Official Luthiers Forum!

I am new to this. I have been building necks for about a month now out of Cumpianos book and using some dove tail patterns. I have been cutting the heel roughly with a coping saw, chisels, and shaping with a good belt sander I have. I am coming along well and getting the process down, and now my 3rd attempt will probably be a keeper.

I am saving my cash to buy a big jet band saw in a few months.

I don't want to make the 800-900 dollar investment for the ultimate bandsaw until I am far enough into this to know I am going to stick with it.

My dilemna is that I need something in the mean time to ease and improve the outcome of the heel and to make some cuts to build a side bending jig.

Would a 10 inch band saw make these cuts? I know it would not be a good long term option, but I am thinking if I could get away with using a 10" for a few months to make the arched heel curve and some patterns it would be worth it.

If it is not worth it, what else could i use to make the arched heel cut? 

 

 

Except for the coping saw, it sounds like your method's fine. I 'carved' the neck on my second guitar on my belt sander, although it was an electric so no big heel.

Maybe it would be more economical to borrow ten minutes on a bandsaw? When I was 'undertooled', I called around to a few cabinetmakers and one let me come over and use his bandsaw, jointer, and planer for half an hour in exchange for a very reasonable donation. It saved me many hours of work and cost as much as a meal with dessert at a decent restaurant.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

A small bandsaw can be very handy even if you have a 'big' saw'. If the large saw is set up for re-sawing, you won't want to switch blades to do a small job.
I bought a small B&D bandsaw years ago for $60 or so and used it around the shop for a few years. The motor packed it in fairly quickly but I re-built with a fractional motor I had and cut wood, aluminum and bronze/brass for a few years with it. Not bad for a plastic-type tool.
When I buy cheap stuff like that I'm prepared to 'lose my investment'- don't expect quality.
A better bet might be a used 12/14 inch saw like a Delta- if you get it for a decent price. Parts are available and it will last a long time.
It depends on how much shop space you have, of course.

Neck heels can be carved by hand, but a bandsaw makes roughing faster.

Curved cuts for bending form templates can be cut by hand or with a jigsaw/saber saw and refined with sanding. Once you have a template, you can cut form pieces with a router - assuming you have a router.
It never ends...

John

Thanks for that,

yeah, I have a good router, table saw, belt sander, and I didn't even think about a jig saw for building the jig..... I have a good jig saw up on the shelf, I can use that for the forms. I am just getting flustered with the heel, I guess.

 

Jon (?)
If you are laminating up your necks you can use a template and the router to cut the laminates before glue-up as well.
That can save some grunt work with the coping saw (and some wood as well).
My 'main' bandsaw for years has been a wood-bodied thing I built from a (Gilliom) kit in the 70's. You really needed a bandsaw to build the thing (!) but I used the jigsaw and it turned out fine.
Lotsa fun...

John

When I first started building I only had a small 1/2hp three wheel bandsaw, and it worked fine in profiling the three inches of mahogany for the necks of half a dozen guitars, and I'm still using the moulds I made using it, it easily sliced through 3" of glued together MDF. Sharp blade well tensioned and go slow. I've got two bandsaws now a 20.5" and a 13" but, if I had to, the little three wheel would still do the job. (But until you've used a 5hp 20.5" you haven't lived!)

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

I started out like you and bought a little 10" bandsaw. When I was sure I would get plenty of use out a larger saw, I bought an 18" bandsaw. Now I find I use both quite a bit: I use the 18" for resawing and ripping operations, while the 10" is set up with a thin blade for small pieces and tight curves.

If you have the space I think a small starter bandsaw is a great buy even if you know you'll be buying a big saw later.

I'm with John on that... I sold my Rockwell 14" saw when I bought the new Laguna, and in some ways I really wish I still had a small one kicking around for certain operations. Changing blades is a pain even with the fantastic Laguna guides. Having a second one for stuff other than resawing would be great, if I had the room for it.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I would recommend on older Rockwell / Delta 14" band saw. On the used
market they are relatively cheap, easy to find parts for and set up with a
good blade will outperform most of the new stuff coming from the east.

I recently picked up a Rockwell 14" wood / metal saw for $250, some
assembly required.

Keep an eye on your local Craig’s List as well as eBay.

Louis

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- Louis Freilicher

Oh No! Not another learning experience!