the
bottle is 4 years old and I've only used about a quarter of the contents,
so I think it'll keep me going for a while yet! |
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Good luck with your
project Terence, and yes Walter... this is your neck! ;-)
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