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CNC neck pocket question

J

Joseph Bavitz

Apr 4, 2024
19
49
61
Scranton, PA. USA
#1
Hello, everyone. I have decided to build my dream bass. I created the body in a CAD program called FreeCAD, and have all the parts ready to go. I had a neck made for me by Warmoth.
My question is should I have the neck pocket routed out as part of the CNC process, or leave it unrouted and cut it out myself since I have the neck already. I would be doing it with a friend who is a contractor since I haven’t done much woodworking and am a computer guy. What do you folks think?
 
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#2
That depends how good a model of the neck/heel you have, or don't, to base the CNC on. If you lack a precise model of the part, then following the standard procedures to make a neck pocket template based on a physical heel (search for "bondo" or "bondo trick" in this forum) will be more accurate than measuring unless you have a nice metrology lab. Note that the canonical process is to model with bondo, and use the bondo casting to make a solid template, and route with the solid template.

You could also CNC it undersized (depth, length and width) to remove most of the waste, and then finish by template.
 
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#3
If you have accurate dimensions on the Warmoth neck, and can model it in your 3-D program, you might as well CNC it for a perfect fit, tested on scrap first, of course. If you want to do it by hand, you'll have to make a template to perfectly fit the neck, cut by hand out of MDF or plywood (using the "bondo trick" @T_Bone_TL mentions above. A third option would be to use CNC to make the template for you, and then use that template to route the pocket by hand, but unless you plan on using this template and exact neck profile again, might as well CNC it as a one-off. Personally, I find template making one of my biggest challenges, I'd love to have CNC made templates I could use when hand-routing stuff like neck pockets, control cavities, etc.
 
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#5
Hello, everyone. It is a one off project, and the luthier is several states away. I am shipping the wood blank I got from exotic woods and emailing. The STL file. I have the dimensions from Warmoth, but I can get the dimensions from the finished neck. Rudy4444, I will check out your procedure right now!
 
#7
Joseph Bavitz said:
Hello, everyone. I have decided to build my dream bass. I created the body in a CAD program called FreeCAD, and have all the parts ready to go. I had a neck made for me by Warmoth.
My question is should I have the neck pocket routed out as part of the CNC process, or leave it unrouted and cut it out myself since I have the neck already. I would be doing it with a friend who is a contractor since I haven’t done much woodworking and am a computer guy. What do you folks think?
Click to expand...

Whether you cut the neck pocket by CNC, or by the old-fashioned way with a template and a router, the important thing is that your measurements are accurate. Wait until you have the neck in your hand. Then you personally measure it and enter it into CAD. And run a test on some scrap to verify that your friend's CNC setup will accurately reproduce the CAD dimensions. Or, use the neck to make a template, as the other guys have described above, and rout the pocket yourself.

Don't trust that the Warmoth neck will automatically match up to the body cut by your friend, just because they are both done by CNC machines, working from a common computer file. There's plenty of room for error in that.
 
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#8
This is going to be a "thing" for me sometime this winter, making a new bound and blocked Jazz neck for an old MIM P bass body I refinned. The original neck has terminal ski jump. I'll probably do some version of @rudy4444 methods, as I lack access to CNC.
 
#10
Joseph Bavitz said:
Hello, everyone. It is a one off project, and the luthier is several states away. I am shipping the wood blank I got from exotic woods and emailing. The STL file. I have the dimensions from Warmoth, but I can get the dimensions from the finished neck. Rudy4444, I will check out your procedure right now!
Click to expand...
Hope it helps you out. Do check out the other referenced topic, particularly post #30 and #35 to clarify the methodology to creating the neck pocket pattern. It would be highly recommended to have both the body and neck in hand if you choose to use this method. One of the huge advantages is the ability to temporarily attach the neck with a single screw or bolt at its proper location. The neck can then be set to the precise location on the body so the strings will end up at the precise location where you will be mounting your bridge. The routing jig is then placed on the body, clamped down, and the neck removed to rout the pocket.
I can't emphasize strongly enough how important it is to get the neck pocket in the RIGHT location. A tiny bit of error ensures that the strings will not center over the neck accurately.

In MY case I could guarantee that the pocket wouldn't end up where I wanted it if I used CNC for a one off design.
 

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