Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Clark Rowden on September 22, 2015 at 8:15am

I made a "profile sanding block" once, I didn't like it much.

The way I did it though was to take some PVC pipe, cut it in half then put in boiling water to soften it up. Then, I clamped it to my profile using pipe clamps until it cooled. You'll need some welding gloves to handle the hot pipe if you do it this way...

If you do make a profile sanding block, I suggest that you make it short - 3.5 > 4 inches and flare the ends where it will run into the headstock and heel.

I now just use cut up belt sander belts (cheap @ Harbor Freight) the same way Richy Kay does in his video:

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/shaping-a-3-string-cigar-box-gu...

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Permalink Reply by Steve Robbins on September 22, 2015 at 1:07pm

I have been experimenting with making neck sanding blocks with my laser cutter. I first use my table top sander to make the basic curve on the back of the neck... ( yes... a lot of dust )  then I use the sanding block of my choice to fine tune the shape of the back of the neck.

I can attach a 120 grit sanding disc, with an adhesive backing, to the sanding block... then progressively fine sand it as needed.  I have (so far) made two shapes of sanding blocks... more to come. 

So far its working great... I must admit that I got this idea from another website.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on September 22, 2015 at 5:50pm

Those look great.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Robbins on September 22, 2015 at 1:28pm

Here is another pick of the sanding block with a cut adhesive backed sanding disc attached.

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Permalink Reply by Blues Frog on September 22, 2015 at 3:43pm

Generally I have been using a flat rasp file to break down the edges and then just sandpaper to smooth the round out.

Most of my necks have been red oak, so I have kept it simple to keep the sanding to a minimum, but I haven't ventured out to different techniques yet

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on September 22, 2015 at 7:17pm

Here's the video I made of me shaping a neck (thanks for the mention Jim!)

I use a spokeshave, 14 & 28tpi rasps, cross-cut file and 60grit fabric-backed sandpaper to shape mine. I've got this process down to about 20 minutes (don't worry, the video is at double speed!)

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Permalink Reply by Ken on September 24, 2015 at 10:42am

Richey what sort of wood do you use for the neck? What size do you start with?

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on September 24, 2015 at 6:19pm

Hey Ken. I use quarter sawn English oak for my necks. Depends on how many strings I am going for, but for a 3 string I would use 35x20mm, which I taper to 24mm at the nut. For a 4 string I use 42x20mm, tapering to 30mm.

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Permalink Reply by Ken on September 25, 2015 at 9:04am

Thank you Richey

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Permalink Reply by uncle Lou on September 23, 2015 at 2:40am

I use a spokeshave like this one. keep it sharp and it takes no time to round a neck out.   

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on September 24, 2015 at 2:17am

If i'm just making a simple c b g,i just run a roundover bit at about 1/2 set to make it feel ok.If i'm tapering/shaping on hardwood,the sureform just doesn't cut it,so a good rasp to remove mass,then a spokeshave and sanding to finish,a quality rasp leaves little hard work to finish

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Permalink Reply by Goldsmithexile on September 24, 2015 at 7:33am

I use elbow adzes if the wood is relatively clear grained. I used quite a few pieces of ikea laminated beech table top, the grain goes every which way, the adzes arent so good on that. In which case I use a saw (panel saw with a narrow toe that can do radiuses) To refine the form I use my own self made knives to do the volutes, radiuses etc. I use cabinet rasps/fine spokeshave/cabinet scraper/60/120/240 grit to get a fine finish, also sometimes burnish the wood

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