How to shape a guitar neck by hand.
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
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Master Luthier Chris Alvarado discusses how he goes about shaping an acoustic guitar neck.
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A good tip for the "shoe polishing" technique: If you only have paper-backed sandpaper available, stick some packing tape on the back. That'll stop the paper from tearing.
Love seeing those organised workbench drawers! That's solid inspiration for my workshop.
i too used to hate making necks. Now it is my favorite part of lutherie. Something about changing an angular piece of lumber into one with smooth functional contours really gets the dopamine flowing.
Great video. Cheers!
Thank you for this, this is the part I'm trying to learn next. Necks.
Neckst
I ordered a harley benton accoustic guitar online I like everything but the neck size and frets ,I'm going to try to reshape the neck .This video will help me .So thanks again fellow's.
Yes, I love to see how other guys do it. I've done a bunch of electrics so I feel pretty dialed in, but I have an acoustic neck that I need to carve and have been putting it off....haha. Tomorrow its getting done!
Good stuff, Chris, you are making your guitars even more personal by involving your customer in the process more and more.... I'm enjoying your videos and, as always, I'm enjoying playing your guitars. Keep on keeping on!!
I really like the way you broke it into distinct phases each with it's own set of operations, in order. All the caveats are helpful too, I've pushed too far too quickly too many times. I need more of this because I don't have the instrument building experience. I make plenty of mistakes I fail to foresee. I keep watching videos trying to learn more, so I'm glad you're making some. I now need with all my being a hand cut Dragon rasp. Thanks!
That rasp is awesome. I've been using a 1" roundover bit on my router, and finishing it up with a spokeshave.
Good stuff dude. I just carved my first neck recently and learned a lot doing it. Also a lot of takeaways for me from this video. Thanks man!
I just carved my first ukelele neck today and watched ur video and you made it just easier, thanks
Thank you for the time you donate in making these videos for us. God bless!
Great vid and comments while in-process - thanks! My local wood supplier had ~quartersawn White Limba in his "smalls" bin. I bought a few, then more and enjoyed the ease of working this light wood into necks. It is remarkably unimpressive until it is hit with finish. I ran out of my supply, but found some nice qsawn Sycamore for my current build. So glad you are able to get these posts going and share your passion, work and collaboration with Matt.
A superb video on neck work, I learned a lot from this as I only have hand tools and only work on C B Gs at the moment and would like to try my hand at a conventional guitar, so will follow your posts. Thanks for sharing your skills.
Regards Brian (Big G) Birmingham England 👏🏻👍
I just got these dragon files in the mail from Stewmac. They are amazing. Smooth as butter cutting, feel great in the hand, take off material like a champ and leave a smooth finish. Great tools! Glad I took the financial dive.
This video just taught me like 40 things. Thank you!
I have really enjoyed all of your videos so far. Please keep it up! You're definitely making me want a driftwood guitar.
This video ended up being perfect for my hand carved cabriole legs project! Just ordered the Pin Sander and Razor File. Never would've expected a guitar build to translate so well to hand carved furniture, but this one sure did. Thank you for sharing your tool choices!
Oh awesome! Glad it helped.
Great video. It’s confirmation I’m not far off from what you are doing but still learned some more from you. Thanks.
Incredible technique with that rasp!
I start from a similar point (without a CNC) then I do a 90 degree edge using a bottom bearing router bit to get rid of some material. At this point I’ll take a file and take down the back of the neck at first fret and near my heal to get near the appropriate thickness. At that point I use a spoke shave to get everything level and finish by sanding. It’s a long process, but it’s definitely a rewarding task.
I don’t have a fancy shop, I have a small bench in my garage with a bandsaw and router. Everything else is hand tools. Don’t let lack of tools stop you.
Thanks for the tutorial. I'm starting my first build. Gathering wood
Thanks Chris. Great video. I’m working on my first guitar, and the neck has scared me a bit.I let it sit until I feel more comfortable with it. Your video has motivated me. Thanks for the great detail, it really has helped me.
I hate doing necks & spraying/polishing 😣 ,appreciate you sacrificing your
Nasal cavity so you can narrate through the neck carving process for us, thanks!
Really fun to watch ! Please show sometime how you do the inlays !!!
Love your work Chris, safety first was taught to use files and rasps with handles, prevents getting the tang embedded in your or apprentice's arm or hand if it catches
Do you have a Patreon? If not, you should. What (and how) you show all this is pure gold! Amazing craftsmanship.
Aw man, thanks a lot! We’re working on that now
Here you go!
www.patreon.com/DriftwoodGuitars?fan_landing=true
@@DriftwoodGuitars Awesome!!!
This is what I need to tackle next and your video will really help a lot. Thanks!
Interesting how similar this process is to crowning a fret. Very informative video. Thanks
This is cool. Reminds me of my trade (automotive collision) it’s hard to explain how to form certain contours and how to do it. It becomes natural after a while :)
I noticed that when you file across the neck, you "follow" the curve, i.e. you start your stroke horizontal at the centre, and end vertical at the side. Although it feels weird at first, most people find that they get a much smoother curve if they start vertical, and end horizontal. Start with the tip of the file on the binding, with the handle in the air, then, as you push the file, you also raise the tip and lower the handle until it's horizontal. It's hard to explain why, but the problem with following the curve is that it's your body that's "drawing" the curve, and very few of us can draw a perfectly smooth curve, particularly when synchronising the movement of several large muscles. It's also too easy to follow the problem created on an earlier pass and exacerbate the problem. With the opposite method, you just drop the handle as you push through, and geometry takes care of making the curve. Clearly you get good results using the follow method, so you're probably reluctant to change, but give the other method a try. As well as accuracy, you'll probably find it's quicker, because you spend less time finessing the curve. Put it this way, I've never met anyone who's gone back after trying it.
So happy to be a new member... The fee is well earned, given the massive amount of quality content you provide. The placement of this question is a bit contrived, but I'm curious to know why its almost impossible to find a steel-string with a nut width wider than 1.75"? I've standardized on this nut width, but there are certain cord shapes I can't reliably play because there just isn't enough space on the fret board, and my hands aren't even particular big... I'm buying a classical just to see if this helps, but I find it odd that steel-string makers don't offer much of anything.
Thanks so much for joining the team! I'm honestly not sure of the history of why that has become sort of a standard nut width. Most people want a narrower nut over a wide one, so that may be why. Usually guitars that are geared towards finger style players have a wider and flatter neck that's closer to a classical feel.
Super stuff, thank you. Currently on my first solo acoustic build, fourth guitar and while I think my neck thickness and profiles are good I definitely feel my heel is still too chunky looking at yours. Must get one of those pin sanders. Please please do a in-depth video on how to go about doing your inlays. They are outstanding and really look like the people they represent. How you do the thin signatures is a mystery. I’d love to have a go at one on my next guitar. Keep em comming, awsome.
Great video. Thank you for taking the time to put these out.
Ur videos r awsome and so is ur luithery I love the channel it’s my fav and u r inspiring!!!! Thank h so much for the wealth of knowledge u r willing to let us all c
would love to see a video. on making and setting neck joints
Love this demo of neck shaping and have watched it several times, but I really have to point out the Mario and Luigi vibes I'm getting with Chris wearing red and Matt with the green lol
Learned a lot on this one. Thanks.
All this guitar building makes me want to do it too. I have a bunch of wood tools.
Thanks for posting this- I've carved a couple of uke necks that went more or less OK but a uke is far more forgiving! I'm about to carve my first guitar neck and was looking for techique where the fretboard was already on but the neck was fully shaped before fixing to the body- all my guide books show neck carving once the neck has been attached which seems bonkers to me!
Keep your videos coming. I am a luthier wanna be, just starting out with only a few guitars under my belt but I am cutting down my learning curve by watching your videos. Could you do a video on how you do your fret board inlays?
thank you Mat and Chris . you need a card file to clean the files it helps. check out Eric Schaefer his neck shaping jig
Great job Chris, couldn't agree with you more about about feeling over seeing you're fingers don't lie excellent! Also I agree about klingspor and I don't know if you have done a video shop tour and any jigs or tools you have made. Soo jealous of the sandpaper dispenser NICE (as spoke as Dorat), please keep the videos. Oh is the other amp Matt said y'all have there ( just watched the Stewmac Deluxe Reverb build pt 1.) The one you picked up on the way to Rett's guitar delivery? Best of luck to y'all. Thank you for the content. Your build videos have Helped me through a difficult time, my wife of 20 passed in March. Trying to re assemble my shop going to start building a gain have only done solid body electric and Basses. Thank you again!!
Thanks for watching. I’m so sorry about your wife. I can’t imagine what that must be like. I’m glad we’ve been able to offer a little distraction from that, and I hope you find your light again soon. We have the amp here and will be doing a full in depth video on it soon!
@@DriftwoodGuitars thanks
really nice job. keep going with the amazing videos
Thank you for your service. Great video
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Great videos.
Engaging and informative. Great! Thanks. 👍
very nice work ,I think now I may be ready to try it on blank piece of wood to get the feel of it ,so it wont actually be for a guitar ,thanks for your knowledge and teaching
Go after it man! It can be frustrating, but super fun and rewarding as well.
You make it look easy
Very good video! I plan on doing a slotted headstock on an OM build. Would like to see your process on that please.
Muito bom apesar de não entender pego bastante dicas e macetes com seus vídeos thanks
Great work, Chris! Wonderful video!! And thank you for your military service, sir.
I appreciate it!
Great videos. Thank you.
Hi Chris, I learned so much with your vids. There are so plenty information than I can absorber. Only one thing, don't get me wrong, do you think that vids could be shorter? Thanks
Dude I tried haha. I don’t know how you make this vid shorter though. I’m trying !
@@DriftwoodGuitars it was in depth, and I honestly liked that it was longer. Good guideline video to follow if you're shaping a neck or need help, great video, Chris.
Do you use Spanish cedar on Steel string Guitars I love Spanish cedar !! I was always scared to try it on my guitars. I just thought that it may be a little too weak for steel string. But I guess with the carbon fiber rods you install probably really good. It’s very light weight and stable. Thanks for the video really good job!! Nice work
Yeah I’ve used SC necks on over 30 steel string guitars. I’ve only ever done it with my dual carbon rods installed, but I’m sure it’s strong enough even without the carbon. It’s my favorite material for necks.
I love seeing someone else who doesn't use a bunch of cross section templates to carve a neck. As you said, your hands will tell you if it's right. Take care! -Greg
Nice video let me clear one of your guitar. Two to Three weeks turnaround time. You do amazing work.
I actually love inch thick necks. So when you’d feel my first hand carved neck, that thickness would be intentional 😂 Thing with that is that I’d at least aim for a warmoth boatneck kind of shape, that’s inch thick, but has almost no shoulder. That makes a fenderish neck feel like butter, in my experience. On a wider neck, like a Les Paul, I’d go a little thinner, probably.
I'm loving the Mario and Luigi costumes
Gday Chris I was looking through the comments to see if this question had been asked but i couldn't find anything!
So when you say your neck is 22 mm thick does that include the fretboard as well? so the Spanish cedar is 16 mm and the fretboard is 6 mm ?
The neck is key, it can make or break playability and that feel. I put together a Stew Mac guitar, and just can't get totally satisfied with the neck shape...but my son loves it, so it's ok. Is one neck shape more structurally sound than another for the long life of a guitar? It seems like a V or soft V would be stronger/stiffer.
Going to be nice when finished.🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Very interesting, and very useful. Thank you.
Would your basic neck profile change for an electric?
Oh yes - your term “back strap” is one I’ve not heard before. Is it just using a fascia to the back of the headstock and similar to the front headstock veneer, or is it also what I’d call a volute, adding strength to that neck transition?
I’d love to see a guitar building competition reality show in the same vein as Forged In Fire. Maybe do classical, steel string, electric, etc in different episodes. “This guitar will…PLAY”
that inlay blows me away
Ahhh... Howard's Feed n Wax is what i use in my workshop.
That Dispensor is fuckin dope to BTW
I have a chunky necked parlour. I want to make it thinner. Would you suggest a file along centre line, or going straight to shoe shine technique. I am a fine furniture woodworker, but not not a luthier-so ok with tools. Am in no rush, so which is most accurate way-not necessarily fastest way? Or maybe straight block with sandpaper or.....Thank you. Great video. ...
id stick with the shoe shine in you case. its slower, but less likely to mess up.
@@DriftwoodGuitars That is really helpful. Was thinking of using scrapers... will stick to a sandpaper, but was was curious as to whether you use scrapers at all?
Another great video guys! Maybe you should start a guitar building school.
Chris, what is your opinion of scarf joint vs solid billet neck?
Do you open apprentice position?
I really interested to learn your craft
Have you heard of/tried drawing the lines across the neck to help guide those “lines” you were following? I saw that on the Crimson channel and thought it sounded helpful. Have you found that to be true?
I used to do something similar as a “training wheel” but now I can just let it rip free hand.
love it
Quick question, where do you get the sleeves for the pin sander? Thanks in advance!
Grizzly tools sells them.
@@DriftwoodGuitars Thanks for the quick reply! I finally found it. I wish Amazon had a source for one stop shopping. LOL!
@@DriftwoodGuitars Thanks, just picked it up and used the link for the sander. hopefully it helps your channel!
Awesome
Spokeshave. Cabinet scraper. Glass paper. That’s my method.
How do you get the dusty end of the fretboard to lay flat on the body when the neck itself is angled? Always wondered about that
i think this operation should be automatized, and only the fine sanding at the end should be hand checked
one day...i,d like a guitar made from ancient tree...i wanted that...long before..i saw..your..awesome grey would :O thanks...for the informativ,
and nice stuff...
For the heel of the neck, why do you shape it to a point instead of rounded? Is it purely an looks thing? Seems easier to have it be rounded so you go from rounded to rounded?
Cool !!
How thick (back side of the neck to the face of the fingerboard) do you finish the neck?
could you use a drawknife for much of this work instead of files?
What radius fingerboard do you do the most of ... 20” ?
No dove tail?
My jazz box has the best neck in the world (for me) because of it's asymmetry
What clamps are those? Links?
How is Spanish cedar on electric guitar necks?
I'd be leery about taking a tool to a piece that finished. Maybe with guide lines.
Is shaping a neck pretty forgiving or is it really hard to get right? Aka should I expect to ruin the first couple?
I wouldn’t expect your first one to be great. It takes many try’s to get it right and to come up with a system that works for yourself.
Do you have a specific reason why you don’t use a dovetail joint for the neck?
It’s just a Ton of work for zero benefit to tone, and it’s way harder to service in the future.
amazingg
Video is choppy. Don't know if its on my end.
Start with a piece of wood and remove everything that is not the guitar neck. :), also the funny face is a must.
Breaking News! Florida Man hires buddy and makes youtube guitar making videos way better! Matts a good edition. Fuck i wanna build an acoustic. driftwood is my Crimson for acoustics.... for now im sticking to my electric builds but every post you make im like, Fuck i wanna build a real guitar
Share the coke brotha 😂
G7
this is an absolute no-no to me.
suspended neck, pulling it with the file.
binding already on the neck? 😬
it gives me a heart attack
dorks lol
All this sanding of Spanish Cedar and nobody is talking about the awful taste it leaves in your mouth lol…. Guitars with Spanish cedar should cost extra 😂
Put the “me” in mesothelioma 😅😂🥹.