What's On Your Workbench?

[Lo-E]

Nice warm bankie for the neck of this Thunderbird.

Heat setting a neck is by far the least scientific process in all of lutherie, I think. This is the first time I’m trying it with a heating pad. The bass isn’t mine so I decided that gentle and slow would be a good option here. The pad gets the neck good and warm but not super hot so I think it’ll do the job.

I gave it 15 minutes of heat last night, left it clamped up, and I’ll check it tonight when I get home from work.

I expect to need to repeat it a couple more times at least since I’m heating it so conservatively.

 

[StereoPlayer]

I’ve been making and repairing guitar cords lately.

 

[Lo-E]

I’ve been making and repairing nguitar cords lately.

Therapeutic.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Nice warm bankie for the neck of this Thunderbird.
View attachment 4776867
Heat setting a neck is by far the least scientific process in all of lutherie, I think. This is the first time I’m trying it with a heating pad. The bass isn’t mine so I decided that gentle and slow would be a good option here. The pad gets the neck good and warm but not super hot so I think it’ll do the job.

I gave it 15 minutes of heat last night, left it clamped up, and I’ll check it tonight when I get home from work.

I expect to need to repeat it a couple more times at least since I’m heating it so conservatively.

Low and slow, seems good. Are you basting it in any sort of a sauce, or maybe a dry rub first? Will this be served on a hoagie roll or are you going for more of a slider bun?

 

[Lo-E]

Low and slow, seems good. Are you basting it in any sort of a sauce, or maybe a dry rub first? Will this be served on a hoagie roll or are you going for more of a slider bun?

Based upon the history of this particular instrument, I would be extremely surprised if it hasn’t already been amply basted with some sort of sauce. It’s essentially a marinade at this point.

 

[TerribleTim68]

So last night I was thinking about better ways to "hold" a neck while carving the profile. Previously, the two necks I carved were clamped to a jig that I built -

It means I then also have to clamp said jig to the bench as well. I'm not saying it didn't work, because I do have two basses that I can play. But...I'm looking for better methods. The problems I encountered was that the clamps tend to be in my way at some point, so I feel like you're constantly repositioning to continue your carve. I learned right away that you have to clamp it at both ends or it moves too much.

Last night I dug out my benchtop Black & Decker Workmate and tried clamping that to the bench (internet picture, not mine) -

My Workmate doesn't have the metal strips in the vice jaws, just wood. right away I can see how the jaws are gonna be in my way even more than my jig.

That brings me to my question for the brain trust, and I'll even let Richter comment too.
What are you guys doing to hold necks when you carve the profile? This is mainly for those of you NOT using a router sled or some sort of fancy machine that I don't have. This is for those who are hand carving using rasps and such. How are you holding it?
I see that Canadian born English Mongrel on YouTube just prop it on his shoulder when he gets to the final shaping, but even he is clamping it in a vice for the bulk waste removal.
This is where I REALLY wish I had a Roubo bench with a leg vice, there's so many times that I look at my bench and go "Why can't you have a leg vice right there?!?!?!"

So what are you guys doing? Pics if you got 'em.

 

[Jon Clegg]

So last night I was thinking about better ways to "hold" a neck while carving the profile. Previously, the two necks I carved were clamped to a jig that I built -
View attachment 4776934

It means I then also have to clamp said jig to the bench as well. I'm not saying it didn't work, because I do have two basses that I can play. But...I'm looking for better methods. The problems I encountered was that the clamps tend to be in my way at some point, so I feel like you're constantly repositioning to continue your carve. I learned right away that you have to clamp it at both ends or it moves too much.

Last night I dug out my benchtop Black & Decker Workmate and tried clamping that to the bench (internet picture, not mine) -
View attachment 4776932

My Workmate doesn't have the metal strips in the vice jaws, just wood. right away I can see how the jaws are gonna be in my way even more than my jig.

That brings me to my question for the brain trust, and I'll even let Richter comment too.
What are you guys doing to hold necks when you carve the profile? This is mainly for those of you NOT using a router sled or some sort of fancy machine that I don't have. This is for those who are hand carving using rasps and such. How are you holding it?
I see that Canadian born English Mongrel on YouTube just prop it on his shoulder when he gets to the final shaping, but even he is clamping it in a vice for the bulk waste removal.
This is where I REALLY wish I had a Roubo bench with a leg vice, there's so many times that I look at my bench and go "Why can't you have a leg vice right there?!?!?!"

So what are you guys doing? Pics if you got 'em.

I've pretty much done the same as you did; clamped a board to my table saw bed then clamped the neck to that; not especially elegant but gets the job done.

 

[Lo-E]

So last night I was thinking about better ways to "hold" a neck while carving the profile. Previously, the two necks I carved were clamped to a jig that I built -
View attachment 4776934

It means I then also have to clamp said jig to the bench as well. I'm not saying it didn't work, because I do have two basses that I can play. But...I'm looking for better methods. The problems I encountered was that the clamps tend to be in my way at some point, so I feel like you're constantly repositioning to continue your carve. I learned right away that you have to clamp it at both ends or it moves too much.

Last night I dug out my benchtop Black & Decker Workmate and tried clamping that to the bench (internet picture, not mine) -
View attachment 4776932

My Workmate doesn't have the metal strips in the vice jaws, just wood. right away I can see how the jaws are gonna be in my way even more than my jig.

That brings me to my question for the brain trust, and I'll even let Richter comment too.
What are you guys doing to hold necks when you carve the profile? This is mainly for those of you NOT using a router sled or some sort of fancy machine that I don't have. This is for those who are hand carving using rasps and such. How are you holding it?
I see that Canadian born English Mongrel on YouTube just prop it on his shoulder when he gets to the final shaping, but even he is clamping it in a vice for the bulk waste removal.
This is where I REALLY wish I had a Roubo bench with a leg vice, there's so many times that I look at my bench and go "Why can't you have a leg vice right there?!?!?!"

So what are you guys doing? Pics if you got 'em.

Several years ago @Bruce Johnson posted photos of a neck shaping jig - sort of a mutant saw horse type arrangement where one side was fixed and the other could be drawn in to tighten against the neck blank - and after a fair amount of searching I’ve failed to find it. The neck lays along the top edge of the “horse” and the sides clamp the piece in a fashion not unlike the way the B&D Workmate functions.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Several years ago @Bruce Johnson posted photos of a neck shaping jig - sort of a mutant saw horse type arrangement where one side was fixed and the other could be drawn in to tighten against the neck blank - and after a fair amount of searching I’ve failed to find it. The neck lays along the top edge of the “horse” and the sides clamp the piece in a fashion not unlike the way the B&D Workmate functions.

Probably this -
Best Tools for Neck Carving

Thanks for making me go back and dig that up!

 

[ctmullins]

I clamp at each end and attack with a Holey Galahad, then a Shinto, then a sander. One side at a time, alternating sides frequently. Pretty lo-tech.

 

[Flamingo21]

Turns out I kept this photo, I think it's actually a still from a YouTube video.

 

[RichterScale]

So what are you guys doing? Pics if you got 'em.

I made this from a hunk of 2x6 and 1/2" plywood as the base. The only reasoning is that's what was laying around. It ended up working really well. None of the clamps seemed to get in the way. The best part was being able to clamp/unclamp the base on the work bench and move it around.
My neck didn't have the board on it yet and even if it did, the board is flat. If there's already a radiused board and/or frets, I might glue a strip of hard foam, rubber or felt to it.

WBO 2022: Löwenbäss

 

[Gary_M]

This is where I REALLY wish I had a Roubo bench with a leg vice, there's so many times that I look at my bench and go "Why can't you have a leg vice right there?!?!?!"

The leg vise is OK, but to be honest, it isn't very useful for carving a neck. That's partially due to the orientation and partially due to the height. The leg vise will only hold the neck parallel to the length of the bench, which is not great for symmetrical work, plus it's pretty low. That's great when I need downward force when planing the edge of a board, but it puts strain on my back to stoop over to use a rasp... plus I can't see that work as well.

When I made my first 2 guitars (Les Paul copies) I used my tail vise (really a wagon vise). That worked OK, but again, it wasn't very flexible. I had to constantly move myself around the work. I got it done, but I was fed up with that arrangement for sure.

Then I bought a pattern vise. I got the one from StewMac when they were on sale. You can get the same vise from other woodworking supply vendors. I love the flexibility of swinging to any angle. Plus the added height gets the work right up there in my teeth where I can see it really well.

Perfect for working on details of transitions.

And great to use in the vertical orientation as well. I use the leg vise to hold my dust collector hose when I'm carving necks. It's not perfect, but it helps to keep the fine dust to a minimum.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Probably this -
Best Tools for Neck Carving

Thanks for making me go back and dig that up!

Thanks for linking to that thread. It's full of good information and ideas from everyone. That post shows and explains my Neck Horse well. It's almost 25 years old now, and still gets almost constant use.

 

[TerribleTim68]

So it really seems like my silly neck jig was headed down the right path. Maybe I just need to dial it in a bit better.

@Gary_M Yeah, I totally get the leg vice thing. I was thinking it might be a good place to clamp my jig, then clamp the neck in the jig. I think the thing that scares me about your pattern vice method is the fact that the majority of the neck is unsupported and will flex. I see that with Mr. Crowe's neck carving too when he rests it on his shoulder, it flexes in the middle, which just freaks me out. My brain wants it perfectly straight the whole time.

 

[Gary_M]

So it really seems like my silly neck jig was headed down the right path. Maybe I just need to dial it in a bit better.

@Gary_M Yeah, I totally get the leg vice thing. I was thinking it might be a good place to clamp my jig, then clamp the neck in the jig. I think the thing that scares me about your pattern vice method is the fact that the majority of the neck is unsupported and will flex. I see that with Mr. Crowe's neck carving too when he rests it on his shoulder, it flexes in the middle, which just freaks me out. My brain wants it perfectly straight the whole time.

I’m sure it does flex. But I always check the neck shaft with a straight edge and digital calipers as I’m in the final stages and there is never any problem keeping it straight. Keep in mind, I am carving to straight facet lines, laid out with a straight edge. The final truing up that I do is with 10” T bar style sanding bars. They even out the inconsistencies nicely, but I’ve never had a neck turn into a banana shape.

 

[Rick Brienzo]

This is my rig.

 

[Max Bogosity]

My super janky neck carving arrangement is shown here. One notable feature is the V-groove on the top of the beam to accommodate a tight fingerboard radius without rolling around.

 

[TerribleTim68]

My super janky neck carving arrangement is shown here. One notable feature is the V-groove on the top of the beam to accommodate a tight fingerboard radius without rolling around.

Interesting use of a ratchet strap.

 

[Max Bogosity]

Interesting use of a ratchet strap.

Yeah, that's not elegant but it's a fairly easy and harmless way to clamp on a curved surface.