Acoustic Guitar Construction

Thanks for the ideas!
Do you think the following is the best approach to carving?

http://liutaiomottola.com/construction/NeckCarve.htm



Maybe this should be another thread..

Should I now move this discussion to neck fabrication?

That tutor looks as good as any -- I shutter when Cumpiano is mentioned however -- nothing he does seems simple to me -- but that's me.

The adjustable profile copy template is a must -- but make two sets of templates a rough and finish. If you use a standard neck blank there is a boat load of material to remove before you are any where close to the final shape.

To me the two most difficult parts of the process is getting the subtle increase in thickness as you approach the heel --- and the transition to the head-stock is very complex carving. (for me anyway)

I have only made 5 necks; one thing I learned when carving a neck is not to use the tool like a saw bringing down the stock in one place. Rather I was taught to use sweeping motions along the entire neck or heel. That way there is always a smooth transition. Because the neck is tapered and profiled, as you carve the neck it naturally will be thicker as you go up the neck (toward the heel) because it is wider. I do draw out lines at the center and the quarter marks on the top and the sides and mostly work at carving facets and carving off the peaks of the facets and smoothing the neck out.

I am sure all of the sharp tools are fast but a nice course rasp on a profiled neck is pretty quick. I admit every now and then I take it to the belt sander. The microplanes are very fast. I noticed one in the tutorial. The tutorial looked good. I am a bit looser than it describes. When I was learning carving in an art class the teacher told me carving is easy just take away all the wood that does not look like what you are carving but no more that.

I use my safety planer to create the taper on the back of the neck by using a packer under the nut end. The back of the neck is flattened to within a 1/32" of the final thickness needed and I then draw a pencil line down the centre of the back of the neck a never touch this line whilst carving.

I then use a rasp to create the profile needed at the nut and heel and join up these two profiles using a spokeshave. I carve the heel and volute using a rasp followed by chisels.

The back of the neck is finally blended into the fretboard using a long strip of abrasive paper and the 'shoe shine' method.

Takes about an hour start to finish.

Bob

Bob - I saw the words 'whilst' and 'centre' in your post and then realized - you're a Brit! :-) Good show! I read a lot of the 'Inklings' works and can spot what are, to us on this side of the pond, eccentricities in spelling.
All in good fun, Bob!

Your volute is a thing of art; do you use the same profile on your standard guitar necks?

The more I read of the responses in this thread, the more I think I need CNC technology...

Eccentricities in spelling! Ha, it's you guys that have bastardised the English language :P :)

Yes Dave, I always use a volute (or hand stop as it should be called), for me it strengthens the neck in a crucial area, it acts as a reference point when playing and also looks really cool.

They are actually quite easy to do once you've done your first, so long as you remember to leave enough material when planning the neck.

That is a very striking feature of your neck and headstock. A bit out of my league, but something to think about for the future.