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Brian's Guitar from Conception to Birth
or How to Build a Guitar in 62 Easy Steps! |
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29
Carve the Neck |
  Don’t
worry, carving the neck isn’t as bad as you might think. If you
haven’t done it before, do a trial run on some scrap to get the feel
for the tools. Start by drawing a line down the center of the neck.
Your neck should already be at its exact thickness at each end. Just
remember not to carve off this line so you don’t expose the truss
rod. Mark out your heel and headstock transitions. Lightly tap a
chisel over your heel line to establish the edge.
|
  Continue
using your chisels to rough out the heel transition. Don’t use your
hammer here. Your chisels should be sharp enough to pare away tiny
amounts of wood in a controlled manner. Then use a round Microplane
(the cheese grater type of surform) to remove more of the waste.
Just “zen out” for a while removing a small amount of wood at a
time. Visualize what it should look like (have another guitar handy
if you didn’t inherit the visualization gene) and slowly work your
way towards it. Don’t try to get the heel perfectly finished out at
this point. Get it roughed out, work on carving the neck for a
while, then come back to the heel to smooth out the transition.
|
  Once
you get the heel roughed out, use a flat Microplane to work your way
towards the headstock. Use long strokes (I prefer to set up the
Microplane to cut on the pull stroke) and move the Microplane at an
angle to your work. Don’t file straight up and down in one spot or
you’ll gouge it. Work on each side starting at the corner where
you’ll be removing the most waste. Notice in the far right photo
that the centerline remains untouched. You can also gauge your
progress by the smooth areas where no wood has been removed. Try to
keep these lines straight down the neck so your profile remains
consistent. Also, notice the flowing line up to the heel. That’s the
concept: smooth, long, and flowing. Concentrate on creating many
long and straight facets down the length of the neck, which you’ll
take care of with sandpaper later. Don’t try to finish the whole
neck now. Get the shape roughed in then get the headstock transition
defined. There will be a lot of back and forth between the neck,
heel, and headstock transitions. Work back and forth to get smooth
transitions.
|
  The
process of making the headstock transition is similar to that at the
heel. We wanted a little extra beef under the area where the truss
rod exits, and we wanted something unique as well. Draw your layout
onto the guitar and define the area to carve with gentle taps of the
hammer on the chisel. Then start paring away the waste. Always try
to keep the lines flowing from the neck to the transition. As long
as your design is reasonable, it will start telling you where it
wants to go; just follow your heart.
|
  Next
you’ll want to refine all these rough cuts. Use a spoke shave to
start smoothing out those facets. Work the tool evenly across the
whole neck radius so you don’t get lopsided. Also, pick the neck up
and test the feel of it. Shave away some more, and proceed slowly.
Remember, you can always trim a little more off, but you can’t add
more back on. Don’t forget that there’s a truss rod in there either.
Once you get it close to where you want it, switch to some 60 grit
sandpaper and continue smoothing. Use long, smooth strokes with both
hands. Further refine the transitions. Follow this with 100 and 150
grits. You can hold off on the higher grits of sandpaper until
later. |
Don’t
worry, carving the neck isn’t as bad as you might think. If you
haven’t done it before, do a trial run on some scrap to get the feel
for the tools. Start by drawing a line down the center of the neck.
Your neck should already be at its exact thickness at each end. Just
remember not to carve off this line so you don’t expose the truss
rod. Mark out your heel and headstock transitions. Lightly tap a
chisel over your heel line to establish the edge.
Continue
using your chisels to rough out the heel transition. Don’t use your
hammer here. Your chisels should be sharp enough to pare away tiny
amounts of wood in a controlled manner. Then use a round Microplane
(the cheese grater type of surform) to remove more of the waste.
Just “zen out” for a while removing a small amount of wood at a
time. Visualize what it should look like (have another guitar handy
if you didn’t inherit the visualization gene) and slowly work your
way towards it. Don’t try to get the heel perfectly finished out at
this point. Get it roughed out, work on carving the neck for a
while, then come back to the heel to smooth out the transition.
Once
you get the heel roughed out, use a flat Microplane to work your way
towards the headstock. Use long strokes (I prefer to set up the
Microplane to cut on the pull stroke) and move the Microplane at an
angle to your work. Don’t file straight up and down in one spot or
you’ll gouge it. Work on each side starting at the corner where
you’ll be removing the most waste. Notice in the far right photo
that the centerline remains untouched. You can also gauge your
progress by the smooth areas where no wood has been removed. Try to
keep these lines straight down the neck so your profile remains
consistent. Also, notice the flowing line up to the heel. That’s the
concept: smooth, long, and flowing. Concentrate on creating many
long and straight facets down the length of the neck, which you’ll
take care of with sandpaper later. Don’t try to finish the whole
neck now. Get the shape roughed in then get the headstock transition
defined. There will be a lot of back and forth between the neck,
heel, and headstock transitions. Work back and forth to get smooth
transitions.
The
process of making the headstock transition is similar to that at the
heel. We wanted a little extra beef under the area where the truss
rod exits, and we wanted something unique as well. Draw your layout
onto the guitar and define the area to carve with gentle taps of the
hammer on the chisel. Then start paring away the waste. Always try
to keep the lines flowing from the neck to the transition. As long
as your design is reasonable, it will start telling you where it
wants to go; just follow your heart. 
Next
you’ll want to refine all these rough cuts. Use a spoke shave to
start smoothing out those facets. Work the tool evenly across the
whole neck radius so you don’t get lopsided. Also, pick the neck up
and test the feel of it. Shave away some more, and proceed slowly.
Remember, you can always trim a little more off, but you can’t add
more back on. Don’t forget that there’s a truss rod in there either.
Once you get it close to where you want it, switch to some 60 grit
sandpaper and continue smoothing. Use long, smooth strokes with both
hands. Further refine the transitions. Follow this with 100 and 150
grits. You can hold off on the higher grits of sandpaper until
later.
