looking for the simplist kind of neck build for minimum work with few hand tools.
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looking for the simplist kind of neck build for minimum work with few hand tools.
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The necks I make on my Christmas guitars are pretty easy and until I got a free bandsaw earlier this year I've made them almost exclusively with hand tools.
I start with an oak 1x2 from the local big box hardware store, then notch one side of the box for it to fit, I then shave a layer off the section of neck inside the box so the box lid can vibrate freely. I've done this with a coping saw, with a table saw (lots of little passes), and the band saw. But I figure you could do it with just a plane and chisel too since it's hidden in the box and doesn't have to be pretty.
Then I notch a section at the other end for the tuners since tuners won't fit through 3/4" of wood. This is also when I sometimes get fancy with the coping saw and "carve" a shape into the bit of headstock left above the tuners.
Finally I add a 1/8" fingerboard. For some reason I get bowing even on 1x2 oak and only 3 strings unless I use a laminated fingerboard. My first build with a real fingerboard I tried just screwing it on but after 2 days the neck had a bow. Took it off and glued it back on and haven't had any bow since (that was about 2 years ago and the guitar has seen daily use since and only been detensioned for string changes.)
Makes for really quick and easy necks that still have a bit of personality.
Roger, use a 1x2 oak plank and notch one end of the box, secure the other end with the tailpiece you got from me. You can get 1/4" wood for the fretboard from Lowes as well as the oak and sometimes maple 1x2's.
Ryan can you buy 1/8th wood for fret boards at lowes or home depot.
The absolute simplest is the Uncle Crow style. The neck is screwed to the top of the box, instead of going through it. Crow walks you through it here. Next simplest would be a through-neck, with the notches in the box cut deep enough to allow the lid to close, without notching the neck. This would leave the neck lower than the top of the box, making it slide-only, or you could add a fretboard to the top of the neck to raise it up.