carving the neck

 I consider this one of the hardest parts of a build.  I tend to end up with a neck that is too thick after I add the fretboard.  But thinning it down without the fretboard it seems SO thin!  It's a balancing act.

Since I'm planning on steel strings for this build strength may be an issue.  String tension should be 10-12 pounds per string, so a five string will be about 50 lbs of pull.

Carving the neck I used a combination of tools.  First I tried a rasp but decided I should go Dremel 1st.

Using the Dremel with a small rasp bit made quick work of things.  I was interesting how the plywood layers could be used to help keep the shape even.  I put a center line on the neck and then just worked the left/right sides down and toward the center line using the layers like a topographic map to keep things even.

On the 1st pic here I used a jointer to get the front of the headstock flat, since the band saw got it close but left it a bit wavy.

Kind of cool seeing all the layers.  While I'll put a face on the front of the headstock I'm thinking about leaving the back like this so you can see the layers.  It will be stained though (amber or black).

Using the Dremel also left the surface less than smooth.  Using a micro plane rasp worked great to get things smoothed out and nice straight lines to the neck.

I routed slots for 2 - 1/4" carbon fiber rods that will be epoxied into the neck to strengthen and keep it absolutely straight.

I'm liking the progress so far.  After the epoxy it may be time to work on the front and back plates!

Brian