The Neck

This is my work log of how work with the neck progressed:

When doing this, do not forget to think about the body too. There are many things to keep in mind, one example is how the distance of the neck effects the location of the bridge. I made both the body and the neck at the same time.

Before you commence with this you will need to choose what dimensions you want for your neck, you should also consider if you want to use a truss rod or not. I decided the dimensions during the work, but I do not recommend it.

9th of February:
Today I have worked with the neck, I have removed the extra wood on the fretboard, I still have to improve it a bit further... I used a file and some sand paper, I also removed the glue on the surface.

Here are some pictures:

The nut location does not look perfect as you can see, but it will not be visible. I would perhaps have wished that the tuners had been place a bit more further back, but there should be no problem.

10th of February:
Today I have completed sanding the neck, there was more work left on this than I thought, but it is at least finished now. I have also received the plug cutters that I have bought to make the inlays.

11th of February:
Today I have worked with the inlays. I used a drill to make the holes and a plug cutter with a diameter of 6mm for the inlays themselves. I used regular wood glue to fasten them. I will can not use the same technique for the last inlays since there is not enough room for them there, I am thinking of just using a smaller drill and grind the plugs to the right size instead.

12th of February:
Today I have continued to work with the inlays, I use a knife to peel of layer after layer on the already glued inlays, then I used sand paper to get it to the exact right height. I am going to have inlays on the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 17th, 19th, 22nd and 24th fret. The last four inlays will be much smaller than the other, due to the distances between the frets. The 17th inlay will be 5mm, the 19th inlay will be 4mm in diameter and the 22nd and the 24th will be 3mm in diameter.

The holes has been made for these last four inlays. I made the inlays by first using the 6mm plug cutter, then I fastened the plugs in the pillar drill and held a sand paper against it, later I realized that it would be faster if I used a file instead of the sand paper. (You will also get a straighter surface). Then I glued them into the holes.

I will try to finish the inlays this week-end.

Here are some pictures:

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