Adding the Neck to the Body Parts

In this part of the build process, I lay out the two parts of the guitar body and the neck and get ready to clue them together. Prior to this, I have used a joiner to give me straight edges on the two body parts and the sides of the neck that will be joined. I plane the body section of the neck to the thickness of the two body parts. I get this as close as I can to reduce the amount of sanding that has to be done once the guitar comes together. This step cannot be overstated. The fit of all the parts must extremely tight, otherwise you will have gaps that need filler and it will never look as it should. I mark the butt end of the neck where it needs to be cut and use a miter to remove the the excess.

The lower portion of the guitar body, aligns at the 22nd fret and the top portion aligns at the 19th fret. Opinions may vary. Do your research, examine other guitars and get it right the first time.

Note: The drilled hole in lower portion of the neck body is for positioning of the bridge. The distance from the 12 fret to this hole is exactly (or should be) the same distance as the nut to the 12th fret. The closer you get this, the better your intonation will be. To ensure accuracy, I measure the distance from the 12th fret to the bridge saddles. This is a Carvin neck and if you use a Carvin bridge, the middle screw hole of the bridge when aligned with this hole, will center the bridge but be sure to check for accuracy. Run a string from the center of the nut, down the length of the neck and center the other end of the string over the center of the bridge. Trust but verify.

Note that in the next image I use a frame from a cut out body to give me straight edges to clamp with. This frame was cut from a guitar that I built back in '93 using a CNC router and is very clean.

The glue is Tightbond and it does a great job. The wet spots on the wood show where the excess clue was wiped off. Take your time when cluing the edges together to ensure you have a tight seal all the way around.

I let the guitar setup overnight and after removing the clamps, I get to work routing out the cavities for the pickups and the wiring.

New wood and tools in the shop!

Just got in this nice piece of curly maple. Trying to figure out the best way to cut it in half.

In the backgroung is a new piece of curly redwood. The redwood still needs to dry for some time before I can cut it. More wood on the way!

Another new addition is a 14" bandsaw and no, the adjustment on the blade guide will not go up high enough for me to cut the maple. Should have bought a 16".