Started out to build a neck.

Posted by Tom T on May 19, 2016 at 6:37pm

I got my hands on some 1x6 hard maple and couldn't resist building a couple of nice CBG necks.

As is usually the case, once I completed the neck, I wanted to put it onto something. I had a nice large wooden cigar box, so I said "what the heck"

I cut the F holes in the box, added a 27 mm piezo with a passive tone control. The fret board is a mahogany piece with some jumbo frets. The bridge is a 1/4 - 20 brass screw three inches long.

Since it was a six stringer and I thinned and rounded the neck, I decided to add a truss rod. A 1/4" router bit did the job of making the slot for the truss rod and I found it worked well when I did the final set up on the guitar.

It is a nice player with all 19 frets clear of the box. That makes sliding up to 15 or even 17 a snap.

Overall it turned out as a nice daily player. Now I just have to explain to the wife why I needed one more CBG.

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Replies

  • J.D. September 4, 2016 at 1:05pm
    Oh ,you installed a truss rod also ,,,Nicely done! I've been watching/reading up on all the "good neck building" info I can ,but haven't made it as far as installing truss rods. Heck ,I'm still trying to figure out how to get a neck to look and fill like any other guitar neck you would see on a acoustic or what not. Again nice job Tom.
    • Tom T > J.D. September 4, 2016 at 2:17pm

      Dual action truss rods are very inexpensive on ebay. They are a standard 1/4" wide with a rounded bottom side. I picked up a 1/4" round-tipped router bit that works perfectly. After watching a number of YouTubes on installing truss rods,  I build a simple fixture to hold the neck parallel to my router fence and the routing job was pretty simple. This was the second truss rod I had installed and have since done a third neck using the same technique.

      As far as shaping the neck to look and feel like a regular guitar, I found some neck shaping templates on line that I printed  and glued to card stock to make shaping jigs for four locations on the neck. That and a good wood rasp and you can get there fairly quickly.

  • J.D. September 4, 2016 at 10:09am
    That is a nice looking neck you built ,,,and git turned out nice!
    • Tom T > J.D. September 4, 2016 at 10:12am

      Thanks J D. It is now one of my daily players.

    • J.D. > Tom T September 4, 2016 at 10:18am
      I bet ,,,Most 6 stringers I come across have the knock off fender ,Gibson style necks "which is totally fine. I've come across some nice ones ,but that's nice seeing a hand made neck fit for 6 strings! Nice work Tom!I'm sure it does ,but got to ask if it holds in tune good?
    • Tom T > J.D. September 4, 2016 at 11:37am

      Hi JD.

      This guitar holds tune  as well as any guitar I have Including a Gretsch Boxcar reso  and a hollow body electric. I did install a truss rod and the neck is hard maple  all the way through. The strings are standard gauge and I rarely have to retune.

  • GARAGE HERMIT May 20, 2016 at 6:08am

    nice work,

  • Paul Craig May 20, 2016 at 12:37am

    Great job on the neck and the whole build.

    When she starts to ask, ask her how many pairs of shoes she has. Then explain that CBG's come in pairs. Hahaha

  • Dan Vines May 19, 2016 at 9:29pm

    Nice!

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