Building A Neck Thru Body Guitar

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:15 pm

Getting started with your rough lumber: Maple for the neck and Alder for the body. The Maple is 4/4=
1 inch and the Alder is 6/4= 1 1/2 inch. Looking at the end grain is the way to check if your wood is 1/4 sawn or slab cut. 1/4 sawn is the strongest for use in a neck. Slab cut is usually used on bodies. Imagine the growth rings of the tree being cut so that they are vertical to the width of the board, this is 1/4 sawn. The Maple I'm using is curly figured 1/4 sawn kiln dried.
The Alder is standard slab cut which most Alder is. Pictures 1 thru 9 show the steps in cutting and glueing the neck and body wings.
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/37bfbb73.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/bffe8ccc.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/49ecf51e.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/b41e92bc.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/50a8bcb7.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/8f18b227.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/9d4e93d1.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/04d23924.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0073.jpg
When glueing the 3 piece neck stock I use a wood glue (titebond) alphetic resin glue available at all hardware and builder supplies stores. Use plenty of glue and spread it evenly on the neck pieces. Use plenty of C clamps starting at each end. The length of the neck will depend on the type of guitar you want to build. This one will have a 25 inch fret scale using 42 inch pieces of 1 inch wide maple with a 1/4 inch walnut stringer down the middle. Leave clamps on for at least 2 hours at 70 degrees for drying. Unclamp and we'll continue with more latter.

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:28 pm

One very important thing I should add is the safety factor. If you have power tools, always respect them, when they bite they are unforgiving, so use caution and and always plan things out before you do them. I have 40 years of experience with them but I always work with saftey in mind.

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 11:23 pm

Fantastic stuff Dale.
I don't think I'll ever make my own (too hooked on Rics), but what an interesting thread.
Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

xcoyle · Post by **xcoyle** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 4:13 am

Dale very cool thread. Looking forward to seeing the whole process. I have never really understood the neck construction process. I always imagined some type of interlocking of the woods or dowels. What is the surface preparation of the wood before they are glued together?

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 5:48 am

David, the Wood I am using in this project has been surfaced on both sides. This is to say that it has been run thru a planer. The glueing surfaces must be true and clean. If I were to start with rough cut lumber then I would run it thru my planer to take it down to size. The use of 3 pieces is for maxium strength. The next steps will be surfacing the Maple for the finger board then cutting the peg head angle, truss rod slot and nut cavity. This particular guitar will have neck and body binding. I will most likely do an Amber to Tobacco Brown finish so people following this can see how these types of finishes are acheived. But that's getting way ahead of things.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 8:20 am

Very informative and concise, Dale. Do you buy your lumber rough cut or S2S? Seems like each has had its advantages for me, depending upon which supplier I'm buying from...

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 9:38 am

Both ways but mostly S2S. It costs a little more but saves a lot of time resawing and planeing. We have several nice sources for hard woods here in the Portland area, but I also use the internet for some of the wood that I buy such as Koa and Rosewoods. I have 4 sticks of Brazilian RW that I've had since 1976. F.B. stock. only big enough for guitars(not basses) Back to work now.

ratso · Post by **ratso** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 1:19 pm

Cool thread Dale. Love the curl in that 5th pic. Mother nature sure does wonderous things in nature, but you take it several steps beyond! I look forward to the progression of this project and your willingness to share your expertise!

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 8:16 pm

Here are 6 pictures of the neck stock in it's various stages of planing for a level finger board surface, and laying out and cutting the peg head angle.
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0080.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0081.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0082.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0083.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0084.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/b53/DaleFortune/000_0085.jpg
As Ron pointed out about the curls in the Maple, for those who are curious and wondering what causes figuring in various wood grains, I'll give you some info. Flame or curls in the wood are caused by compression, the weight of the upper part of the tree pushing down on the trunk or limb area. Burls are kind of like a cancerous growth(tree infection) usually on the lower part of the trunk base. Birds Eyes: when nature tells the sap to rise causing the tree to bloom, a cold snap may come along traping the sap inside lower parts of the tree, creating these little swirls inside the trunk as if it were the start of a leaf trying to blossom. Quilted Maple can be from the softer Westen Maple being slab cut, but it is also found in various other trees of the softer hardwoods. You ask,what's a soft hardwood? Mahogany,Korina,Marupa,Alder,Basswood etc. The true hardwoods are: Maple,Rosewoods,Cherry,Ebony,Koa,Walnut and many others. So next up will be the truss rod slot and nut cavity. Then the peg head wings will be cut and glued on.

bill_yantz · Post by **bill_yantz** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 2:44 am

Dale, I just started reading your thread this morning. What a great idea to make a guitar from scratch and share each step along the way with us. I will be looking forward each day for your progress reports. Each morning when I getup, make coffee, I log into Ricresource to read, learn and occasionally post. It will be so much fun to take this journey with you. Thanks for taking us a long for the ride. You are a gentleman and an artist.

Paul, I feel the same about your project. I have said it before and will say it again, thanks for all your great posts and sharing your expertise as well. Both you and Dale are a joy to read.

Thanks!

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 6:23 am

Muchas Gracias Mi Amigos. I wanted to do this awhile back but it's been one thing after another. Computer broke down, then the digi camera went bonkers. So now this will be a fun thing to share with those of interest. The technics and principals are the same as I learned while working at Electro String in the early 70's, just smaller machinery and I don't have to be to work by 6:30a.m.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 8:13 am

Thanks, Bill. Although Dale and I are roughly the same old fart age, his experience at RIC and since, building guitars full-time, makes him eminently qualified to post on building guitars from scratch, and on issues of RIC history (at least for the time he was there).

A luthier (my definition) should be able to build a hollow body guitar from scratch.

Dale is a luthier. I'm not there yet. But I'm glad to help where I can, and learn a lot, too.

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 8:26 am

I'll be 58 Paul, that puts me going on 60. Paul a good way to ease into acoustic/hollow type guitars is to start with some Ukulele's. Fun and simple, yet the same principals as Mandolins and Flat Top Acoustics.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 9:12 am

I'll be 57 in September, Dale. Slightly younger OF.

I'm already working on a 22 1/2" scale hollow electric--laminating up the neck and getting the body wood pieces together. Hope to have it done this time next year. I'll post pics when it's finished.

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 10:00 pm

These pictures show how the truss rod slot is cut using a small table shaper with a 1/4 inch flute cutter. The depth is just a little over 1/4 of an inch. Then the template for cutting the truss rod nut cavity is installed and using a 2h.p. overarm pin router, the cavity is cut. The 1/4 inch carbide router bit follows the 1/4 inch pin from underneath and makes the same cutting profile. Then the Walnut wings are sized and glued on the neck stock. This the exact same way we did it at the factory in 1973. Last, here is a little thing I thought you might like to see. Sanding blocks that I made in 1973 from a 4001 neck stock that was cracked when run thru the table shaper. They are still used to this day.