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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 11:10 pm
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Coming along great Ceri, I'm loving this. Fascinating stuff. :D

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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 11:12 pm
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Looking Good dude!! Ahhh.. The art of free-form. It's one of the greatest experiences in woodworking.

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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 1:30 pm
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Shredd6 wrote:
Ahhh.. The art of free-form. It's one of the greatest experiences in woodworking.

It is good fun, yes! But it's also time to finish it off.

Been thinking about the shape, taken a train back to town, handled several other guitars - and worked out where this neck needs to go.

It is currently deliberately oversized at 22.5 mm / 0.886" at the first fret, 25.5 mm / 1.003" at the twelfth. Obviously that's too fat, and I've decided to bring those numbers down to 21 mm / 0.826" and 24 mm / 0.945 respectively. Also, I want to take yet more stock off the "shoulders" to end up with a C-meets-D shaped carve.

It's a plan.

Here's the neck (back at my glamorous patio workbench in town):
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(Taylors of Harrogate tea, before anyone asks.)

Now we know where we're going with it we can be methodical. First thing is to take the whole of the back of the neck down to the thickness we've decided on, like this:
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Some careful fine tuning to get it absolutely straight. Worth taking time to get this perfect because then we don't need to touch that aspect of it again:
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We now have a flat area on the back of the neck that possibly looks more dramatic than it really is:
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Re-establishing the pencil lines at first and twelfth positions helps visualise what needs to be done:
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And:
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If we draw pencil hatching along the skunk stripe it will help us see if any of our shaping strays into that area. That's because we want to leave the very back of the neck alone till right at the end, in order to preserve its straightness, lengthwise. So long as the pencil stays there we didn't remove wood where we didn't want to:
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Now we concentrate on getting the profile nicely rounded at either end:
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Again, pencil marks indicate where more material needs to come off. You can see by how much the neck is being reduced when looking at the shaft against the triangular "squinches" (obviously Fender makers don't call those bits by that name. I wonder if they do have a name in the factory? Exactly how those bits end up being shaped is kind of part of the "handwriting" of the guy who did the carve.):
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Here's the first fret area nearing its final shape:
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Then, for the last time, we use the surform to take off stock in between the two shaped ends, bringing the whole shaft to the same profile:
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And after plenty of finish-sanding, here's the final carve:
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Just then, the sun came out. So I endulged myself with some shots of the finished neck:
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Here's how my "squinches" (transition to the heel) ended up being shaped:
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And the transition to the headstock. That grain pattern is the back of the pin-knot we had beneath the nut slot starting to show from the other side. I think we shall agree to call that "character", if that's OK? :D
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A nice view showing the two degree back-tilt of the headstock:
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Whist finish-sanding it is very useful to turn the neck around and around in a strong raking light like this. It helps you to see where more sanding is needed to get it absolutely straight and smooth:
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One last shot. Here's the neck with the dust cleaned off, degreased with naphtha and spirits and with its first coat of lacquer on the back. Just one thin layer of lacquer has already brought out the color of the iroko skunk stripe quite nicely, do you think?
Image

Job - done.

Cheers - C


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Post subject: Crying........
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 2:02 pm
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I might just start crying over this guitar once it's finished......by the way Ceri...check your page....you have more friends... :shock:

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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 3:50 pm
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Ceri wrote:

One last shot. Here's the neck with the dust cleaned off, degreased with naphtha and spirits and with its first coat of lacquer on the back. Just one thin layer of lacquer has already brought out the color of the iroko skunk stripe quite nicely, do you think?
Image

Job - done.

Cheers - C


That stripe really pops, more than I thought it would! :D

It looks really good, and I think you are right about not amber staining the wood. i like the ecru shade you have.
Job not done though, well the neck carve is, but you forgot to hit it at a couple spots with your profile gauge so we could see the final shape!!

Another month or so, and you can tell us how it sounds!!

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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 4:03 pm
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I'll be sorry when this guitar is finished as I have enjoyed this thread so much.If you were up to it Ceri a series of restoration projects would be simply great,we could all chip in to cover expenses and compensate you for your trouble.

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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 9:41 pm
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I missed out for a few days...crazy busy at work. Man Mr C. Looking good mate.... :wink: As I watched this progress I was thinking it has some semblance to the U shaped telecaster necks like used on the older Nocaster or some James Burton Signature models. Have a great weekend and hope to see more soon!

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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 12:37 am
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looking at that neck I'm torn between the vintage tinting and the white natural look....

looks amazing C, can't wait to see the finished product. How many coats of lacquer need to go on the neck before you can put the electronics in and finished her up?

Dan

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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 10:34 am
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Wow! Ceri your skills are absolutely top notch mate! I'm totally amazed at how you created that beautiful neck. Just amazed. Thank you for doing what you do so well and sharing it with us.


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Post subject: True English Craftmanship knows no bounds
Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 7:36 pm
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Ceri,
I must say that you are proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that True English Craftmanship is on full display! I am proud of what you represent Ceri. There was a time when true craftmanship was the law of the land and "The Way Of The English" but because of mass consumption and assembly line technology this has gone out of the window, but you have brought back an age that has not been seen since Grandmother's like mine would tell grandsons like me about traditions and a heritage that you should be proud of and why. Thank you Ceri! You have brought back some really nice memories of my Grandmother telling me stories of how things were done the right way in the old day. You have truly done something special here that is a lot more than pictures of a guitar being built. Amazing! Absolutely Amazing! Three cheers to you Ceri!

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Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 7:41 am
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I am posting just to keep the thread notices in my email. I got dropped and eagerly read thru 2 pages of posts. Ceri you are an awesome craftsman and a humble one which makes it even more appealing. Thank you so much for letting us get a peek at your work.


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Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 8:02 am
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Bump :)

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Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:27 pm
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another bump. Ceri where did you go? :)

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Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:46 pm
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Give the bloke a break eh lads, he's a busy man.

last I heard he was carving some massive 200meter radius cork for some icy mountain somewhere, :?

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Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:47 pm
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pickguarder wrote:
another bump. Ceri where did you go? :)


Hi pickguarder and everyone: well, we're letting the lacquer cure on that neck. Don't worry, I won't keep you waiting forever on that, but...

Still, we were chatting with Forum user vaarl earlier about fret levelling. I guess the lacquer's dry enough for a bit of levelling and dressing if you like. Shall I do some of that for you tomorrow...?

Cheers guys - C


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