Thoughts on new build

[Talen]

Okay, so I'm fully confident in my ability to route the truss rod slot, but the hole for the adjustment is what gets me. I've read a million articles and watch a million videos, and to me, non of them seem to cover this.
Do I just route it like the rest of the cavity, but just not as deep?

[GPW]

  Yes...  or just slot it with a saw and use a round file to come to the final shape ...  file and fit ...

[Talen]

I finally got the neck rough cut, and started a little bit of shaping.
Here's what it looks like so far

You can't really tell in the picture, but the fret board really has beautiful grain!
It's slow going using the belt sander to get it down to the lines. Tomorrow I'll probably put a new belt on, and that should help. I thought about using a hand planer, but after going at some scrap wood I realized I have no idea how to use a hand planer

I do have a problem, a possibly big one. There is a fairly large scratch in the fretboard. I think if might be from the clamp when I glued it. The quality sucks, but here's a picture.


What should I do about this? I know I shouldn't sand the fret board, but I feel that may be the only option. It's not too deep, but it'll definitely be noticeable when playing.

[GPW]

   Just sand the fretboard using the proper radius caul ...   scratch gone ...  Neck is looking GOOD !!! 
  If it’s a really deep scratch , you can take some fine sawdust  from the fretboard  and use super glue to fill it in , once sanded you won’t see where it was ...

[Talen]

   Just sand the fretboard using the proper radius caul ...   scratch gone ...  Neck is looking GOOD !!! 
  If it’s a really deep scratch , you can take some fine sawdust  from the fretboard  and use super glue to fill it in , once sanded you won’t see where it was ...

For anybody else out there, Do not google "Caul" without the word "woodworking" with it! Ever!! NSFL stuff

Anyway, alright. I'll probably have to make my own, or order a caul, but it shouldn't be too hard. I'll probably do that after I finish the rest of the neck, just to make sure I don't get more scratches and have to do it again. I don't think I'll need to glue in sawdust, but we'll see.

Thanks!

[GPW]

  T , you can sand carefully with a flat block , but sand Evenly ...    for times like that I make light  chalk marks across the fretboard and count the sanding strokes ..   so you can see where you’ve sanded ...  You must maintain the radius ..

  Caul ... Yuck !!!!       ( I know , I just had to look ... )

[BobRoss]

For anybody else out there, Do not google "Caul" without the word "woodworking" with it! Ever!! NSFL stuff

I just had to do it because you told me not to, now I regret doing it...

[Talen]

  T , you can sand carefully with a flat block , but sand Evenly ...    for times like that I make light  chalk marks across the fretboard and count the sanding strokes ..   so you can see where you’ve sanded ...  You must maintain the radius ..

  Caul ... Yuck !!!!       ( I know , I just had to look ... )

Sounds like a good idea! I might do that.

I warned you guys!

[Talen]

The neck is quickly coming to shape. I've come far enough with the belt sander, but now I've moved to the point where the rest of the shaping will all be done with a rasp and sand paper

I think I'm going to make the neck pretty thick. My hand tends to cramp up pretty easily, especially when going through lots of chord changes with nothing in between. Having a thicker neck should help with this right? I think I want it really thick, thicker than anything I have right now.

And when it comes down to it, I can always take more off, but I can't put it on.

Hopefully I'll be able to do the rest of the neck at home, and I can start working on the body next week!

[GPW]

"And when it comes down to it, I can always take more off, but I can't put it on.”...  True Dat !!!   Start Fat ..  and if you like try a V shaped neck  or “boat” neck ... very comfortable on fatter necks ...

[Talen]

I've been rough sanding the body down to shape with the belt sander. I've got most of it pretty well. I wasn't able to get the inside of the horns, though, so I decided to take a rasp to it to file down to the line. Of course the rasp caused the wood to split on the edge, so I had to glue some places and fill some spots in Guess I'll have to figure out a different way to do it, oh well. Really wish I had access to a spindle sander.

I'm hoping to have the shaping done by the end of the week, and possibly even get one of the control cavities routed! I should have pictures up by this weekend 

[InexperiencedLuthier]

I've been rough sanding the body down to shape with the belt sander. I've got most of it pretty well. I wasn't able to get the inside of the horns, though, so I decided to take a rasp to it to file down to the line. Of course the rasp caused the wood to split on the edge, so I had to glue some places and fill some spots in Guess I'll have to figure out a different way to do it, oh well. Really wish I had access to a spindle sander.

I'm hoping to have the shaping done by the end of the week, and possibly even get one of the control cavities routed! I should have pictures up by this weekend 

Having the same exact problem!  The edges are good, but the inside of the horns are just as bad. I'm thinking about gluing some sandpaper to a drill and sticking it in a drill press? Might work.. haha.

[Talen]

I've been rough sanding the body down to shape with the belt sander. I've got most of it pretty well. I wasn't able to get the inside of the horns, though, so I decided to take a rasp to it to file down to the line. Of course the rasp caused the wood to split on the edge, so I had to glue some places and fill some spots in Guess I'll have to figure out a different way to do it, oh well. Really wish I had access to a spindle sander.

I'm hoping to have the shaping done by the end of the week, and possibly even get one of the control cavities routed! I should have pictures up by this weekend 

Having the same exact problem!  The edges are good, but the inside of the horns are just as bad. I'm thinking about gluing some sandpaper to a drill and sticking it in a drill press? Might work.. haha.

You can by drill bits like that, but from my experience they don't work very well. What I'll probably end up doing is making a sanding block with some 40 grit and making my forearms sore.

[InexperiencedLuthier]

I've got several heavy rubber sanding blocks that I use for fine shaping, but I don't think they would be able to handle the shaping I'm needing to do.. I'll think of something lol.

[muttstang]

maybe make up a pattern to guide a router bit?