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I thought folks might like to see my steps in working up a classical guitar neck.
Here's the starting point, a billet of Spanish cedar (2" stock about 2 1/2" wide) with a peghead blank thicknessed to about 27/32"
Shown are the templates used to mark out and cut the "V" joint.
(NOTE: I've omitted the "V" joint process from this series as it is very well covered in the GAL magazine Number 63/Fall 2000)
The joint is cut with the back saw shown and chisel fitted, once the fit is right it is clamped and glued
The vise shown is a Zyliss, made in Europe and quite versatile. As you can see it is being used to provide clamping pressure along the length of the neck and peg head
The completed joint
The peghead veneer and foot (sawn from the end of the neck billet and grain matched) block are glued and clamped.

Next the tapered sides of the peg head are cut.
This is done with a plexiglass template and a plunge router and bushing guide. The template is strategically screwed into the peghead in the area which will be routed out for the slots as well as the fingerboard mating surface where care has to be taken to not exceed about 1/2" in depth.
Here is my router set up
The cuts are made in increments with the plunge feature taking care to avoid chip outs by "backing into" areas where the direction of the bit is against the grain
Here are the tapered faces now cut.
The template will be used again later to cut the peghead shape.
Using the Stew Mac drill jig, the holes are bored for the tuners

Now the slotting jig is attached. I made this one on a milling machine years ago but they can now be purchased from suppliers as well as made by hand. Once the template has been accurately cut you can repeat that accuracy every time it is used. Again, screws are placed strategically such as in the outer portion of the peghead wich will later be trimmed to shape.
Cutting the slots with the plunge router...again this is done in increments to avoid tear outs.
The taper template is re-attached and the peghead shape is cut.

The peg head is now drilled shaped and slotted.
Next the heel and foot are cut on the band saw
As well as the angled cuts on the "cheeks" of the heel/neck block.
These are then trued on the belt sander taking care not to reduce the width of the blank on the fretboard surface.
The neck is then placed in a jig (based on one used at the Romanillos course) which is set at a 4 degree angle and a special saw is used to cut the back surface of the heel which will mate with the sides. The angled sides of the jig coupled with the saw "stop" automatically give the correct depth and angle of the cut.
Flipping the saw over gives a 10mm space to create the second cut which will form the recess for the wedges which will hold neck to the rims.


Chiseling out the wedge slots

With some additional filing to dress out and bevel the foot as well as cutting the heel to its side profile the neck is essentially done (for now anyway).

Nice pics Dave

I love the look of the V joint!

Mike

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Mike Collins

Nice layout and tutorial, Dave. I would be interested in how the jig is made for cutting the tapered slots for the sides. That was my biggest problem on the neck, getting those slots even and at the same angle. Actually I think mine are off a tiny amount, but it is not noticeable. By the way, besides the GAL article, there is a tutorial on the V-joint by Joshua in the Tutorial page.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Excellent Waddy,
I won't feel so guilty about not including it........
Here's another shot of the jig
As you can see, the neck is put in fret board side down and lined up on the center line. The saw support is angled and guides the cut on either side to produce even results.

Great Big ! You have showed that before. You have it in a vertical position in your tutorial. I get it now. The angle is controlled by the jig, and the depth of cut and the angle, top edge to heel edge, is controlled by the stop on the saw? How wide is your web between the slots at the top edge? I can see it goes to near zero at the back edge.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I think it's 30 mm.

Great tutorial Dave.

Thanks, Dave. Nice tutorial and photos. I may take a crack at that Romanillos side slots some day.

Regards,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

As a beginner, I can say it sure makes fitting sides a breeze. No issues, except playing around a little to get the wedges right.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I agree Waddy,
The wide slot and wedge(s) arrangement is far easier than hitting the thickness of the slot just right so that it firmly holds the sides but still allows for glueing.

Elegant work, David. Thanks for posting.
You simply rout out the slots, w/out doing any bulk removal with a drill bit first? Is that right?
Any thoughts on that approach?

Thanks,

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Here is another example of how a good jig can save hours of work and also make a repeatable finished product.

This jig is so simple that it does makeyou go "DUH" why didnt I think of that ???

EXCELLENT tut !!

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Reguards,

Ken H

Yes Steve, there is no drilling to remove stock prior to the use of the router. I start the cut at zero and use the plunge feature to rout through the peghead veneer at first
then make two or three incremental cuts till I'm through the entire thickness.
CAUTION: Turn off the router once the cut is done and allow to stop before withdrawing it from the cut to avoid damaging the workpiece.
I know that many (Jose' Romanillos for one) still use the method of drilling a series of holes and using a rasp or file to true them up, and achieve excellent results. I did it that way (or a variation of the above) until I first made a jig in the mid 80's which produced far more precise results than what I had previously been achieving.