Wow.. Amazing Noah....

And you made the neck? Serious? Id like to see that process...

Great work..

I didn't bother to take pics of the neck this time but this is the process from a LP Junior I made.

I also made the Broadcaster neck I posted but the bolt on necks are a little different to make.

Also -

DP asked me to show how to carve out a top.

Here it is step by step (sorry I didn't post these sooner!)

1- Use a square and a pencil and mark in about an inch or so



2- Set your router for about 1/8" and route out the part outside your line:



3- Mark about 1/2" in and set your router and route outside that line:



4- Use some course sandpaper and straighten out the ledge. This can be done quickly using an ORBITAL (not back and forth) sander. I use a DeWalt.



5- do the same thing on the lower ledge:



6- Then just go with a fine grade and finish it up. Once it's all done you'll want to sand it down to 2000 to remove any scratches in the wood - which will show up once it's finished.

Very nice Noah.

Also nice shop tools. There are times I could really use a serious band saw and not the cheap bench mount type I have.

I guessing tinted lacquer spray finish for the top?

Thanks Noah- that's awesome!!

Noah,
Thanks again. Great photo's of the step by step process - really removes a lot of the mystery. Nice job!

Thanks Noah...

So how many necks did you have to build before you got it work right.. is there a formula for fret placement?

To be honest, it's not all that hard.

I remember someone telling me how difficult it must be to make a neck, I tried and it came out ok.

What I try to do when I approach something like that is step back and look at it in simple terms.

You have a straight piece of wood with a channel in the middle on center.

First, I joint and plane a piece of wood that is the right size.

Next, on the top I mark a center line. I also use a square and make a line on each side of the blank where the nut goes.

After that, I measure and mark where the truss rod will end (at the heel in this case) on the top so I know where to stop the router.

Then I take a protractor and on the sides I mark where the headstock angle will be.

Next, I clamp down the neck and route a straight line (using a guide for the router - 10.00 @ Sears) for the truss rod.

Next, I use a my bandsaw to rough out the shape of the neck - as I showed in the pics.

After that, it's just sanding and working to feel to get the profile 'right'. If you're a guitar player, this part is awesome because you can really fine tune to get exactly the profile you want.

Next, I take the fretboard and trim it to a close size of the neck. Once that is done I usually sand to get everything perfect.

Then I just fret it like you would any other neck.

I spend a lot of time on the frets and also on the tenon to make sure the details are right.

Also, you just glue the wings on the sides of your headstock. Cut them out on the bandsaw before you glue.

BTW - I use a $100 router table/router combo from Sears and a $130 bandsaw from Sears - so the tools are not very expensive.

I do have some nice stuff - I have the $500 JET spindle sander that was a gift but it's overkill - and I love it lol!

Here is where I am now.

I am trying to decide if I should add a toggle switch and have coil splitting on there or series/parallel of the coils.

This is what that would look like.

Most likely I'll leave as is.

Have a signature guitar that was all hand made. Similar... The guitar maker is Songhurst guitars.
Here is the Ear Witness model

ehhh I saw the JET markings and the spindle sander and the Delta Table saw so I thought you got to have a JET band saw. Very cool that the Sears band saw works (is a portable bench type?)

Question, do you spray finish the top? (tinted lacquer or Nitrous ... can't spell)


Thanks for posting this Noah.

Rich