So while doing some fret work on my Tele this past New Year's Eve I thought about taking the neck off of the guitar to do the work. For some reason, I'm intimidated in taking the neck off! New Year's Resolution is to do it the next time I want to work on one of my guitars but the thought occurred to me...how to hold the neck in a sturdy yet non-damaging way while doing the work?

I can't see myself putting a neck in a vise to hold it while I do work on it. Especially my 75lb mechanics vise!!!

Have any of you come up with a inexpensive jig to hold a neck stable yet safe from damage? Something that will allow me to work on all of the frets at one time?

_________________
-T

"You can't spend what you ain't got, you can't lose what you ain't never had" ~ McKinley Morganfield

I've never needed one, never had to put enough pressure on to warrant needing a tool to hold the thing.

_________________
No no and no

I've never used one nor ever wished I had one. Frankly, I honestly can't even see any advantages to using one as to me, it would only get in the way.

_________________
You dig?

I've not done this, but I suppose you could just mount the neck to a 2x4 and then clamp the 2x4 in a bench vise.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Speci ... k_Jig.html

or should money be an issue

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Speci ... _Caul.html

_________________
63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

+1 sounds like a simple effective idea right there.

_________________
Check out my new FB music page!

https://www.facebook.com/TheDevilandMe.Music

Or a really simple, caveman simple invention. You're going to love this.

Take the neck off a guitar. Get a block of wood and hold it over the back of the guitar body. Mark through the neck bolt holes so you have your bolt positions.
Drill the 1/8th holes where marked. Screw the neck to that block of wood. Carve something to support the headstock end.
Then with the neck screwed to the wood, bolt the block of wood to the table, put the support piece under the headstock.

That is not without it's faults though. I personally wouldn't be comfortable putting pressure on the upper fret end, where the thing is bolted to the wood block. Whilst working on it and maybe ripping the screws out.
That could just be paranoia, induced through not having the thing in front of me though.

If you were to strip the tuners off the neck, you could clamp it down at the headstock, frets pointing skywards. Then maybe use a couple of 1/2"x2" lath's fixed to the worksurface, either side of the neck heel to stop forward/back movement.

_________________
No no and no