building a neck

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:31 pm

so i finally got around to grabbing the camera. this is what i have done so far for the dano copy,
its kinda a take off on the body and the old skool mandolins with the f scroll at the top.
first off, establish the center line, ultimatley thats where your truss rod will be, and if you are doing a fender styled headstock then the line should interesect with the g tuner.

next, trace the template and start bandawing it out to make another template(never use your master template except to make backups)

heres the mdf temp i will use.

then copy that to the board and do the same as with the template.

bandsaw the design a bit.

and then sand like a mother fucker.

this is all for today. i will probly pick back up on monday or tuesday, thats when i will lay the rod and glue on the fingerboard. i may start to take down the headstock then too. but.... anywho
peace

Post by **Hurb** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:41 pm

nice one mate! i will defo be checking this out in the future so i can make my own headstock design on my own necks someday!

Aug · Post by **Aug** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 6:07 pm

robert: if you'll make a 1/4" template, not only could you route that neck into shape quickly, but you could make multiple copies. Great work, BTW!

Mr Mustache · Post by **Mr Mustache** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 6:09 pm

really awesome, man i can't wait until i see it done!

Post by **Hurb** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 6:37 pm

iam itching to see more of this dude!!

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 10:00 am

you won;t see that neck, i recut it, i wasn't quite happy with the way it was all comming together so i scrapped it for another project for another day and picked out a nicer peice.
im waiting on two more bits from routerbits so i can, get the truss rod slot cut out and so i can finish your strat trem templates! i haven;t forgot, i have just decided to do it differently.

ultratwin · Post by **ultratwin** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 1:08 pm

Funky, man! the old Dano heads earn their own place in history.

Keep us posted, things are looking cool already.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 5:53 pm

while i wait on a bearing guide, i decied to get some other things done as well as a lil bit on the neck.
first, my plans to build a hollow body tele with a completely fretless neck.
it is a poplar body and i will get som spruce to top it with. don;t know about the pups yet,
here is the body so far.

and here is the neck.
its a squire tele neck that i hate, its rosewood on a tele, BLEHHHH!
so i ripped out all of the frets and sanded the crapy finish off.
i am putting maple in the slots and widing them to about 3-4 mms(pretnoticeable) and then putting in blood wood and purple heart at the 3thrd, 5th, 7th and so on.
here is progress, day one.

now here is the current specs of the neck.
i measured the slow i wanted and where i would have the sounturs.It will be a curvey so the countours are prett severe in some places.
first off i marked everything.

then i took it to the table router and had my dirty was with it. i will use this same technique to shave the back of the neck down.

here is the aftermath

then it was on to shaping it some more.
its hard to explain but when its done youll understand.

Post by **Hurb** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 6:15 pm

nice, i might have to try a hollow body now.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 4:35 pm

in the truest sense, its not a hollow body hurb, its just chambered.
with a really hollow body you have to have the wood at some sort of thickness and all this crap and you gotta make kerfing which is a pain

Post by **Hurb** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 4:38 pm

true nuff. its a big waste off wood haha but i think i hollow offset would be kinda kool.

a66jagdream · Post by **a66jagdream** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 9:30 pm

robert(original) wrote: i am putting maple in the slots and widing them to about 3-4 mms(pretnoticeable) and then putting in blood wood and purple heart at the 3thrd, 5th, 7th and so on.

Wow that a cool idea. Great work man!

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 8:56 pm

here is the progress made today with chips neck(dano copy)
i did the slope today(by hand, took forever)
cut the truss slot and drilled the hole for truss access.
currently im woking thefingerboard into the shape i want.
this is the neck without the rod. (sorryt for the shitty pics. i tink it was just sawdust on the lense)

here is the neck with the rod in it.

here is the slope and the access hole.

bassintom · Post by **bassintom** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:51 am

looks good.i would never even attempt to make a neck.

dodgedartdave · Post by **dodgedartdave** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 7:12 am

bassintom wrote:looks good.i would never even attempt to make a neck.

agreed. I've always wanted to but I don't know If I'd ever try it. Looking great! I like your headstock shape too. Very original.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:11 pm

thats why they call me robert original mutha fucka!
actually they don;t i started calling myself that after someone stole my orginal handle at the js. " robert"
i swear to god people if i can do it, you can do it.
the only tool that i use on the neck that i don;t use for anything else(normaly) are the spoke shaves.
everything else is the same.
if you have a router and some time, give it a shot.
im not putting this up just to say.
HEY LOOK WHAT I CAN DO.
im trying to give people ideas about what they can do, if someone sees someonthing i do and has a better idea or route on doing it then thats fantastic.
that piece of maple that ended up being my fretboard and neck costs me a whole 5.37 or so
thas basically a pack of smokes. so messing up is no problem. if its trash, then.
oh well., im out a pack of smokes.
come peoples you can do this shit, i believe in you.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 6:31 am

here is some more progress on the tele and the neck
i don;t konw why i put the tele in this thread but here it shall remain.
this is the block of wood i used to make the top for my tele
i used a crappy lil tooth saw, it took about 2 hours

here it is getting glued, its already cut out with the band saw a bit.

here is where i started to take it down a bit.

this is th f hole template that i made from tracys washburn

for all of the non believers that bass wood has a decen grain , i have this to show you.

its not bad for being basswood, it would not look bad as a natural guitar.
or even a two tone sunburst......

here is what i have done with the neck
i layed the truss rod in, nice n stug,
then i put a layer of tape over the rod and slot on the neck, thten i apply a decent layer of glue.

then i remove the tape and put the fingerboard on.

now i left out alot cuz i had no one to tak pics for me, but basically.
get two small nails, put one at the 3d fret and one at the 12th or so, and put the holes from the nails in the fret slots.
thats so if you ever never extensive work done, the board can be removed failry easily.

this is the beast clamped up

a66jagdream · Post by **a66jagdream** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 7:37 am

Damn, i'd kill tou have your equipment, then maybe i could do this project guitar i drew up about 3 years ago.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 3:41 pm

everything i have except the drum sander was less than 100.00 bucks at menards.
it only took three guitars and a final check from woodys to get all of that shit, except for some of the hand tools i had to borrow money for it.

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 3:55 pm

Nice work! your almost as good as b-sp0t.