I was somewhat inspired by lapdawgs fretboard radius jigs that I decided to try design something similar. Here is a picture of a preliminary design:


How it would work, is a frame will be attached to the rod in the middle, with the radius being the difference to the top. Then a router can be run across it on top using a guide. Any thoughts/suggestions? Like I mentioned previously, I don't mind sanding with a radius block for 999999 hours on that ebony, but I don't have a radius block at hand ?

Another curious question, is at the heel of the body, I was planning to do a small contoured heel effect. Not really sure how the neck mounts with this though seeing as a neck plate won't really work?

This design of yours looks an awful lot like the Proulx one, Eujean. Better a good Google than a poor original.

Gearhead wrote: This design of yours looks an awful lot like the Proulx one, Eujean. Better a good Google than a poor original.

Never thought about using this to do a compound radius.

This whole design seems like overkill for a first neck in any case, so I was wondering if anyone has a 12" radius block in the Pretoria area I could borrow for a weekend?

Also, some progress was made with the headstock now being thicknessed and the fretboard cut to shape, pics to follow soon.

I'm a bit curious about the order in which to do things now, because on tdpri I'm finding mixed emotions about this. Do I first radius the fretboard, then fret it and install the binding, and after the fretboard is complete glue it to the neck? Or do I have the order completely wrong?

I reckon fretting a board puts tho top of it in a fair bit of tension, so it won't stay straight - depending on this and that. There's not that many drawbacks of gluing first; this does not restrict access for tools etc so rather put it together first.

Gearhead wrote: I reckon fretting a board puts tho top of it in a fair bit of tension, so it won't stay straight - depending on this and that. There's not that many drawbacks of gluing first; this does not restrict access for tools etc so rather put it together first.

I'm by no means a master luthier, but I've built 2 necks with no tension problems as follows...
1. dimension fretboard
2. cut fret slots
3. glue onto neck, trim edges, etc.
4. radius (I've done this by eye/feel, super-sharp plane and scraper, and lots of patience. A router & jig may be more accurate, but a handjob (sorry) allows you to taper the radius as you please)
5. tap in fretwire, file, crown etc.

Fretting the fretbord off the neck can tend to bow the fretboard (esp if your slots are fractionally too narrow - which is preferable to slots too wide) and then make gluing onto the neck more difficult.. and at this point there is no room for error)

Re fretting first or later, I am not going to offer a different opinion here - that won't help you.
You need to to read, take advice & think it through to come up your own solution. The latter being the most important.

2 things you might consider though:
- If you get your fret slot the right width (and no deeper than required), there should be no curling on the fret board (or curling force if its fitted) and the frets shouldn't come lose. If you have a few fret and fret board offcuts, then might be a good idea to practice first - and find out how to get that sweetspot width.

- If you are accurate you are now, you will be able to move into your setup with more confidence & get that done more easily. I suggest getting hold of a precision straight edge and measuring your level at every step. Things like uneven glue spread when attaching the board and even cause issues.

lapdawg wrote: You need to to read, take advice & think it through to come up your own solution. The latter being the most important.

Exactle !

Greetings, sorry for the recent silence, but was busy with exams and such. In any case I've made quite a bit of progress on the neck. Not quite finished, but here are two pictures of how things look at the moment (There is currently only binding on the one side):

The light doesn't make everything quite clear, here is a close-up:


Now as you might see, I'm not quite sure on what to do with the binding. I know most Gibsons have the binding even with the fretboard except at the frets, where they are level with the frets creating "nibs" sort of. Not really sure exactly what other options there are available? Not like there are many fenders with bound necks haha.

Also, I'm considering ordering from stew-mac soon, so if anyone want to get involved or has something similar happening let me know ?

So I had a bit of time on my hands, but didn't have the opportunity to continue yet, so I drew a rough draft of what I expect it all to look like when done. This is still far off, and my mind is not 100% made up about the finish. Also the colours on the picture look weird, mostly because I simply grabbed pictures of parts from the internet haha..



I used a program called GIMP to do it all

Eujean wrote: So I had a bit of time on my hands, but didn't have the opportunity to continue yet, so I drew a rough draft of what I expect it all to look like when done. This is still far off, and my mind is not 100% made up about the finish. Also the colours on the picture look weird, mostly because I simply grabbed pictures of parts from the internet haha..



I used a program called GIMP to do it all

There's an online program that you can use to make a guitar mockup.

...time passes...

Here: http://www.usacustomguitars.com/virtual-guitars/

Eujean wrote: Quick question now with regards to the body binding. How on earth am I supposed to get it to take the shape of the guitar? I heated it up with boiling water and tried to pre-bend it, but it just laughed at me. Is it possible to cut the binding and do it in sections? For example at the horn, I think it will be near impossible to bend the binding around the horn without breaking it.
I could always mend the pieces where they come together by melting some spare plastic in acetone. That seemed to work very well for the neck binding..

Any thoughts?

There are 2 options that I have used - both with success.
1) heat gently and very carefully with a hot air gun. Be patient, don't overdo it. Do sections at a time & tape it onto the body to cool - bit by bit. When done then you can start the gluing & re-taping again bit by bit.
2. ) soak the binding in a mix of acetone / water. About 60/40 if I recall. Experiment to get the right mix. This softens the binding. You can then tape it in place and leave it for 24 hours to "set".

Quick update, the binding is mostly done, just have to finish scraping the horn then I'm done.. Will post pics later.

Now I have another question regarding the tuners to use. I was initially looking to order a set of Sperzels from stewmac, but have since changed my mind due to a few reviews and the exchange rate etc. Now I know a guy who has a set of silver Schallers, but I'm not sure whether it will work with all the other black hardware. The headstock won't be painted or anything, so dunno if it'll work. Any opinions on this?

My other option is a much more affordable set of Mighty Mites which are black, but not locking. I don't really know if I need locking tuners, but I don't want to hold back and regret it later if that makes sense. So is it really worth looking for locking tuners?

I found locking tuners really nice initially as they made changing strings much easier for me.

However, as soon as my learned friends smacked me on the head a few times & taught me how to change strings properly I found it just as easy with non-locking tuners.

I also suspect that locking tuners are usually heavier.

Finally some progress has been made.

I have basically completed the neck, pics to follow shortly after exams.. But my question now relates to finishing of the neck. How and where can I get supplies. I want to avoid doing a quickie spray can job, as I've spent quite a bit of time on this and don't want to under-do things. But on the other hand I also don't want to splash out and get an entire professional spray booth setup going.

The body is also just about complete, just a ton of sanding and preparation to still be done.

Any suggestions on the finishing supplies?

I've just finished a bass neck in Danish oil- 8 or so coats over the course ofa few weeks- and I love the feel. Might not be great if you're going with a maple board, but if the board is rosewood and you jsut need a bit of protection on the neck, Danish oil feels great and is easy to apply

I was considering to use oil, but not quite sure how I would put a decal on with the oil..

Eujean wrote: I was considering to use oil, but not quite sure how I would put a decal on with the oil..

I'm considering laser-engraving my headstock instead of a decal, but there's some discussion here: http://www.tdpri.com/threads/applying-decals-to-oil-finished-headstock.326088/

Here are those pics I promised.

Ended up doing the neck in Tru oil. Came out rather nice, few slight imperfections here and there, but overall I'm happy.






Now onto finishing the body. Still not 100% sure on how to do it though. Because I have mahogany, the grain isn't really exciting and I had a bit of tearout, so I am going for an opaque burst(See pic above). Any suggestions on how to accomplish this?