Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mungo Park on December 8, 2011 at 6:20pm

On your next set of necks try putting a thin strip down the middle of the neck, rip the neck length wise and glue it back up with a 1/4' strip in the middle. This will add some extra a strength. Some will reverse the outside pieces to ad to stability.

  Cheers Ron.

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte Henry on December 13, 2011 at 4:41pm

I've got the basic peghead shape I want and have only 2 that needed overlays. Just one neck is getting a no frills peghead (far right). I slotted all the fretboards by hand and after six consecutive fretboards I think I would really like to use the table saw for slotting at some point in the future.  Next is cutting position markers and inlaying them and then fretting.   This is more work than it looks like.

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Permalink Reply by Clock The Wolf on December 13, 2011 at 7:02pm

   "This is more work than it looks like."  ( ?!?!?!?! )

   Looks like plenty o' work to me !

   Just keep repeating :  this is fun ,  this is good for me ,  I'm enjoying this ,  this was a good idea ...

   Avoid gibbering quietly to yourself at odd hours instead of sleeping ,  remember that the human body needs food and water to survive,  and refrain from tearing apart restaurant chairs to get at  "perfectly good neck wood going to waste."

   Have fun!

   

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on December 13, 2011 at 7:32pm

Charlotte,

 

To echo Clockwork somewhat, but in a different way:

 

Maybe it looks like a lot of work because you're doing 5 necks at once, as a newbie. Just take one of those all the way to completion. Learn from that one, and apply what you learned to the next one. Play the result for awhile, in between doing stuff on the other 4. Pace yourself (unless you're trying to get all 5 done before Christmas as gifts). I watch my wife go through the same stress pattern every year as a veteran quilter, who is trying to get 5 or 6 major quilts with different designs done just before we go home for Christmas (she finished the last one last night).

 

I suffer from the same burst of mental creativity when thinking about CBG designs (hey! let's try mag pups on that one, internal bracing on this one, 3 strings for Aunty Sue, 4 strings with walnut fretboard for Uncle Joe, etc.), then realize that each one requires the same level of work commitment, but sometimes in different aspects of the design, and all of them have been started at the same time. Which makes the whole mess look somewhat overwhelming. Finish one. Then do the next one. Tweak each one, because each one will be different. You won't be able to control yourself ;-).

 

I completely understand the allure of using kewl tools to speed up the process, and making an assembly line out of it. Just tell yourself, "Today, I'm building a go-kart. Tomorrow, a Volkswagen Beetle. Next week, I'm gonna try to build a Ferrari. But, for today, I'm gonna build a go-kart. And I'm OK with that."

 

Maybe blog each build as you go?

 

Good luck!

 

Oily

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte Henry on December 17, 2011 at 2:52am

Well, I decided that 6 is just too many to do at one time and be able to enjoy the process, so I pulled back to work on just 3 for right now, however I slotted one more fretboard and did position dots on it and 3 others.  I just wanted to have one more fretboard waiting on me when I get through with the first three.  I thought you guys might be interested in my position markers.  I used a 1/4 inch forstner bit to drill the flat bottom holes in the fretboards and then filled the holes with mahogany colored epoxy putty. You can see what the putty looks like, sort of like a tootsie roll.  I used a single edge razor blade as a spatula  when leveling it, but leaving it somewhat proud in the hole. It helps to wet the razor blade with denatured alcohol when using it as a spatula on the epoxy putty and it cleans the razor blade very well too. After the epoxy hardens I cleaned up with a sanding block with 150 and then 220 grit paper. The first picture shows one I had just finished fretting.  I had carried fretwire with me to the shop today and did this one board and stopped because I want to run the fret wire through my fret bender before I fret the other boards. I feel the ends stay down better if the wire has been bent.

I found the curly maple at home depot and this was an 11 foot long 1X2 with curl for the entire 11 feet.  Stroke of luck and I thought it would make some really pretty fretboards.

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Permalink Reply by MichaelS Country Boy Guitars on December 17, 2011 at 9:19am

Nice work and keep the photo journal coming but stay away from that Stew Mac catalog, a person could go broke with one of those.

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte Henry on December 22, 2011 at 1:50am

Worked all day and from 6:15 til 11:00 I worked on these cbg's.  What I got done tonight was #1. drilled the stepped holes for the tuners in 5 necks. #2. used table router to recess the area under the lid that I don't want touching on the 3 that I'm trying to finish first.  I positioned the necks in the boxes and marked every important position.  #3. Glued reinforcement under the routed area to maintain consistent strength.  #4 shaped the back of the necks and sanded to 100 grit.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Breen on February 6, 2012 at 5:17pm

Charlotte:

When you are using 1x2 and you do your scarf joint what is your method of getting the head down to the right size for the tuners to reach through. great work you are very talented.

Thanks

Mike

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte Henry on February 7, 2012 at 1:49am

Mike, Thanks for the compliment. I put a fence on the band saw and put the faceplate against the fence and slice the back off down to the widest part of the wings and then let the rasp extend the neck until I meet the saw kerf. I think an easier method that will yield prettier results is to use a Safe-T-Planer and I am thinking that would allow making a neck with the Martin style diamond where the peghead meets the neck.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Planes/Wagner_Safe-T-Planer.html

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte Henry on December 25, 2011 at 10:45am

Well, first off, Merry Christmas and happy new year to everyone here. I'm happy to say that I completed 3 guitars in time for giving them as presents for Christmas.  It was close, but I got them finished.  I have a few observations from these first three that I'll pass along.  I used a 13 degree scarf joint and I think the angle is too shallow because there isn't sufficient down angle coming off the nut to suit me. Next build will have a 15 degree scarf. These things sound better acoustically than I would have thought and the things I bought from CB Gitty were perfect, inexpensive and got here fast. This was a very rewarding project and I can't wait to make the 4th.  Here are some photos of the finished guitars.

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Permalink Reply by Clock The Wolf on December 25, 2011 at 3:45pm

   You can also increase the strings down angle with string trees/retainers.

   They can be made to look very elegant. Anything from a metal bracket

   going all the way across the headstock and parallel to the nut, a simple

   screw, to something professionally purposed to the task (as featured in

   the dreaded Stew-Mac catalog).

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Permalink Reply by blufloyd on December 25, 2011 at 4:13pm

Pretty sweet.  And your just up the road if I need help.   I'll note the 15 deg angle. Need a cabinet grade blade for the power miter saw. Looks like I need a workbench too.

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