A new Guitar Build part 5: Shaping a guitar neck by hand.
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- In this video series I give you a very in depth look in how I make my custom electric guitars by hand.
In this episode I show you how I shape my guitar necks by hand.
I'll explain in detail how I use facets to get the desired neck profile.
How to cut out the rough shape on a bandsaw and use rasps and files to shape a guitar neck.
This video turned out more like a tutorial on how to shape a guitar neck by hand then I initially intended. But I liked making this video very much.
I hope these tips can help you on your guitar build.
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i dont know why you dont have more views, truly deserved, great series
Thank you so much for the compliment and subscribing. I hope the viewers will come eventually. It all depends on how often the UA-cam algorithm decides to suggest my videos. Growing a channel takes a lot of time, but your comment and subscription already helped to improve the ratings.
The math involved in the neck was explained very good. Great video.
True, same thoughts
The neck is the most important part of the guitar ALWAYS
I really thought you would use a spokeshave for this. Amazing job
Very useful video, I often come back to it when I need to shape a neck. For the volute, using a low-angle light helps to spot bumps and holes as well.
You can really use a variety of tools to get to the final result. I use for instance a cabinet scrapper to take down the last edges left by the facets (avoids file marks), and then I round over everything with bands of sandpaper (pulling fast from one side to another, not sure how to explain this process, I hold the paper the same way Daniel does at 26:23)
I've watched many different builders while planning my own build. You are very informative and I've had questions answered that none of the other builders addressed. I especially like your oscillating sander tricks. Very innovative. Keep up the great work you are doing. I'll tell everyone I know about your channel.
Hi Rick,
Thank you very much for the compliments and the support.
One of the reasons why I decided to do these informative videos is because I also was missing specifics in other videos.
I try my best to show as much as possible, but if anyone wants to know more they are more than welcome to leave a comment and if I can I'll make a video about it.
I'm currently building my first neck. This video and the prior videos in this playlist are by far the best I've found on the subject. I've seen these videos linked from a few different places, including Reddit and TDPRI, and for good reason. You're an excellent teacher. Thank you for the detailed tutorial.
Excellent ... out to the workshop now to start carving!! Thank you.
Hands down the best explanation I’ve seen on UA-cam for how to carve a neck by hand. Thank you! Great video!
Hi Ron,
Thank you very much for the huge compliment.
Nice to hear you're getting some useful information from my videos.
My first build. How could I ever be successful, if not for chaps like you sharing your knowledge. Thank-you. David from Canada.....eh?
Daniel, I really enjoy all your videos, but the in-depth neck making tutorials are the best and most clearly informative that I've seen. Please keep up the excellent work!
Now im checking this video every time before i start carving a neck. LOL Thanks :D
Fantastic tutorials, really like the level of detail, very useful to me as I am just starting my first build👍
Hi Dave,
Thank you very much.
Nice to know my videos are providing you with useful information.
Great video and great skills, thanks
your delivery is excellent, you are genuine, informative and fun to watch. thank you
Hi Gurup,
Thank you very much for the compliments.
I really appreciated the detail in your explanations. For example how you segment the neck for the various neck (C/D, etc.) shapes. A lot of videos just jump into the carving without taking time to go into that level of detail. Thank you!
Great stuff! Now, where to get some suitable wood!😊😊🎸🎸
Great work! Thank you for sharing your diagrams of the neck shapes and facets. It's really a trial and error to find the right combination of facets.
Incredible videos. Been loving them all since I found them last week. I love the mathematics behind the carve. Thank you for continuing to share and best of luck!
Hi FreaksArise,
Thank you very much for the compliment and the sub.
Nice to hear you're enjoying my videos.
Thanks great video really helpful. I am building my first neck and your video answers a lot of my questions
Building my first guitar in woodshop and these videos help out so much. Thank you!
Good idea with the sander😀
Thank you very much. Creativity on how to get a particular job done is half the fun of guitar making isn’t it?
Wow great job with the shaping diagram. Never thought of it or seen it that way . 🤔
I wish there was a guide for Soft V -shape as well :)
Your videos are so incredibly informative and helpful! Your detailed explanations make the building process go much more smoothly. Thank you for sharing your expertise!
Amazing skills and knowledge! Such a worthy pursuit is luthiery. A nearly identical set of skills to those who craft weapons. Weapons have their place, where music has failed.
Hi W13rdguy,
Thank you very much.
I learned a lot. Thank you.
Thanks a lot, your videos are very helpful!
Hey Daniel. Great vids and tips. Do you have plans for your neck carving jig?
Excellent videos!
Hey Andres,
Thank you very much!
This is the most precise, in depth neck build tutorial I have seen...... Awesome!!! A few more questions if I may? 1) approximately how much wood do you keep between the truss rod and the underside of the neck? 2) how do you determine the tension of the strings? To give context I find 14.2 lb tension per string (using 9's on a standard fret 8 string, tuned down to F, then Bb etc) suits me, but am considering trying building a fan fret and want to know the best way to calculate the combination of scale lengths. Also I am told by my string supplier that the overall length, including string on the headstock and after the bridge (if running through ferrals) has a substantial impact on the tonality and stability etc of the string? Cheers!
Hey Rosalinda,
I had to think for a while on how to answer your questions because there are no straight answers. It all depends on so many factors, but I'll try and I hope not open a can of worms:
1) I would say as much as possible.. It really depends on how thick you want the neck to be, what kind of truss rod you're using, etc. The truss rods I'm using require a 9mm deep channel for the main part and +/- 12mm for the 'head'. This means if I have a 6mm thick fretboard and I want 20mm thick neck at the first fret I end up with just 2mm of material underneath the 'head' of the truss rod and 7mm and more for the rest of the neck. If I want an even thinner neck I have to balance the fretboard thickness with the neck thickness to have at least 1mm underneath the truss rod head, but this is very scary when carving the neck. It didn't happen yet, but I'm always worried I'll carve to far and end up in the truss rod channel. (Keep checking the thickness of the neck while carving). If you want to be sure on where the limits are make a cross section drawing of your neck to get an idea and a graphical confirmation.
2) I don't....
I believe the amount of tension a player wants to 'feel' is a matter of personal preference.
I'm happy to experiment with the owner of a guitar on what string gauge is best suited for a particular playing style on that particular guitar instead of putting on a set of 10's because that's what I've calculated or that's what the player always uses.
The same goes for scale length(s). I personally just love the feel of a 25.5" scale length. It suits my style, hand size, etc. and I'm used to it. And I'll experiment with string gauges, brands, types, etc. to achieve the feel and tonal quality I'm looking for.
There are so many factors, both technical and personal, that influence each other within a guitar I don't believe it is possible to determine or predict every aspect of it beforehand. I believe you can only have a design intend based on educated guesses and/or experience. But in the end it all comes down to the user.
For example string length.. One could argue that specific string lengths have a certain impact on tonality, stability, etc. But the moment a player uses more windings around the tuners for example, or changes string gauge, or whatever. I believe everything goes out the window. More windings have an impact on tuning stability for example. Even the tuning method has potentially an impact on tuning stability.
String through body vs. Top loaded strings on a fixed bridge...
I believe there is a difference, but that's merely based on my assumptions on what happens in a guitar. I think with a sting through construction the forces on the bridge are better distributed throughout the bridge and body with a potential 'better sustain'. Where with a top loaded bridge the forces are mainly linear in the string direction and only the mounting screws for the bridge have to deal with all the tension and vibrations. Of course the type of bridge and the construction also come into play here. I believe the more contact surface between bridge and body the better.
Like I often say in my videos... when building or designing something You really have to think about what it is you're trying to achieve, what is involved and what the best approach is to get the result you're aiming for. And leave yourself enough room to adjust when necessary.
And if you're not certain... experiment and do some research. For example go to a music store and try out different guitars with different construction methods, hardware, strings, etc. and take notes on what you like and don't like. Try to figure out why that may be and what you might be able to improve and incorporate those findings in your designs.
Or do what I did... just start building and figure things out along the way. As long as you keep thinking about what you're doing and what you want to achieve, chances are you'll end up with a good result.
Good luck.
@@UnquendorGuitars wow... Thank you so much for all of this..... It helps a great deal & has cleared up a few dubious decisions that were in the pipeline 😀 . Thanks again!!!!!!
You should check out SRV’s neck shape. He used a neck that was fatter at the bottom than the top. I just read that not too long ago and thought it was interesting.
Hi David,
I will definitely check it out.
Thanks for the tip.
Do you think a jig saw is enough to do the rough cuts? I don't have a band saw.
Hi LettersToAGhost,
I think it depends on the jig saw and how much the blade flexes while cutting.
But if you're confident it will cut nice and square it should be doable I guess.
Never done it myself though. I would keep enough margin for error and cut a little further from my line.
Where I can get that center line ruler :)?
Thanks!!!
Hi Dan, i did the same proses just like you on the neck. I got a nice d shape. But the neck is a little thicker than i want it to be so is there a proper way to make it thinner? Thank you for the tutorial by the way, it is really helpfull.
Hi Sedar,
Thank you for your question.
This is a bit tricky to judge without all the information on how you made the neck and what all the dimensions are.
thinning down the neck depends on a couple of things:
- Depth of the truss rod channel, usually around 9mm for the main channel and 13mm where the adjustment nut is. (assuming the adjustment nut is at the headstock side of the neck)
- Thickness of the fretboard - around 6mm is common.
The minimum thickness of a neck, keeping a save amount of material underneath the truss rod, is +/- 21mm (13+2+6)
How ever you can take a little more risk with the 2mm material underneath the truss rod nut if you have a strong wood type for your neck like maple. But I like to keep at least 1mm of material.
So if you know there is still enough material left underneath the truss rod you can sand down the neck a little.
If you're not sure, or there isn't enough material, you can also sand down the fretboard.
When I need to make a (very) thin neck I always start with a thinner fretboard.
Sometimes changing the shape from a "D" in more a "C" shape also changes the feel of the neck. Making it feel slimmer than it actually is. It's often the 'sides' of a neck and how 'steep' they are that make it feel chunky rather than the overall thickness.
I hope this answer helped you somewhat.
Good luck.
@@UnquendorGuitars thanks for your answer. I know there is enough material because i was afreid of removing too much material at first, so my neck about 23 mm. I would like to keep the D shape. İf i sand it with send paper can i make it slimmer without damahing the shape?
Can you please make a diagram like yours at 10'00 with V shape, soft V, U, deep C etc...?
Hi Cédric,
Thank you very much for your reaction.
I'm thinking about making the diagrams shown in my videos available for downloads but at the moment I unfortunately don't have the time available to make the diagrams presentable and setup a download page or to create new diagrams I myself don't use.
As soon as I have a page setup with schematics and diagrams I will mention it in a video.
@@UnquendorGuitars Thank you! ☺ I stay tuned! 😉
Since you are removing 50% + of wood I would no trust that neck from moving. Unless you let rest for at least 1 year under a climate control area…
That is always a risk whenever you shape a neck…