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poplar seems a little soft for fretboard. I haven't used it, staying with oak, maple, cherry and "speciality woods" if the build calls for it. When I was first building, I used some mahogany and had some "fails". don't know if it was the wood or the builder.. ;-) That you are hand cutting means any "wobble" when you're sawing could result in a wide fret groove.
I haven't had any problems with poplar as a fretboard or neck and it works well when using hand tools.
Last 4 string build photo I posted has a natural finish poplar fretboard that came out looking like walnut.
Jon, have a look at this. This is the neck design I use for all my builds now, using a single 1x2" for the neck and 1/4" piece for the fretboard:
So you start off with something like this:
The top 2 are for 4 strings and the bottom is a 3 string. Only difference is the width - you need a slightly wider neck for a 4 string. With this design the majority of the neck running through the box is well below the box lid, so you don't need to sacrifice neck strength by making a recess. You do need to chisel a little material away from the end of the upper part of the neck to allow for the lid to close.
With regards to cutting the box - I measure the neck at the point it's going to enter the box (the heel) and allow for 1/4" to sit above the box lid. Use tape to cover the area you're going to cut, and measure carefully using a carpenter's square. I use a Ryoba (Japanese backsaw) to cut down, then a coping saw for the horizontal cut. Don't go all the way to the line - keep it there for reference and use a chisel for fine adjustments. Check the neck sits squarely in the hole before doing anything else. Use the same principle if you want the fretboard to overlap the box slightly.
Another thing you might want to consider is back angle, especially if you're making a fretted instrument. You can achieve this by making the block for the neck to rest on at the back of the guitar a little taller than the one at the front. This allows for a higher bridge, so more clearance for the strings over the lid, and it keeps the action nice and low, like this:
Not a problem. I just realised I said to you a chisel for fine adjustment to the cut on the box. I meant a file!
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