Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tom T on October 24, 2014 at 8:48am

Wow!

Amazing that you responded so quickly and with a drawing no less.......

I really appreciate your help with this. The drawing looks just like some CBGs I've seen on line. I'm currently working on a neck and can easily make the gap with my table saw.

Thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by Groucho on October 24, 2014 at 9:29am

Once I started notching out a space between the neck and the box, my guitars started sounding 100% better.

I'm power tool deficient, so it's a hammer and chisel for me. 

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on October 24, 2014 at 10:04am

The secret to good chisel work is extremely sharp chisels. Sharpening them is a bit of a black art, like sharpening knives, but a really sharp chisel makes wood work a joy.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on October 24, 2014 at 9:58am

That makes too much sense. Look forward to giving it a try.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on October 24, 2014 at 9:53am

just take the little square of cedar that you cut out of the box... (to make entry for neck )

cut it in half..

and use those 2 shims fore and aft...

simple

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on October 24, 2014 at 10:01am

That's easy enough to do, but wouldn't it lower the height of the fret board versus the top of the box? Would it matter?

TT

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on October 24, 2014 at 10:14am

If nothing else, I'm getting a good education in shop techniques on this forum.Some of the solutions are very good and a lot simpler than what I thought up.

T

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on October 24, 2014 at 9:59am

Here's a pic of one of my necks ready to be inserted into the box.

By stacking the neck this way the through portion of the neck floats in the middle of the box leaving an approx. 3/4" gap from the top, sufficient for good acoustic play or the insertion of a standard depth mag pup.

The ends of both the top and bottom are 87 degrees giving a 3 degree back angle to the neck when screwed into the box.

This way is a little easier than cutting or chiseling a relief plus it is a stronger neck. I only overlap the top and bottom pieces by 1 1/2" but with proper glue up the joint won't fail.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on October 24, 2014 at 10:10am

Beautiful piece of work.

So, does the lower section lay on the bottom of the box and attached to the bottom?

Thanks for the photo. Always works better than words.

TT

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on October 24, 2014 at 10:24am

Most cigar boxes are  1 1/2" to 2 " deep so the neck doesn't touch top or bottom.

I tend to use a floating bridge with a tailpiece.

One screw holds the tailpiece to the end of the neck and the neck into the box.

I use a plate of thin metal where the neck enters the box to add rigidity and prevent the neck from moving vertically.

String pull is directed primarily along the length of the neck. There is very little bending of the neck and the box essentially receives only down pressure from the bridge.

When using a poplar neck as shown in the photo the result is a light weight instrument that is well balanced and has good sustain.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on October 24, 2014 at 10:11am

Quick question. You mention "proper" glue. What are you using?

Thanks

TT

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on October 24, 2014 at 10:40am

..."proper glue up"... ;-) 

The glue brand isn't so critical as I've never had any modern wood glue fail though I prefer Titebond II and Elmer's Max because of the working characteristics.

A proper glue up is attained through surface prep and clamping.

The Phyrgian Kid's style necks from the other thread are really good if building a 4 to 6 string because the extra wood in the through part helps balances the tuners.

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