Carving a guitar neck radius in under 4 minutes with this jig!
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- I sell customised plans/CNC files for this jig for USD$50- after a few necks, it has paid for itself.
In order to draw up the plans for you, I need your neck dimensions (in millimeters).
-Neck width (from one edge of the fretboard to the other) at the first fret.
-Neck width (from one edge of the fretboard to the other) at the 12th fret.
-Total length of the neck (including headstock, not including fretboard overhang).
-Distance from the end of the neck (where it joins the body) to the middle of the 12th fret.
-Distance from the middle of the 12th fret to the middle of the 1st fret.
Email me hello@temple-guitars.com with this info, then PayPal.me/TempleGuitars USD$50 (excluding fees). I will email your completed custom jig plan as a PDF within 24 hours.
Also jump on Amazon or eBay and grab yourself a plunge router dado bit for your router. They're super cheap, and do a great job for this. Get one with the widest diameter cutter for your shank size.
Check out Jeff @homebuiltshop making his jig here:
• How to Quickly Carve a...
1. UA-cam messed up the resolution on this one from 00:00:16 to 00:00:20. No biggie, it's just four seconds of the intro.
2. I'm sick, so this video sounds terrible. Sorry about that.
3. At 00:05:32 I said the carriage is angled down towards the headstock. It's angled UP. Woopsie.
4. If you want to jump forward in time to the end of the jig carving demo, here's the timestamp. 00:09:41. Enjoy time travel!
This video series takes us from an empty workshop, to a fully operational small shop luthiery operation over the course of 3 months. I'll show you the jigs and templates I use, how to make your own, with downloadable CNC files, cut lists, and blueprints for each project where appropriate.
Intro music- 'Constellations' by Jayszun Vanderwerff.
Episode music- 'Other Rivers II', and 'Divine' by Max Sergeev- icons8.com/mus... from icons8.com/music
'Leather Mitt', 'Tremix', and 'Momentary Lights' by Stanislav Vdovin-
icons8.com/mus.... from icons8.com/music
'Shimmer', and 'Sleepwalking' by Smokefishe-
icons8.com/mus... from icons8.com/music
'When mosquitoes sleep' by Kuzzzo- icons8.com/mus...
icons8.com/music
'Grok', 'Akbara', 'White and Turqoise' and 'Krapilasa' bu Murkok- icons8.com/mus...
icons8.com/music
'Haze' by Dream Machine- icons8.com/mus....
icons8.com/music
Become a Patron on Patreon!- / templeguitars
Temple Guitars on Instagram- / templeguitars
Temple Merch Store-
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Temple Guitars Newsletter- archive.sendpul...
My gear:
DJI Ronin S gimbal
DJI Osmo gimbal and 4K camera
Tarion Electronic Track Slider
Sony A6000 camera
Apple iMac computers
Andycine 4K Camera Monitors
Focusrite Scarlett Preamp
Behringer B-1 Studio Microphone
Boya BY-M1 and BY-MM1 microphones
Boya wireless systems
Manfrotto Tripods
Sony ICDUX560FB Digital Recorder
Software used:
Final Cut Pro X
Motion 5
Adobe Photoshop CS
Audacity
Trackable Callouts by Motion VFX
Received the PDF plans very fast after sending the money. Probably only 12 hours max transpired. Very well done. Highly recommended at this point. Between the plans and this video, you can easily make one. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback... I hope it helps you to blast out a bunch of uniform neck profiles!
I love how you sound like a buddhist monk speaking, so serene and calm, but then your knuckles show something else 🤣
Greater in battle
than the man who would conquer
a thousand-thousand men,
is he who would conquer
just one -
himself.
Dude. I can’t believe it’s not butter 🤣. Seriously. Great job 👍 I really like how the neck bleeds into the headstock with such sweet flow. Satisfying to watch.
I'm all about that sweet flow! Thanks so much.
I've been at it for over 40 years, and I must say... you do some beautiful work, my friend. Your attention to detail and your skill with hand tools is quite rare. BIG thumbs up!
Thank you, I genuinely appreciate your kind words.
Amazing, simply amazing !!! It's one the most brilliant jigs I've ever saw ! I've never thought it would be possible to simplify that much this highly laborious task. Hats off to you ... You're the guy ! :D
YOU ARE!!!
i come here after watching Home Build Workshop channel. Nice work dude.
i Ike to was watch home built Workshop too... thanks for visiting!
Just re-watched this vid, inspirational stuff! Seriously mate, your voice is so calming, and your expertise and workflow so inspired that it feels like a relaxation video, so chilled. Also gives me confidence that I could do this myself one day.
Glad you enjoyed it... My intention is to educate in a calm relaxing manner, so it sounds like I'm on the right track. I really appreciate your feedback, thanks so much.
This is almost therapy for me.
Glad to help!
Absolutely amazing video! I call myself an advanced beginner and have spent some time making cigar box guitars, which also includes some neck shaping. I've enjoyed a lot of simple woodworking for many years. So, I've recently began doing some "kit" guitars which still involves some final shaping, adjustment and fitment. I'm learning more as I go and I'm trying to gradually increase the difficulty and challenge level. I would love to build your neck jig, so I'm off to watch Jeff, as he builds it! It goes without saying, I AM a "New Subscriber" and look forward to more! Thank you for the inspiration you've given me, as I move along my journey of sawdust & splinters! -Tom
Thanks for subscribing! Hopefully more sawdust and less splinters :)
Beautiful work. I always enjoy watching skilled craftsmen working. ....Amazing.
That's very nice of you to say Paul, thank you so much.
Pure Genius mate. I have no other words for it
I didn't invent it, but this is my take on it. Thanks for your support!
love your work and your music too....its like making guitar in outer space kind
of :)
Ha! That’s awesome. and I guess from an astrophysical perspective, that’s exactly what I’m doing.
Beautiful Work Dr.
Thank you kindly!
Brilliant!
Cheers!
I’ve always imagined Jesus would kind talk like you do. Very kindly and caring!
Hi Bob, I hope you're doing well out there!
@@TempleGuitars dude it’s cold, snowed here in Kentucky today. Off record my name is Dave ;) but dude this jig is insane, if you could build one for us I’m sure we’d all love the heck out of that video
Hey Dave! Wait, you want me to build that jig... again?
Great Idea. Perfect job! 😁👏👏👏
Thank you Paulo!
Brilliant idea 👏
You have a new subscriber here, love your work and how you put your videos together.
Keep it up!
Thanks and welcome
I was waiting for him to say,snatch the pebble from my hand grasshopper.
great jig . I am curious how much it costs.
Hi Michael, all info is in the description... Just click "more", and it will expand to show you all the details. 👍🏻
Bro awesome jig!!!! On a side note what the hell happened to your knuckles ?? Bit of fight club going on there 😉
Thanks for checking it out Adam, I'm glad you like it.
could you do this with a neck that has a scarf joint? like for an acoustic guitar?
Absolutely. Because the headstock tilts away from the carriage, and because the router is restricted from entering that area, you can carve the neck radius even with a scarf jointed neck.
Am I right in thinking that one needs a different fixture for Electric guitar necks or Acoustic guitar necks and with each different fret scale length?
Hi Tom, that's right. You would use a different carriage and pucks, although not necessarily for different scale lengths, as long as they all fit within the same fretboard dimensions.
I have a question -- I don't quite understand why you allow there to be play in the carriage due to using the rubber bands. Wouldn't you want the carriage to rotate on a fixed point, and not move up and down as an elastic allows?
The rubber bands are really strong, so strong that they hold the carriage up (and therefore the workpiece up) to the cutter without any issue. Think of it like suspension in a car. The work can't get any closer to the cutter than I want it to, but it can move away from it if necessary. I hope that answers your question?
Thanks for this amazing video! I've subscribed to your channel :) Love your content!
Thank you so much! I hope you can find some helpful content here.
@@TempleGuitars too much !!! :)
@@TempleGuitars BTW, I just realized, something,,,, I have no idea how to determine the router bit depth and how to keep it consistent.. how do you go about it?
I drop it to the back of the neck blank, and the design of the jig takes it from there.
That is a great video! Thank you. Loved the close up view on the transitions. Can you share a word or two on the files you are using?
I use the large and small Stew Mac razor files, both flat and curved options.
www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/types-of-tools/files/razor-files/
Thanks for sharing this idea and showing it in use.
The design has been banging around in various forms for a long time, but this is my optimised version of it. Hope it helps!
@@TempleGuitars any chance of the plans my friend?
Sure! Email me hello@temple-guitars.com
Great video, glad I found you. I love your voice.
Thanks for all the encouragement!
What a gym of a video! Great stuff thank you
GEM
I'll take it either way! Thanks Hal.
I've seen a few folks on UA-cam talking about these jigs, but I have a question that no one I've noticed has talked about... How do you design the cams for these to copy an existing neck? The cam makes the neck shape, but so far, no one has really mentioned how to come up with a cam. Very curious how this works.
It's hard to explain in words. When I design these jigs for people I include 4 example cam shapes for different profiles, and seeing them goes a long way to gaining an understanding of it. This jig isn't designed to copy necks, but it can copy necks if you know how to design the cams for it. Basically if you cut a neck in half and look at that cross section shape, you want the cams to reflect it.
@@TempleGuitars I actually think that helped. 😋 I had an idea for how it worked, and this answer makes senses with that idea, so that points me to think that I actually understand it better than I had assumed.
Subscribed. Thanks, excellent video.
Thanks and welcome.
This is brilliant. Could you also use this for radiusing the fretboard? Great video, thanks!
Same concept, but it would need to be much, much deeper. I actually have a much simpler system for fretboard radiusing, so I'll do a video on that sometime.
@@TempleGuitars great! I'm looking forward to it. Radiusing with a sanding block takes forever!
Oh lordy... I feel your pain!
I was wondering if this jig could be extended to make neck through guitars?
Mathematically, it's totally possible.
Good video 👍
Thanks for the visit!
Nice video man! This jig is awesome!
*Nathan Explosion voice* Thank you.
This is awesome work man
Thanks for the encouragement, I really appreciate it.
You are like the Bob Ross of Lutherie 🤙
I appreciate that, thank you JJ!
How do you make this for, say a D shape or somewhere between a C and D shape?
You adjust/sand the pucks at each end until you get the shape you want dialled in.
new sub, seen Jeffs build, thanks for innovating
Thanks for the sub, Spike!
My carpel tunnel hurts watching this. But amazing skill bro
What measurements would you need for a neck-through setup? I imagine most of them would be the same?
It would have to be longer, and the neck-through section would have to not be glued to the body wings yet.
Is that a Pine neck? If so what are the pros and cons?
Great video BTW...keep up the good work brother👍👍
Hi, Yep it's pine. I just used it to demonstrate for the video, then threw it in the trash.
Nice video, poor man CNC LOL his hands. I would think you might be able to make some kind of radius blender on on shaper as well if not I would just probably make my own set a radius gauges filing Away material you can keep comparing to duplicate really good. I'm wanting to make 100 of my own necks and do 100 custom guitars run and I want top quality so this really helps. Each guitar is going to be custom Lucian with low action etc. dialed in right to the max.
k.
I'm new to neck building and I was wondering about your grain orientation on this one. I was under the impression that the grain should be vertical or quarter sawn. Does that matter much? Thanks... Great relaxing video! Much better than the sound of a router!
Hey! Yep, it absolutely matters. Quarter sawn is the most stable for necks, and even more stable when you laminate it. I used a piece of pine I had laying around the shop for this demo, after I finished carving it I put it through the bandsaw a few times and threw it in the trash.
Thanks for that reply. I can continue with my rock maple necks!
Please tell me if you have any jig plans that would accommodate a neck-thru build. Thank you.
I make all my plans custom for each builders needs. I can do a neck through set for you.
I was thinking about making a replicator. Nice job
Thanks very much!
When filing out the shape at the headstock heel, what type of file or rasp are you using there?
I recommend using the Stew Mac razor files. They are available flat or curved, in small or large sizes. I own all of them, and use them constantly. Downside- they can do blunt after a lot of use, and you can't sharpen them yourself. But I will still buy them again.
Love the music. I am a huge ambient fan...David Helpling and Jon Jenkins have some tracks that are awesome. Life long guitar maker too... :-)
Thanks! I did it!
@@TempleGuitars you rock! You on Spotify?
No, I only do this kind of music for my videos.
Nice work. Totally understand the joy of hand carving - I did a bunch of it back in the early 1980s in front of the tv - not so good for the domestic arrangements.
Dumb question: you have a CNC, why don't you program the entire carve into the CNC? My understanding is you can get an almost finish ready surface with the right path and a bullnose bit.
Hi Nick, If you check my more recent videos you can see I CNC necks also. I made this one by hand for one of my favourite people, and also to take the opportunity to show others how to do it if they don't have a CNC. As far as being finish ready is concerned, a toolpath that intense would take far too much time and just wouldn't be worth running, when a couple of minutes with 120 grit sandpaper would smooth it all off so much faster. It's certainly possible, but CNC machining is all about the trade off between time spent and time saved. In some cases, machining takes much longer for no added benefit.
Ah! Makes sense. Thanks for replying.
I need a good unfinished Bass neck, can you make me one?
Hello! To be honest it would work out cheaper to source one from Warmoth... Unfortunately I'm not taking on custom orders for a while. Sorry I couldn't help.
I built the jig, need to make some pucks for a gibson melody maker short scale, any ideas on how to start from my standard fender profiles?? Great hand skills, Spike
I wouldn't even use them. I'd start with a standard C shape (round pucks), then shave off a bit, test on scrap, shave off some more, and repeat until they're dialled in to your satisfaction. A little experimentation at the start will result in a solid jig you can rely on for years.
Therapeutic ♥️
Thank you 🙌🏻
I used butter on my router jig and ended up with a sliced baguette. Please advise.
Use paste wax for jigs, butter for baked goods. That generally sees me right.
This is an amazing jig! Awesome job
I just started building for fun
Would it be possible to get the plans for the jig?
Hi Horacio, Check the description under this video by clicking 'Show More'.
Awesome work mate! This will be very helpful.
Always glad to help!
What if I want full round neck and not to have flat of top end like you said on 4:23. How to avoid flat spots? Nice video. Thanks.
Just make sure that your circular bearing guides are 100% circular.
Love the jig. I saw your design drawing in the video. Is that available? Thanks
Yes, it is
Wow I want one
Easily solved!
Thanks for this AWESOME video!! I was hoping to purchase plans from you later this week, but it looks like I can't reach the website. Are you still making plans for people? If so, do you already have some drawn up for a thin Ibanez style neck? I could send custom dimensions, but figured I would check with you in the event that it would make it easier on you and I both (not looking for a discount though) hahaha!
Hi, hit me up on hello@temple-guitars.com and we will get you set up!
@@TempleGuitars you rock man, thanks for the reply!!!
Genius
Hi Gianni, thanks for stopping by!
Awesome jig dude, you have a new subscriber. Have you tried the same concept for an angled headstock style neck yet?
I personally haven't. But I've been selling customised plans for this on Instagram, and have designed an extra wide version for one of the people that bought them. The maths is the same, just the two ends of the box need to be wider. Thanks for subbing!
Hi! What kind of file did you use first for carving? I have never seen this type of file. Thanks
I use straight and curved razor files from Stew Mac (the Miller sized ones) 👍🏻
hello how ya doin? what neck profile do you use and what thickness at the nut and 12th? does that come into play when you make the circles? i'm not quite grasping the circle formula ... the rubber bands are fail safes right🤔feel better soon
Thanks for the well wishes! The thickness at the first and 12th frets is different for each person. I make several different circles to achieve varying thicknesses of neck. If you extend the lines between your 1st and 12th frets out either end to the bearings, the circles are that diameter, plus 20mm of extra diameter. If you wish to flatten the back of your neck off, just flatten your circles til you get the radius you like.
Will this jig work if you have an angled headstock??
It does, but if you have a big angle, you might want to make the two end pieces of the box wider. Other than that, it's ready to go.
Do you still sell blueprints?
Sure do! Email hello@temple-guitars.com 🤘🏻
Very interesting! What kind of rasps are you using??
I use Stew Mac razor files, both large and small size. Also a Shinto rasp.
very zen with a cuppa
That's the idea!
How can I buy a plan for a jig from you please mate?
Check the 'Show More' section under the video, I've put the info there.
Will this jig work if the fretboard is already attached?
Hi Francisco! I don't think it will, as that throws off the centre line of the neck.
Hello, do you have the project with the measures to build this jig?
Hi, I'm selling customised plans for this jig for USD$55. If you'd like me to design one for you, email hello@temple-guitars.com
Great Video! What router base are you using?
It's the Makita base that came with the router, attached to a piece of 6mm thick perspex/acrylic that I cut to size for the jig.
Thanks for letting me know, great job on that base as well.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Hey! Will there be plans available for this jig? Will this also work with necks that have a volute/angled headstock?
Yep, I'm selling custom plans to your dimensions for USD$50. Message me hello@temple-guitars.com or through insta if you'd like to arrange it.
Are there plans available? Thanks
I sell customised plans for this jig off your unique neck dimensions. If you’re interested, shoot me an email hello@temple-guitars.com and I’ll send you the details.
Where can I buy these plans?
Shoot me an email hello@temple-guitars.com and I'll send you the info
smart.
Thanks Bethany.
How much would the Jig cost? :)
Hi Maurice! Here is the information from back when I was doing a discount on it. instagram.com/p/B9gNzF1n3oo/
If there's anything you're still not sure about, send me an email- hello@temple-guitars.com
I hope that helps!
What kind of file is that
Can you give me a timestamp?
@@TempleGuitars 16:44
Ah, ok. That is a Stew Mac large tapered curved razor file.
www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/types-of-tools/files/razor-files/
@@TempleGuitars cool . I just carved my first neck by hand last night. It turned out perfect and really didn't take that long. Designing it took 3x longer than the actual work. It was daunting at first but I think I like it
kind of like the peterson jig
It's a lot less complicated than the Pederson jig, cheaper to make, and you use a $50 hand router instead of a +$2000 overhead router.
Someone has drawn all over this man! How dare they disrespect the luthier.
Hahaha! Thanks Kenny!
Buttah!
I made one that does two necks in one go..nah nah nah nah..ha ha👍
Well that's just good efficiency!
yea I'll need the plans message me in IG @redtailguitarshop thanks greg
Done.
But I like butter! lol.
does same jig carve the fretboard radius as well?
No, for a fretboard radius, it would have to be much deeper, as the fretboard radius is bigger than a neck radius.
@@TempleGuitars so two entire sleds have to be built? of so do you sell plans for both purposes? carving necks and fretboards thank you for prompt and kind reply
You would need a whole different jig for fretboards. I don't make them, but if you search UA-cam you will see other people do.