Welcome John! I for one am very excited to work with John.
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| Author: | Brock Poling [ Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:50 pm ] |
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Ok... we all know John Watkins, OLF member, Pink Guitar builder AND.... CUSTOM CNC neck maker. John recently put his CNC skills up for sale to help OLFers develop their own custom neck specifications and precision mill them on his CNC system. Check out his offer. http://www.watkinsguitars.com/cnc_necks1.htm |
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| Author: | LanceK [ Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:52 pm ] |
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Welcome John! I for one am very excited to work with John.
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| Author: | Shane Neifer [ Tue Apr 11, 2006 3:23 pm ] |
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That looks like a great option for the small production guys for sure....one day maybe!! Welcome John and the very best to your business. I already know your quality and attention to detail from the fretting supplies I have from you. So I think your offer for necks is well beyond fair. Shane |
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| Author: | Serge Poirier [ Tue Apr 11, 2006 3:29 pm ] |
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Yep, the quality/price ratio sure will be at rendez-vous! I wish you plenty of success John! 
Serge |
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| Author: | russ [ Tue Apr 11, 2006 5:17 pm ] |
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Guys, I have used John's services in the past, and have nothing but good things to say about him and his work. If you've thought about taking the step toward having parts CNC milled, John is your man! |
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| Author: | John Watkins [ Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:47 pm ] |
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Thanks, guys. This neck promotion will be the first of a number of offerings that take advantage of the power, accuracy, and flexibility of my new machine. I look forward to helping my fellow OLFer's produce more instruments with better consistency and less headaches. PS - I'm having my entire electrical panel replaced today to accomodate the new machine, so I'll be offline for the day in about an hour. |
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| Author: | Dave-SKG [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 12:17 am ] |
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So John, Does this mean you could now accurately reproduce my necks...mistakes and all!  Congrats on the new business I wish you all the success.
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| Author: | Michael Dale Payne [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:49 am ] |
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Welcome John. I to would love to take advantage of your CNC'd necks but like most small independents I can't justify the 1K setup fee. That is not to say it is not fair. Being an engineer in the manufacturing world I totally understand the work and programming involved. $1K is reasonable. just can't fit it into my build budget. However if you ever decide to make a laminated stock 25.4-14 neck, you let us know I will jump to try one. |
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| Author: | Shane Neifer [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 2:37 am ] |
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Another option would be to do a group thing. 10 necks, including the set up fees is $200. After that it only gets cheaper. So if a group of us (I am not there yet, I want to build my own necks for a while) were to agree on some design elements maybe there would be a way to cover these costs off. Just a thought, we do many things in a community way, this could be just one more... Shane |
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| Author: | James Orr [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:28 am ] |
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[QUOTE=Hesh1956] Would you be interested in offering an off-the-shelf commercial offering(s) that the hobbiest (or pro) could buy with out the set-up fee? [/QUOTE] I was going to ask the exact same thing. I don't care about the back shape. give me a tenon and oversized headstock, and I'll be good to go! |
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| Author: | Michael Dale Payne [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:46 am ] |
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There are several one piece mahogany CNC necks available It would be great to see a laminated CNC available. That said I would kind of feel like I am cheating  but who knows I might be able to get over it |
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| Author: | MSpencer [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:50 am ] |
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Welcome Mike |
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| Author: | Bill Greene [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 5:26 am ] |
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I'm on my first kit guitar, (yes, I'm having the time of my life) and although I definitely intend to carve a neck (or two) for the experience, I would be interested as well if John offered some spec neck (hey, that rhymes) that the "poor OLF group" could get behind. Hmmm, wonder if the retired guitar builder would have an interest in having his necks cloned... |
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| Author: | CarltonM [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 6:46 am ] |
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[QUOTE=James Orr]I was going to ask the exact same thing. I don't care about the back shape. give me a tenon and oversized headstock, and I'll be good to go![/QUOTE] One of our other vendors has been offering just that for some time. His initials are ZOOT. Hope I'm not stepping on your toes here, John--this seems quite different from what you've proposed. |
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| Author: | FrankC [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:51 am ] |
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Welcome John. Great idea for the builder who hates carving necks. I don't build near enough to spend the money but if i ever do, I will let you know. Also, I would be in if you offered individual necks like MichealP stated. Maybe a stock 24.9 slotted headstock also?
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| Author: | John Mayes [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:03 am ] |
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for what it's worth.. a $1,000 for set-up/CAD/fixture charges is VERY reasonable. I've gotten quotes from guys who supply lots of the big names and the norm is more like $2500 for full programming, ect, and normally minimum runs are 24 pieces. |
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| Author: | John Watkins [ Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:10 pm ] |
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Thanks for the ideas and words of encouragement, guys. I'll look into the feasibility of a generic neck. John |
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| Author: | Anthony Z [ Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:20 am ] |
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John -- a CNC service supplier who is also a builder is just what we need here. J Mayes -- I agree $1k set-up is more than reasonable given some of the shop rates I've seen. My brother who is a CNC wiz himself said the $1k set-up fee is a bargoon, not to mention $100 per neck there after! I like the idea of a stock 25.4" or 24.9" neck -- issue is what profile will it be? John -- I like others have a CNC'd wish list -- should I email you? |
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| Author: | Mario [ Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:35 am ] |
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John, what about CNC'd templates and such? A handful of custom cut acylic templates with the holes in exactly the right spot would be quite handy to someone who's jigged up in the old fashioned way(me me me!). Jigs and templates are only as good as their accuracy, and mine suffer a tad. Would you be willing to do this stuff? |
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| Author: | Don Williams [ Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:43 am ] |
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If you're thinking about long-term cnc work, this can be a bargain. Sure, it's pricey for the first 10 necks at $200 each, but after that they're atill only $100 each, which is dirt cheap for something of your own exclusive design. A generic neck, with a rough-shaped neck and paddle headstock might attract a lot of folks for sure. There are other suppliers out there, but none that give a laminated neck, or an option of no tuner holes that I'm aware of. |
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| Author: | John Watkins [ Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:52 am ] |
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Mario, I will do (and pretty much have done) everything and anything. 
The current workload includes archtop plates, Les Paul hollow-bodies, logo inlays, bridges, fingerboards....you name it. Just let me know what you need.
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| Author: | npalen [ Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:59 am ] |
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John--You're holding out on us. Tell us about that new CNC you got!
Nelson |
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