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Custom 5-String for Steve

#63
Yes, I've been a little lazy ;) But I have just about completed my new fingerboard radiuser so I don't feel too bad.

Anyways, just boring stuff here. Drilling the holes for the machine heads, and drilling for the side mount output jack.

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#64
And yeah, mills are expensive. But you can get really good ones used for huge discount of their original cost. You kind of have to know what you're doing though because you could easily get something that needs tons of money put into it to make it usable.

When I bought mine I had constraints that ruled out most of the good used ones. My shop is currently single phase. And I wanted a gearhead with large swing. So I ended up with this Smithy which has served adequately.
 
#65
Son of Magni said:
And yeah, mills are expensive. But you can get really good ones used for huge discount of their original cost. You kind of have to know what you're doing though because you could easily get something that needs tons of money put into it to make it usable.

When I bought mine I had constraints that ruled out most of the good used ones. My shop is currently single phase. And I wanted a gearhead with large swing. So I ended up with this Smithy which has served adequately.
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I would love to have a mill and a metal lathe. Not that I have the room for either.

lowsound
 
#66
Here's how I do the side dots. This is a fretless and the dots go right where the fret would be, not in between like on a fretted. Basically after marking the positions I set up a stop on the mill bed and slide the fingerboard along drilling the holes.

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#69
After trimming the side dots and sanding flush it's time to glue on the fingerboard. First a little silicon so there's no rattling, then press in the trussrod. Next a piece of tape over the trussrod, spread the glue and on goes my fingerboard caul. Then clamp it all up.

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#73
The fingerboard is glued on but still needs final dressing to be perfectly flat. Because my necks are so rigid it's good to build in a little relief, so I tighten the trussrod just a bit then use my StewMac fret leveling bar to flatten it completely.

That maple in the neck is amazing, no?

We are now ready for staining!

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#78
I like the control cavity cover. What do you mean by "drop cutting," and why is there no gap produced at the sides?

Do you leave the tape over the truss rod slot or pull it off after the glue is spread?

I see you're using zip ties to hole the fingerboard in place while you start the clamp-up. It looks like you have your neck shaft and fingerboard both to final size and taper before glue up, is that right?
 
#79
pilotjones said:
I like the control cavity cover. What do you mean by "drop cutting," and why is there no gap produced at the sides?

Do you leave the tape over the truss rod slot or pull it off after the glue is spread?

I see you're using zip ties to hole the fingerboard in place while you start the clamp-up. It looks like you have your neck shaft and fingerboard both to final size and taper before glue up, is that right?
Click to expand...

Good questions. I use an end-mill to cut the controls cover out of the back panel. There's actually a 1/8 gap all the way around which is filled by the binding.

I used to use masking tape over the trussrod, and pulled it off before clamping on the fingerboard. But now I've started using regular clear tape and it's thin enough that you can just leave it on.

The fingerboard and neck are very close to final shaping before gluing. The fingerboard just has about 1/16 extra width. You have to be careful that it stays lined up properly, but it worth the extra trouble because there's only a little work left to blend them together.
 

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