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I have drilled the 1/4" holes and inserted the KD barrel nuts. I screwed in the connector bolts and have introduced a wee drop of thick CA to hold the barrel nut in place

To find the exact center of where to drill the holes in the headblock, I have cut down one of the KD bolts and sharpened its head to a point.

Here is the pointy stub installed - when I push the neck into the mortise slot in the guitar it will mark the center of the hole to drill - this is done for both bolts.

After measuring for the connector bolt length, I use this simple vice setup to hold the bolt for cutting and dressing the ends - once the bolt is cut I use the hex key to advance the bolt for filing

To get that perfect neck joint fit, the neck is held into position and sandpaper is drawn through the joint - this technique is also used to adjust the neck alignment as required.

Nice tight neck joint after flossing.

Centerline marks at the nut, 14th fret and bridge must align, otherwise - back to the flossing....

The neck joint is tight and aligned down the centerline - a check is made with the straightedge down the neck - looking for a 2.5mm gap at the bridge location. If this measurement is not correct - back to the flossing.....

This is the critical measurement - with the neck aligned for centerline and bolts tightened, the fretboard and bridge are mounted loosely in place. The straight-edge on the unfretted fingerboard should just clear the bridge by 1/64". Also, check that the 14th fret location cleanly bisects the body join line.

Now that the neck is fitted I move onto the fingerboard. From the centerline of the fingerboard, I measure 45mm at the nut and 55mm at the 12th fret and draw lines, subtracting for the binding thickness. I then precisely tape the lines as a guide for planing.

On the ramped shooting board, I use my #4 plane to shave the fingerboard almost down to the line.

The fingerboard sides get finish shaped exactly to dimension (using a digital caliper) on this jig which squares the piece to 150 grit sandpaper on top of a length of plate glass, ensuring a perfectly straight edge.

I am using my versatile custom bench vise to cut the nut end of the fingerboard. Note I have registered the cut with the jig by inserting a scraper into the 1st fret slot.

I have cut 3 pieces of bubinga binding out of the cutoffs remaining from when I did the side profiling. These should be +/- 1/8" taller than the fretboard depth as they will be scraped flush after gluing. I used the Ibex bender to shape the soundhole piece. After mitering the corners, I taped 3 thicknesses of masking tape to the bottom of the fingerboard to raise the fingerboard off the work surface - this allows the bindings to sit proud of the bottom of the fingerboard, so they can be trimmed exactly flush to the bottom after gluing.

I assembled and clamped the binding on the solera, over waxed paper. Once everything is nice and tight, I sweated in thin CA between the frets.

After the CA has cured, I turn the piece over and remove the masking tape, then run a bead of thin CA all the way around. This method prevents glue buildup in the fret slots.
I will then scrape the bindings flush

The binding is trimmed flush to the top and bottom of the fingerboard - happy to observe not a drop of glue in the fret slots.

To align the fingerboard for gluing, the fingerboard is placed exactly in position on the neck, against a dummy nut. Six 3/4" pieces of binding are snugged up against the fingerboard and are glued in place with some thick CA (to avoid wicking)

After taping off the the truss-rod I spread the epoxy

The tape is removed and the fingerboard clamped into place, ensuring it is firmly butted up against the dummy nut. The fingerboard caul matches the fingerboard radius and is faced with 1/8" cork

To shape the neck, I begin by carving the sides of the neck even and square with the edge of the fingerboard. A saw cut is made even with the nut, cutting almost to the nut, which will be the limit for the chisel.

The side has been carved flush with the edge of the fingerboard.

This is a pattern for the neck radius at the 1st and 10th frets. It is made by cutting a larger rough radius in a piece if 1/4" scrap material, placing plastic wrap on the target neck then forming epoxy putty around the neck and gauge. Once dry, sand the epoxy flush.

I have drawn the neck depth line on the sides of the neck blank. (20mm at the 1st fret and 23,mm at the 10th fret) Because this guitar will have a backstrap, I make a saw cut down to the line halfway between the nut and the 1st fret then carve down to the line.

Using a chisel and plane, the neck is at the desired thickness and taper.

After drawing the centerline, rasps and files are used to create the correct radius at the 1st fret

And the 10th fret

A small plane is used to create primary and secondary neck profile facets

Once the neck is rough shaped with primary and secondary facets with the small plane, rasps and files are used to smooth the neck evenly between the first and 10th frets, and to refine the profile at the heel.

This guitar will have an ebony backstrap - here I have used a french curve to create the backstrap curve - I am aiming for a 1" thickness at the thickest point.

The Oscillating Spindle Sander is used to shape the backstrap profile down to the line. The vertical line is crucial - it denotes the limit where the the headstock must remain flat for the tuners.

After thicknessing the backstrap veneer to 1/16" using the drum sander, I use the fox bender to bend the backstrap veneer - the backstrap curve is similar to the curve at the waist. I started the bend at 300 degrees and it bent just fine.

A perfect bend!

An MDF gluing caul is shaped with the spindle sander to match the backstrap curve, then lined with cork. I leave clamped overnight.

After tracing the centerline, I put down a strip of double-sided tape and attach the headstock pattern.

After trimming the excess material away with the spindle sander, I rout the edges flush with a pattern bit. I have also drilled the tuner holes, first clamping a caul on the back of the headstock to avoid tear-out.

oAfter scribing a line perpendicular to the start of the nut down to the backstrap, then drawing the curve down to the neck, I use the spindle sander to profile the initial curve from the backstrap down to the neck

I draw the profile outline on the backstrap, starting with a 1" circle, then joining the circle to the outer edge with a french curve

The backstrap profile has been established, mostly using a 1/2" round file.

excellent post. Thank you. It's already giving me some ideas about neck fitting.

_________________
"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

Hey thanks for the feedback Nick, glad you could find something interesting or usable!

Rob

I started working on carving my neck today - I must say this picture got me going - I was thinking how I am going to cut my 3" neck blank down to the finger board... and the chisel did the trick right away and perfectly !! thanks !!

_________________
It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

so, any updates?

This week has been a little slow on the bubinga build as I have been testing out my newly-constructed Williams-style binding machine and SM bit set on my nylon string build. It works great!!! This is my 10th build and 4th binding cutter setup

OK! After laying out the taper for the end graft (16mm to 24mm) I lay a strip of double sided tape along an outside line of the graft

I adhere a straightedge to the double-sided tape exactly on the line, then scribe the line with the striking knife

After scribing the line, I cut with the razor saw - the depth is marked in ink on the saw on the straightedge side. The straightedge not only promotes a straight line, but protects the side in case the saw jumps of the cut....

The top and back material is trimmed down to depth first

Then I chisel out the side material.

After cleaning up the channel, a piece of ebony is thicknessed to 3mm then laid out and cut to exactly match the taper

3mm maple purfling is glued to the sides of the graft with some CA, then the graft is glued in place and clamped

I bend as much binding at once as possible - makes for a more consistent bend and prevents cracking when removing from the fox bender. Here I have bent a batch ebony and Indian Rosewood bindings, all taped together.

Prior to cutting the binding channel, the body is adjusted in the carriage so the sides are perfectly plumb. This is done by making the measurement from the top to the carriage at the heel and the tail exactly the same, then adjusting so the the bouts are equal as well.

The target channel depth is 5mm, however I want to join the maple binding purfling and the end graft purfling, which is 1mm thick. So the first cut is 4mm deep, and the second cut is 5mm, stopping short of the end graft.

Bottom view of the binding cutter. Using the full Stew-Mac bit set, I make test cuts with different bearings until the depth is just less than the width of the binding and purfling.

After touching up the binding on the hot pipe to ensure a perfect fit, the end of the binding is cut to the center of the end graft, and the maple purfling is trimmed back so it butts into the maple purfling on the end graft.

Test fit - looks good! The other binding piece is also trimmed to fit, ensuring the butt joint is perfectly flush and the maple purfling butts firmly into the maple purfling on the end graft.

The black/maple purfling strip is put in place first, with the joints ending up at the straight section just short of the waist. Starting from the tail, both pieces of binding are clamped into place and glued in with thin CA.

The second piece of black/maple purfling is cut slightly long, then clamped and filed to fit.

The binding is cut slightly long at the heel, then trimmed with a sanding board until it fits perfectly.

Irwin clamps are used at the waist when gluing in the binding to ensure a tight fit.

A small plane is used to trim the binding almost level to the top. The base of the plane is taped on the inside edge to prevent marring the back.

Using a cabinet scraper to trim the binding down flush with the back. The inside corner of the scraper is taped to prevent marring the back.

The binding is scraped flush on the sides. Here I have wetted the the area at the end graft with some isopropyl to see how the binding joints look at the end graft. Check out the swirl figure in the bubinga......

The top binding goes on just like the back binding; taped into place dry then glued in with thin CA. It is important to first apply a coat of shellac in the binding channel so the CA does not leech into the spruce top and discolour it.

A freshly burnished cabinet scraper is used to scrape the bindings flush with the sides.

The completed end graft

The neck is reattached and the location of the saddle is located using my shop-made saddle-matic.

A straightedge held flush with the edge of the fretboard provides the marks to center the bridge to the centerline of the fretboard.

Once the centerline is found, the outside edges of the bridge can be marked. The front edge of the bridge is marked perpendicular with the centerline. The bridge is held in place and a line is traced around it.

A rubber tube with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around it is used to round the edges of the soundhole.

Once the bridge area and fretboard extension are taped off, and the lines erased, three very light coats of Ultra-Blonde De-Waxed Shellac are applied, cut with 99% Isopropyl.

The top and sides have been sanded to 220, and 3 very light coats of Shellac has been applied to the entire body as a sealer.

The body and neck have been pore-filled with Target HSF5100 High Solids Grain Filler.
It is applied over bare wood, cured for at least a day then sanded flush with P400.
The bubinga has very small pores so was easy the fill; two coats was sufficient.
A very thin coat of super-blonde dewaxed shellac was applied after the pore filling and sanding was complete.
After what seemed an eternity of final shaping, sanding, touch-ups and fitting, the neck is installed.
A small bead of white glue was applied around the heel joint and under the fretboard extension before bolting and clamping.
The fingerboard has been taped off, top only, just shy of the edge.
The fretboard will get its final shaping and the frets installed after the finish is applied.

Looks stellar. I love these build threads. You pick up so many tips and tricks. One thing, and you may have already tried this or thought about it and rejected the idea for some reason, but if, before installing the tail wedge, you route your binding ledges, you can use the binding jig to route at full depth all around the guitar just once without worrying about getting into the tail wedge. The Williams style jig just begs to run the entire length of the rim without pause IMO. That is why I like it so much I think. Anyway . . . then install the tail wedge and if you're mitering purflings, just raise the bit by the height of the purfling and zip off the unnecessary portion with the binding jig. It is a minor point, and the end result is the same, but you might give it a go and see if it saves time and energy. I have to think it would, but I've never tried it your way either so I can't say for certain. Regardless, your final work product looks absolutely great. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Aaron

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Aaron Craig

Thank you for your kind comments Aaron!
I will consider your technique next time around.
Still lots of activity - however not much to document with sand - spray - wait.....repeat.
This weekend should be the last session of finish....then on to more fun stuff - fretting, bridge, saddle, nut, tuners..... <sigh> it is getting close!

Robbie,

This is one great thread! I really learned a lot on making and shaping a neck! I hope you don't mind me stealing your ideas!

Thanks,

_________________
Steve Walden
Aspiring Builder,
Bartlesville, OK

Hey Steve, thanks!
Sure, steal away
Nothing in here that is uniquely mine....I have learned so much from these pages I am glad to give a tiny bit back.

Rob

Better update this thread - this build is progressing - slowly.....
After spraying the 15 coats of EM6000 I thought I would give it plenty of time to harden.....
Actually.....I got stuck into a Les Paul build that has occupied by interest.....
However - the inlays have arrived, the finish is hard...onward!
I marked the bridge location with my saddle-matic and with a fine point Sharpie traced the outline of the bridge.
Then scored with an ultra-sharp striking knife before removing the bit of finish with a small chisel.
After scraping the pocket and the bottom of the bridge, it is installed with my handy-dandy bridge clamp....

Great thread. Love your handy-dandy bridge clamp!

It's great to see not only creativity in the final product but in steps along the way as well.

Best,
_Mike

_________________
_Mike Tracz
MCT Guitars
https://www.instagram.com/mustcreatethings/
https://www.youtube.com/mustcreatethings

done yet?

Nope....
But thanks for asking!
After blinding my way through the Les Paul build, I have turned my attention back to this build.
I had an headstock inlay I was going to install, but decided against it - didn't like it.
Then I went to inlay some fret markers - then decided against it....didn't like them....
I am waiting for the "inner guitar" to speak to me how it wants to finish up.
Meanwhile, I have been doing some level sanding and buffing, hoping it will wake up....

After spraying 18 coats of EM6000 in 3 sessions, I let it harden for a few months....
Got back to it last weekend, installed the frets, nut and saddle, and here it is!
It sounds amazing, by far the best I have done so far...