I've been watching a ton of neck building videos lately and yours is easily the most original (cool jigs, different approaches, super glue!) and most well done. I particularly appreciate the lack of talking! Great work.
How many luthiers does it take to screw in a light bulb? One, but it will take him 3 months to make the jig. Seriously, great work here. Your jigs and fixtures are quite impressive.
I have a few questions, if you don't mind. 1. I noticed that when you installed the skunk stripe, you were fairly liberal with the glue. My dad taught me that while you don't want a dry joint, modern wood glue is very effective in thin, but full coverage coats. Have you ever had an issue with truss rod binding from glue in the channel? 2. Is the rear installation of the truss rod, in this particular case, just for aesthetic or era correct purposes? 3. Do you offer plans for the fixtures and jigs you use? Learned a few tricks watching this. Very clean work.
Thank you. I've come a long way since that build. That truss rod seems to work ok but I could see too much glue being a problem. I've had the skunk stripe pop lose before so I was probably over compensating. The reason for the rear install is partially to be true to the Era but also because I was making some one piece necks at the time and needed to install it from the back. I was all set up for that kind of installation so that's why I did that. I do not have any plans for any of my jigs or fixtures. Most of them have been retired and replaced by new methods. The fret jig has been replaced by a simple jig on a radial arm saw. The fretboard radius jig has been replaced by a big belt sander that I built with a swinging fixture that can be set to different radii. The 3 axis router is now a fully functional cnc. I still have the neck contour jig but it only works for fender style necks. I will probably be modifying it soon to accommodate different neck sizes.
@@lennyc624 Awesome, thanks for replying. I make Fender style necks for my instruments, for the fact that there is so much less waste and less construction complexity than a slant headstock neck. I've made necks with scarf joint, or from single pieces of lumber, and just lamented the amount of offcut waste. I never considered that a skunk stripe could pop out. That must have sucked!
@@peachmelba1000 Yes it sucked but I am pretty new to guitar making and each build is a learning experience. I get a lot of satisfaction out of making jigs and fixtures to improve the process. I have about 6 finished guitars that all look and play great but I could go through and point out all the mistakes and imperfections. Of course, I'm my worst critic.
I bought a Telecaster Delux from Italienska Musik in Malmoe Sweden (in the 70 ies I think it was) and I`m sorry to say it´s the suckiest Fender guitar I ever played. Way of balanced so you had to hold the neck up while playing it which made your playing suck, so I sold it. It was a very beautiful guitar though so it was´nt easy to let go of it.
Hi. Can I ask why did you use a separate fretboard slab yet use a skunk stripe to route the truss rod slot? Is that just era correct for your build? Thanks for the great video. i learned a lot.
I think I did that because I didn't have a thick enough piece of maple to make a 1 piece at that time. The skunk stripe and bullet truss rod was an era choice. Also that's how I did my truss rods back then. I do it differently now. My method is always evolving.
@@lennyc624 Thanks. I'm racking my brain trying to figure out how to do a more vintage correct truss rod for the build I'm planning. This video was a lot of help. Do you have any information about what the dimensions on the curve of the truss rod slot should be?
@@jeff1872t not really. As far as I understand, there's a screw accessible under the 7th fret marker dot. I think. I'm nor sure what the purpose is. My guess is to prevent the truss rod from digging into the wood under tension. I've built a few necks without that and they seem to work ok. I may be totally wrong about the purpose of that. It's just my best guess.
I've been watching a ton of neck building videos lately and yours is easily the most original (cool jigs, different approaches, super glue!) and most well done. I particularly appreciate the lack of talking! Great work.
Your jigs are amazing!
Thank you for this great video! Awesome to see someone doing it well and doing it right!
Though I will say I do prefer rolled threads over cut threads on the truss rod
the greatest fret slotting jig i have ever seen! totally steampunk!
I could do that…..if I had tools and woodworking skills as good as yours! Very nice work!
Stunning work, absolutely fantastic!
Outstanding!! Great upload, thanks!
Increíble trabajo. Quedé impresionado con tus herramientas. Nice Work!!!
Gracias.
Nice!!!
How many luthiers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
One, but it will take him 3 months to make the jig.
Seriously, great work here. Your jigs and fixtures are quite impressive.
Thanks. Building the jigs is half the fun.
Lol, I just got done spending 3 months working on a neck radius jig.
So would you take $99?
Great work!!
I have a few questions, if you don't mind.
1. I noticed that when you installed the skunk stripe, you were fairly liberal with the glue. My dad taught me that while you don't want a dry joint, modern wood glue is very effective in thin, but full coverage coats. Have you ever had an issue with truss rod binding from glue in the channel?
2. Is the rear installation of the truss rod, in this particular case, just for aesthetic or era correct purposes?
3. Do you offer plans for the fixtures and jigs you use?
Learned a few tricks watching this. Very clean work.
Thank you. I've come a long way since that build. That truss rod seems to work ok but I could see too much glue being a problem. I've had the skunk stripe pop lose before so I was probably over compensating. The reason for the rear install is partially to be true to the Era but also because I was making some one piece necks at the time and needed to install it from the back. I was all set up for that kind of installation so that's why I did that. I do not have any plans for any of my jigs or fixtures. Most of them have been retired and replaced by new methods. The fret jig has been replaced by a simple jig on a radial arm saw. The fretboard radius jig has been replaced by a big belt sander that I built with a swinging fixture that can be set to different radii. The 3 axis router is now a fully functional cnc. I still have the neck contour jig but it only works for fender style necks. I will probably be modifying it soon to accommodate different neck sizes.
@@lennyc624 Awesome, thanks for replying.
I make Fender style necks for my instruments, for the fact that there is so much less waste and less construction complexity than a slant headstock neck.
I've made necks with scarf joint, or from single pieces of lumber, and just lamented the amount of offcut waste.
I never considered that a skunk stripe could pop out. That must have sucked!
@@peachmelba1000 Yes it sucked but I am pretty new to guitar making and each build is a learning experience. I get a lot of satisfaction out of making jigs and fixtures to improve the process. I have about 6 finished guitars that all look and play great but I could go through and point out all the mistakes and imperfections. Of course, I'm my worst critic.
I bought a Telecaster Delux from Italienska Musik in Malmoe Sweden (in the 70 ies I think it was) and I`m sorry to say it´s the suckiest Fender guitar I ever played. Way of balanced so you had to hold the neck up while playing it which made your playing suck, so I sold it. It was a very beautiful guitar though so it was´nt easy to let go of it.
Hmm, that's weird. I never played an actual Fender one. The body on mine is made of ash and it is pretty heavy. No problem with balance.
Hi. Can I ask why did you use a separate fretboard slab yet use a skunk stripe to route the truss rod slot? Is that just era correct for your build? Thanks for the great video. i learned a lot.
I think I did that because I didn't have a thick enough piece of maple to make a 1 piece at that time. The skunk stripe and bullet truss rod was an era choice. Also that's how I did my truss rods back then. I do it differently now. My method is always evolving.
@@lennyc624 Thanks. I'm racking my brain trying to figure out how to do a more vintage correct truss rod for the build I'm planning. This video was a lot of help. Do you have any information about what the dimensions on the curve of the truss rod slot should be?
@@jeff1872t This link
fgguitar.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/stratneckblueprint.jpg
has all the important info
@@lennyc624 Awesome, thanks. Do you know what's up with that truss rod anchor on the drawing?
@@jeff1872t not really. As far as I understand, there's a screw accessible under the 7th fret marker dot. I think. I'm nor sure what the purpose is. My guess is to prevent the truss rod from digging into the wood under tension. I've built a few necks without that and they seem to work ok. I may be totally wrong about the purpose of that. It's just my best guess.