So, I finally went ahead and started my first from-scratch neck. This neck will be of the 2-piece variety, meaning the fingerboard is a separate piece of wood entirely. This means that the truss rod will be inlaid underneath the fingerboard, facing out, and I have to plan my cuts accordingly. Pictured is the blank, outlined with all of the information I need to bore the holes and channels required to inlay the truss rod. The first thing I did was cut an access area for the adjustment nut. As is the case on traditional Fender instruments, Im constructing this neck so that the truss rod is adjustable at the heel of the neck, but, unlike on traditional Fenders, this truss rod is dual action, meaning it not only tightens to backbow the neck, but it also upbows the neck when tightened in the other direction. Because of this, Im unable to remove the adjustment nut for assembly. A square channel is first roughed out with a drill, and then chiseled to shape to accept the adjustment nut through the top. After cutting this channel, the access hole must be bored to allow access to the adjustment nut. To do this, I rig my drill press to bore a perfectly 90 degree hole. The result is a beautiful, clean hole that will allow truss rod adjustment in the traditional manner, but with a modern style truss rod. The next (and most important) step is to route a straight channel down the center of the neck to accept the bulk of the rod. For that, Ive ordered a specially ground router bit and it should be in within a week, so until then Ill have to hang up the blank and wait.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 06:41:25 +0000
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