Second build! :O

[SIMpleONe89]

@Stan and woks - let x be clamps you'll need. X=infinity

@andrew - haha there can never be enough guitars!

Obligatory guitar memes:

[SIMpleONe89]

Anyway today I managed to trim the fretboard. I'm really happy with how it turned out. No gaps that I can see at the moment! Solid glue joint.

I used a flush trim bit in a router sled to make sure the router is 100% stable.




And is it just me, or whenever I work with timbers I always think of food? When I was routing the Fijian mahogany, it smelled like smokey bbq sauce and I thought bbq ribs. When I was sanding the flamed maple neck it smelled like candy. And now working with ebony just reminds me of oreo crumbs and dark chocolate! Yum yum!

[SIMpleONe89]

After that was done, I worked on the headstock transition. This time I tried using a chisel and it was fun and fast!


I think I did a better job for the headstock transition this time round. After thicknessing it, I drilled the truss rod access hole at a higher point so the drill bit wouldn't eat into the flat portion of the headstock. The last time I made the curved section of the transition and then drilled the truss rod hole. I must have started drilling at a lower point so the long drill bit actually cut into some part of the headstock. Sorry if I didn't explain it properly but basically the truss rod access hole now looks nicer and cleaner.

[dingobass]

Noice werk 😀

[SIMpleONe89]

Noice werk 😀

Thanks DB. Sorry I didn't have the guts to try a scarf joint. Haha.

[WeirdBits]

Now you've made me hungry! Looks excellent.

[FrankenWashie]

Quite a simple device made from 12mm MDF.
Key points are the top edges need to be square and parallel.
As you can see, I cut two openings for clamps and two blocks that fit snugly inside.
The blocks allow you to set the depth of timber.
Also, as the blocks can be set and clamped at any angle you can fix the blank so as to be able to machine a nice neat scarf or to dress the face of the headstock.

Also, after you have glued your laminate you can machine the uneven side flat.
Flip it over and repeat.

Like I said, a simple jig that can be modified easily to do a heap of jobs.

Hey DB, in terms of measurements that looks to be about 1000mm-1100mm long and about 200mm wide (to outer edges) 200mm deep, would that be about right or am i way off?

[SIMpleONe89]

Ok some major updates! Haven't been posting but I managed to finish the neck this week.

First up, the inlays. I cut out my "signature" asymmetrical diamonds (Not by choice. It's really hard to cut perfectly for such small items!) for the 12th and 24th fret. Then I added abalone dot markers for the remaining fret positions.

Here's a picture...Yucks! That looks gross!


Ah much better! She cleans up well.




And of course I'm unable to get a 100% accurate CNC slot because I'm only human and I have terrible eyesight, plus the slots are really tiny!

I also hate working with abalone dot markers because the pretty ones I select almost always get sanded down to ugly, plain looking ones. A super tiny difference of 0.5mm shaved off can be a huge difference aesthetically!

[SIMpleONe89]

I also sanded the fretboard up to 1500 grit. And of course it has a 14" radius, which is comfortable for my style of playing, and because that's the only radius block I have at the moment.


And this is after the frets installed. I opted for StewMac's medium fretwire this time and kinda regretted it. The first build had jumbos and I loved the feel. Anyway no harm done because most of my guitars have small to medium fretwire.


For the frets, I tried a different approach this time. I chose to hide the tangs so I cut off the tangs at the end and filled the slots with ebony dust and CA glue. Unfortunately there was one fret which I might have missed out which has its tang sticking out. I will probably paint it over with some black acrylic paint before finishing.

As you can see above, the tangs can't be seen! I think it looks nicer this way than having the small bit of metal sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the beautiful ebony. And I also scrapped the edges to round the fingerboard in between the frets. This makes a huge difference in terms of comfort.

I also glue in my frets with a drop of CA glue, but that alone still caused a few squeeze outs here and there, which can be scraped off easily.

[FrankenWashie]

I am bowing as I read this Simon. I am not worthy, I am SOOOO not worthy! That side shot of your fretboard edge shows off your formidable attention to detail. I applaud and bow Sir.