Never done a scarf joint but want to try one on my next headstock/neck connection. It seems as though clamping the glue joint could be a little challenging. I don't know anything about it but am willing and eager to try. Any advice?
Many thanks!
Doug
Replies
Yup! Can't be beat for a good show 'n' tell. The are all on Vimeo.com, or here in one handy place:
http://handmademusic.ning.com/group/jimfretshowtovideos
Ted Kaczynski said:
I like to flip the joint down so it is not on the fret board, then if it goes wrong it is less critical. if it is up on the headstock then I can cover it up, or not depending ho well the joint comes out, or how fancy the build is.
Cheers Ron
[IMG]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f333/mookie098/IMG_0504.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f333/mookie098/IMG_0430.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f333/mookie098/IMG_0398.jpg[/IMG]
-WY
A fretboard or fingerboard can now be applied if needed. One thing i use once the joint is made anf fretboard applied (along with other things) is a jack plane to have the sides all flush and neat -- unless you are making a headstock with 'wings' which would be applied after planing the sides but before shaping the neck
-WY
Just pack out between the board (or table or workmate) and the neck to the same height as the difference in width on one side (half the total difference in width between the neck and the head).
Just to reiterate that there are two ways to make the joint. On one the glue joint is in line with the neck and the joint is visible on the front of the head (unless you add a veneer to conceal it). The other type (as in my photos) is where the joint is parallel to the front face of the head. Only this type of joint becomes more secure when a fretboard is added. The joint is not visible from the front of the instrument.
Doug Patterson said:
Just as a little follow-up. This is what it looked like after a bit of rough shaping and thinning of the head. Once the fretboard is fitted that adds considerable strength as it pretty much doubles the glue area with the head.
Clamping isn't as hard as it may at first appear. With a few normal clamps and a flatish board or table top (workmate in the photo) you can clam securely. If you clamp the head down to the board with two clamps (blue clamps in the photo) and position the neck with one at the far end (away from the joint - also blue). Then it only takes a couple of clamps (the two black ones) to actually close the joint up. You may want to use pieces of wood on either side of the joint to spread the clamping force more evenly and avoid marking the neck unnecessarily.
Because of the clamps holding the head and the neck the two can't slide out lengthwise as they would do otherwise. Now the only problem would be that excess glue would stick the neck to the board as well, but a bit of cling film (plastic food wrap) or cooking foil placed between the board and the neck solves that problem.
Hope this helps.
Hi Doug,
The key to making a good scarf joint is to make sure the mating surfaces are perfectly level along the angle of the cut which usually is about 15 degrees. On my early scarf joints, I had some problems when gluing because the surfaces weren't perfectly level and when I when to clamp them with clamps on one side, the joint closed real nicely on the clamped side, but opened up on the un-clamped side. These days, after cutting the scarf joint, I stack the two cut pieces (neck & headstock) on top of each other so that the angled (mating) surfaces form a continuous sloped surface, and then I wrap a sanding block with 60 grit sand paper and sand like the devil until I'm sure the mating surfaces are good and level. Then I glue them up making sure the clamps go on both sides and I inspect all around before leaving it to dry overnight. I cut my scarf joints at a 15 degree angle, but anything from 10 degrees to 20 degrees should work fine, so don't sweat it if your cut angle isn't perfect. I usually allow an extra 1/4 of headstock/neck length under the assumption that my cut won't be perfect and I'll have to do a lot of sanding to get the surfaces to mate well. I guess if I had a table saw and a belt sander, there would be nothing to making a scarf joint, but I use a hand saw and a sanding block (only electric tool I use -- besides my computer to access CBN -- is a hand drill). You might try a few practice cuts on scrap wood to get the hang of using a hand saw to cut 15 degree angles. Good luck.
-Rand.
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