Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on November 25, 2014 at 2:15pm

I rarely do scarf joints/angled head stocks any more. I make my necks in a bolt-on style, like seen on regular electric guitars. So my go-to tools for neck building are a router for thinning the head, a band saw to cut the tapering sides of the length of the neck, a palm sander, and drill press for the tuning peg holes.

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Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on December 1, 2014 at 8:45am

Now if you really want to go powerless, absolutely no power tools at all, may I suggest a new invention I'm working on. It's definitely a Canadian-themed tool that I believe every shop should have.

Get yourself a good hockey stick, not those high priced carbon wrapped deals, just a good strong wooden laminate will do fine. Grab a roll of duct tape and go out and find a beaver pond....yep, you need a beaver. Grab that little bugger and duct tape his furry behind to the end of the hockey stick.

Now you got yourself a genuine Canadian buzz saw that will chisel the bajeezus outta any piece of wood you put in front of it. You can shape necks, cut out pickups holes, neck slots, all that stuff.

Taking orders for Christmas...only $49.99 plus shipping

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Permalink Reply by Vinylhed on November 25, 2014 at 2:23pm

I recently bought myself a Japanese pull saw. It has two sides, one blade for rough cuts and a second for finer work. It's been great  for the various jobs needed on the neck, especially for the scarfing.

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Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on November 26, 2014 at 10:48am

A jig saw is the one power tool I would not want to live without, well that and a sander! A jig saw can to most of the cutting needed for cbgs. Box openings for necks, sound holes, that relief cut under the soundboard, scroll headstocks, scarf joints(not very good for that but can be done). I use mine a lot. You can also make some major screwups fast with one so be careful!

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Permalink Reply by Jon Leslie/Runaway Veal Music on November 27, 2014 at 6:45am

Would love to see the jigsaw in action on a video sometime (making a neck that is) and a hand router video making/shaping the neck...
Thank for all these replies.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Thompson on November 26, 2014 at 11:09am

I love my restored band saw! It can do sooo much. Power miter saw and table saw make production more efficient. Belt sander speeds up shaping and prepping for hand sanding. Drill press with hand drill are a great combo, too. I put it all to use. Hand sanding to get that finished surface is very satisfying. I like to do the real tight accurate stuff with hand tools.

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Permalink Reply by Reeds Taylor on November 26, 2014 at 1:29pm

All my necks are done by hand.....I use a wood rasp and a file for shaping it all....then a heavy sanding followed by a fine sanding. I don't do scarf joints..for me it's the best part of the build.

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Permalink Reply by Christopher Lee dixon on November 26, 2014 at 3:37pm

I built my first one by hand using a small hobby miterbox/saw and an old wood chisel. Then I found a great deal on a band saw,planer and a table saw for 100.00.....I used the planer to rip down an oak pallet stringer for a future project....funny thing is I recently bought a Lowes brand Blue Hawk plunge router table combo. Now I can use a 1/2 router bit to notch the neck for the box and recess the headstock in just a few minutes.  Just take small amounts of at a time. I make a starting and ending pencil mark to start and stop at and then cut the remaining wood with a coping saw.  I know its not the old fashioned way but I still sand and finish by hand. Just being able to dry fit a complete build before staining or fretting in one afternoon makes the 79.99 + 49.00 router bit kit worth it. Soon I am going to try to round the back of the neck with the router. The router replaced all the other tools I bought....lol.. I would suggest to any CBG builder to invest in a small table router combo....its worth its weight in gold,

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Permalink Reply by John Caputo on November 26, 2014 at 5:07pm

I do all my work after the kids go to bed, so being quiet is really important.  It also means I'm pretty much beat at that point.  All I can run is the drill press; lest I wake the boys.  That being said, I really like the approach of gluing on a fingerboard instead of carving the neck under the lid.  You get a bit more strength from the neck, and you don't have to go crazy with a saw.   A few quick cuts with a power mitre saw and your neck is in shape.

The downside is you add on build time waiting for glue to dry.  I don't mind the added thickness; but then again I play a Les Paul.  Baseball bats feel like home.

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Permalink Reply by john mackay on November 26, 2014 at 11:41pm

I wouldn't bother with a jigsaw jon.

I have a matabo jigsaw with all the fancy stuff built in like clutch etc. it was an expensive one to costing me £124 in 1980 or there about.any thing thicker than 1/2" the blade start to wonder.

OK the jigsaw was intended for cutting steel but will also cut wood.

like the lads on here say get a band saw or do it by hand.

I did and still do use a hand saw even though I do have a 2hp bench saw.

if you do buy a jigsaw jon you can use it to make a fret saw.I did put a post up on here on how to make it(it wasn't my idea though but a good one if you already have the tools.

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Permalink Reply by Jon Leslie/Runaway Veal Music on November 27, 2014 at 7:09am

Yeah I've chiseled the neck recess to create a break for the strings...no scarf joint or anything. Same with the neck groove for the box lid to close. Coping saw cuts/chisel and sanding....I must say hard by hand...I'd rather use an electric tool then fine sand by hand

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Permalink Reply by Jon Leslie/Runaway Veal Music on November 27, 2014 at 10:21am

Exactly!!! Wayfinder happy thankgiving...and everyone ...in the future if you get a chance and you can show a pic of how you use the tools for this ..I'd be grateful. I don't have power tools at this point so no rush at all. Never used a hand router , jigsaw or bandsaw...if it's too much trouble to film no worries ...I'm sure I'll end up practicing on scap for sure...

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