Using a caliper to measure final heights

I transferred those measurements to the sides of the guitar neck and then used a straight edge to draw a line the way down.

Setting guidelines for shape of the neck

Then, I shaped a volute using a piece of rubber to mock up a rough shape.

I also drew on the heel using a tape roll as a rough guide. Believe it or not, the approximates the shape of a Les Paul’s heel very well.

Drawing the heel

Then it was time start making dust. I started off by using the spindle sander to rough out the shape of the volute and the depths at the frets from above. That sets up a few locations to work with the spokeshave.

Roughing the shapes with a spindle sander

I clamped the body to the bench, and then using those guidelines for depth, I began working the spokeshave. The basic process is to even out an line in the center of the neck that connects the depths at the three spots I measured. Once that’s done, I started working the sides at a 45-degree angle to cut the depth. (Note: I made sure the lines are straight and even by frequently checking with the edge of the ruler from a combination square.)With this method, I took it down to about 2/32 of an inch from the fingerboard. I then simply used a few files and card scraper to even out the shape into a circle that felt comfortable on the hand.

The spokeshave worked well at initial shaping. Props to Joe for letting me try out his new, low-angle veritas

I then used a 45-degree file to cut an angle on the sides of the frets. This should have been done earlier, when I was fretting the guitar, but I didn’t have the file handy.

Filing the ends of the frets

At this point the neck is basically done. I dry fit again in the body, and worked the heel and volute into shapes that I like.

Dry fit looked good

A quick note on the body: Some of you might notice a thin resurfacing on the top of the body. Ryan has a special planer at home that he used to feather down the top third of the body. It’s a very thin cut, but helps to reveal the fingerboard a little better. It could be done by hand, but it’s easier and cleaner on the machine. Because of this, I needed to re-radius the edges using a router table and 5/8” round over bit. This is a 20-second operation. It also means I’ll need to re-do some pore-filling and sanding.

We’re planning on painting next week, so a lot of the guys who were a little farther along went ahead and glued up their necks up — which had also been pore-filled and sanded. I’ll be doing later this week. Since I probably won’t the chance to take photos, here’s what it will look like:

Applying glue to the pocket

Clamping up

Cutting the fretwire

Next, I clamped the neck to the bench and began hammering the frets in one-by-one, working each fret from the sides toward the middle. Since the fingerboard is ebony, I was careful to avoid chipping out the wood.

Laying out frets

Once that’s done, I checked each fret by sight to make sure they were properly set into the fingerboard. Then I dropped a little CA glue to down the side to ensure a tight fit.

Frets, installed

I used some accelerant on the glue to make sure it was dry, then used flush-trimming pliers to cut down the ends of the fretwire. Once that was done, I used a file on the sides to ensure everything was nice and flush.

Filing the frets ends

Once that process was finished, I routed the neck pocket. This operation involves using a template and a bearing-guided template bit to cut a mortise for the neck. In essence, the pocket is akin to a sliding dovetail in that it tapers slightly at the top to keep the neck in place.

The template, customized for this neck

I worked with Ryan to build a template, which was basically a chunk of plywood that we taped to the body. The only key part here is that it aligns with the center of the guitar — which we had already marked off — and that it’s set in far enough so that the bottom of the fret board is just inside the body.

Lining up the template

Once that was done, and the template taped in place, I used the router to mill out the pocket. It’s a fairly straightforward operation, although I needed to swap out the bit for a longer one to get far enough in to the body.

The neck pocket, completed

Finally, I test-fitted the neck. I’ll probably have to clean up the pocket and bottom of the neck a little, but it’s really starting to come together.

Test fit: finally looking like a guitar

Next week, I’ll start carving the neck. Should be lots of fun — check back next Friday for more details!

For a photo history in progress, check out my Flickr page

I spent a good deal of time yesterday evening adding and setting up my router table.

Here’s what I added:

— Bench Dog Router Table Extension, 40-102 ($299, see reviews here and here)
— Rockler Router Lift FX ($199)

Here’s where I put it:

— Delta Contractor’s saw (1990)

Here’s what I did:

1. Using a scotch brite pads, steel wool, very fine grit sandpaper and a Boeshield kit , I treated and cleaned up the surface of the saw. Although it’s barely been used (I know this because I built it with my uncle in 1991, and it’s been in my family ever since) the saw’s surface had some rust, stains, imperfections and a few pitted areas. I spent about 90 minutes working the surface until it was largely clean, smooth and the rust was gone. Rust was the biggest concern, since I was attaching two metal surfaces. I used WD40 and T9 to treat the sides and bolt holes. It worked pretty well.

2. Using 2×4s and a Husky X-Sawhorse, I balanced the extension table and lined up the bolts. This was nice because the table weighs about 50 pounds, and in most cases it suggests using a friend. No one was home, but I was able to do it myself. Once in, the bolts went smoothly, aside from one flaw…

TAKE NOTE: Make sure the tall end of the heavy duty washers points down! It wasn’t specified in the directions, but when they were up, it caused alignment problems — as well as disassembly, reassembly and requisite curse words.

3. Once that was done, it looked good. I spent a few minutes aligning it flush with the table top, which was a lot easier than I expected. This is a fairly crucial step, I feel, so I wanted to make sure it was flush as possible.

4. I dropped in the Rockler Router Lift Fx and it fit nicely. I adjusted the depth using the 10 Bench Dog leveling screws. It was a little cumbersome but soon it, too, was flush.

5. I threw together the fence, and it was all finished. I am looking forward to trying it out.

I think my next steps are to add hookups for a dust collection system and then a Delta T2 fence. I just don’t trust the tube style fences that are on there now, and I think it would help ease some of my fears of kickback.

Eventually I also want to add a downdraft table as an extension on the other side, as well as some shelving. But those are projects for another day.

Plus, I estimated that buying the wood, laminate, adhesives and other parts would be about $80 to $100, possibly more, and I wouldn’t have anything but a time consuming project to deal with. Plus, since my garage shop is not heated and I often work outside, I was worried that seasonal movement of a wood/laminate top would be really frustrating for the relative cost. I think this was a good choice and am pretty sure I’ll be happy with it.

I’ll be using it with the Router Lift FX from Rockler, which I ordered last month. I had a 20% off coupon so it cost me $160 — not too bad.

I will be outfitting it with the Bosch 1617, which I hot as a Christmas gift.

In all, the whole package will end up costing me $409 for a router table, fence and lift. And since the saw is already equipped with a mobile base, I think it will be very versatile.

Last week, I finished installing fretmarkers on the neck, which was built out of solid mahogany with an African ebony fingerboard.

Complete pictures of the guitar in progress, from start to current, can be found on Flickr.