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- It is just a bit of added effort to make a 3 piece back, but the rewards are worth it.
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- This mold is a slightly different body shape than the one for this guitar, but it starts to make me excited to envision the guitar.
3 piece back for an 8 string guitar
Carving the neck: steps and pictures
This is a a guitar built for my own preference. A shorter scalelength, simple themes.
And the neck profile that I like best, with a taper down to a not too thin first position location.
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- Thicknessed. 22.5mm thick at first fret. 25 at 9th. Before carving the profile, it is very flat.
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- Ready to start carving The tools are next to the guitar
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- Here is the template and the neck after just a few strokes with the drawknife.
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- Another view of the template on the neck, with pencil marks where the template touches wood. That area goes away.
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- After a bit more carving, and the template gets closer to a fit
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- Let’s lay out the lines for the relieve of the volute on the head/neck .
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- Carve to the line, transition between surfaces
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- The perfect fit.
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- Big picture
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- You have to look in different lighting from different angles to make sure it’s right
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- Another angle
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- Another lighting
Guitar for Larry
This gallery contains 17 photos.
I have been working on this guitar for a long time! It is worthy of some good pictures, so I put together a gallery. I’ll try to get some sounds together. It sounds like Segovia recordings (without Segovia). Here is … Continue reading
Center Back Inserts
This gallery contains 5 photos.
From time to time I’d like to use a set that is too small. I could add “wings to the edge of the set, but I like adding a contrasting center strip, or wedge insert to the back. Here are … Continue reading
Locating and Gluing a Bridge
This gallery contains 18 photos.
If I get the picture in order, everything should be clear…. but feel free to comment or ask questions.
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Miscellaneous and etc.
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- Neck is shaped, Volute too.
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- Fits perfect.
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- The case. Hiscox Liteflite Artist.
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The Scarf Joint
Has nothing to do with neckwear fashion. The scarf joint is a simpler way to join the head to the neck, than the V joint. The neck stock is cut at an angle, between 10 and 15 degrees, then one piece is flipped and glued to the other. Below, you can see the head piece ready to glue to the neck.
Below, two necks trimmed for the scarf joint. One has glue and has the pieces positioned ready to cramp.
put em togedder
When the pieces are roughly aligned, the cramp is added and the pieces can be jammed in.
Cramp on scarf
The cramp is the perfect size for the scarf joint, leaving the gluey oozey edges clear of the cramp. The gap in the cramp is the thickness of the head without rosewood lamination.
cramp clamp
joint and cramp
The cramp determines the thickness. The thicker part to the left will be planed away.
The cramp determines the thickness. The thicker part to the left will be planed away.
Below: planing for thickness of head
planing for thickness of head
during planing
Below: The side is planed square. See the joint quality.
plane the side
2 necks
The scarf joint, properly done is a really strong joint, a great (humble) alternative to the V joint.
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The V Joint
A V joint
The V Joint. It’s a sort of show-off joint. It adds time to the construction of the guitar for sure. The alternative scarf joint is certainly easier and quicker. However, the V Joint is, well… sexier, and challenging.
Everything needs to be planned. The V has to fit, the shoulders must touch, the angle for the head needs to be set. It starts with the angle of the head. Here are a couple necks with a 10 degree angle.
Then, a centerline is drawn.
Next the V is drawn on the slant, centered of course on the centerline.
The places where the joint will be are marked with pencil and then knife.
Then rough cut near to the line with a saw. Trimming to the line will be done with files, chisels, and knifes. Mostly chisel work. After doing both sides neck and head, top and bottom, male and female, yin and yang, I start fine fitting.
Here I’m test fitting; making sure that the joint fits, and the edges of the head and neck align and mugging for the camera. I’m so vain. Perhaps that’s why it’s called the V joint.
Yep. Looks aligned nicely. 
Let’s look at the joint. Pretty good fit. A little nick near the vertex of the V. 🙁
The shoulders kiss.
But it needs to be tight! No light can come through. So I hold it up to my eye while pressing the joint together to see if light comes through. It is hard to get every part of the joint closed perfectly.
And when it’s ready it gets glued on this jig, which holds the angle while the web clamp draws the pieces together.
It’s hot hide glue and it squeezes out of the joint. Hide glue draws the pieces together as it shrinks, but it needs the joint to fit really well. The next morning I can unclamp.
You can see where the glued came out of the joint and the entire area needs to be cleaned up, before it looks like the first picture in this post.
trimmed up V joint
…. so, the above pictures shows the joint after the neck is trimmed to thickness and the volute is now flush with the back of the head.
Roses in the spring
Working on a couple of guitars, one spec, one custom. The darker one is primarily rosewood. The lighter one is amboyna burl. Both have the ‘torch’ theme that I have been using.
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