I bought a cheap oscillating spindle sander. Great for that sort of thing. Still some manual sanding required but the thinner spindles will get into most curves.
Also useful for a multitude of other sanding duties.
It appears in many different colours with different names on, but basically a decent spindle sander. It's reasonably large (estimate a rough 12" cube) and quite heavy. The top plate is steel plus the motor etc. Attach a vacuum to it and it sucks the dust away nicely. Mine currently lives in the garage but gets taken outside to be used.
I bought one (from Screwfix, I think). It's a "Scheppach" but appears to be the same model as the one mentioned above - just a different badge and colour.
It has been invaluable for inside curves - not just for instrument-making but for many other woodworking projects.
It’s also useful for outside curves as well as you can keep the sides at 90° to the back and top.
I’ve also used it for getting bone blanks for nuts and saddles down to size (definitely use with an ‘industrial’ vacuum) and shaping scratchplates from scratch.
Thanks for the suggestion Wonks - definitely a very useful looking tool!
Sadly no space to store it, I will carry on by hand, almost finished with files & now P120 paper going much better than I thought!
One trick I discovered:- wrapping sandpaper on a half round file
(this is the back)
I often use double-sided tape to stick sandpaper to bits of broom handle or dowel to sand awkward areas. Useful if you get paint or lacquer runs in curves and need to get them flat.
Finally got the back level!
It probably took around 5 hours of hand planing, (inc constantly re-sharpening the blade) the trick here was to stop before any blisters happen, then back to it again next evening.
'Tummy cut' complete, (files, scrapers & P120)
I did make a start on 'Forearm Contour', but stopped when I realised I need to keep the top flat for routing humbucker & FR trem.
.. next job get the neck to thickness, still deciding on if 'safer/better/easier' to saw, or make DIY router table.
Jumpeyspyder wrote: ↑Tue Jul 01, 2025 8:59 pm
.. next job get the neck to thickness, still deciding on if 'safer/better/easier' to saw, or make DIY router table.
If you mean make an improvised pin router I'd probably say an emphatic no!!!! Pin routers are possibly the most dangerous machines in the luthiers workshop, if you hane a plunge/hand router make a suitable routing template, secure the workpiece well and keep your soft bits behind the cutter. Then the worst that can happen is you'll mess up your new guitar rather than mess up your old guitarist...
I have a feeling thinning the neck would have been easier if you'd have done most of it before adding the body pieces, just leaving the section close to the body joint at full width.
But it's something I've yet to do, so it's only conjecture.
If you don't have a router table (something on my to get list when I move and have the space), then as Sam says, make a template and rout from the top.
Even with a router table, you still need the template. It just makes it (a lot) easier to keep the router bit at 90° to the workpiece.
I'd avoid the router. On the few I've made, the process has been as follows:
Make a series of saw cuts across the back of the neck (approx 3cm apart). The depth of each cut will differ, given that the neck will be thinner at the first fret than at the twelfth.
NB don't cut too deep - you need to allow for final shaping.
Remove the wood between the cuts by paring with a (sharp) paring chisel. You need to do this from both sides and - be patient - slow and steady minimises the risk of chipout.
I know it's much quicker with a router - but I've always felt in control with this method.
Not sure exactly what you're referring to. Shaping the back of the neck (C profile type of thing) or tapering the sides (width) of the neck so that it becomes fatter the further down the neck you go?
However I've done five necks so far and they've pretty much all been made the same way.
For the sides tapering.
1. A template makes life so much easier. You'll spend far longer making the template than you will actually using it to shape the neck but such is life. It does encourage you to build more guitars as it becomes easier, but I've yet to come across anyone who thinks that's a bad thing! (Maybe Mrs S2). Draw the actual shape on the neck using the template.
2. I usually get it roughly to shape using the bandsaw, but if you don't have one then a jigsaw with care will work. Or a handsaw. The idea is that you want it to be as close to the (template) line as possible, since you don't want to have to take off too much material with the router to avoid tearout.
3. Then attach the template to the neck using whatever method you prefer - I use the Superglue/masking tape trick but others prefer double sided sticky - and use a hand router to take off the material. Be prepared to make several passes depending on how close to the line that you cut. Obviously with a throughneck you'll need to be careful near the body end.
I usually attach the fretboard at this stage and obviously that will need to be trimmed using the same process (cutting as much off as possible first before routing) but you don't need the template.
I'd then radius the fretboard, (You need a curved sanding block).
Then I'd shape the back of the neck (see below) before marking and cutting the fret slots and the rest of the fretwork.
That's just to give you an idea of order, though others do it differently.
For the back of the neck shaping.
1. Decide on the neck thickness at the first fret and the last fret (including the fretboard - which on mine is attached by this stage).
2. Then I use two tools, a Shinto rasp and a surform. I use the shinto rasp to take the depth down to the required thickness and do the same at the last fret. Then join the two 'slots' together by using the rasp to remove the material. Keep checking that's it flat and level.
3. Once you're at the desired level (leave a little bit as you often remove a little more during the rest of the process), you can then start the curve. I draw a centreline, then a line either side halfway on the back and then either side halfway on the sides. Then I use a surform and make a flat face on either side which would be at 45 degrees. With a through neck you might be pushed for space to use a surform but the rasp will work as well.
4. And essentially once you've flattened it out, you draw more lines half and half again. These will be at 22.5 degrees, then 11.25 degrees etc etc and keep carving flat faces until eventually you end up with a C profile made up of a lot of straight lines. Sand it smooth and you're done!
Hand tools are nice for this job, as it's quite organic and you feel much more in tune with the wood, and personally I love being covered in wood bits, shavings and sawdust. It also means you can do a softly, softly approach. I can shape a neck to smooth now in a couple of hours maximum.
It's obviously not the only way!
The neck is my favourite bit to work on the guitar as you can get really involved in it and there are so many intricacies. The body - once the shape has been decided - is usually fairly quick and doesn't offer a massive challenge.
Wow, amazing set of useful responses, thanks everyone!
I'm not talking about shaping the neck (yet) just getting rid of the excess!
(neck and body are currently the same thickness nearly 50 mm)
Current plan:-
a/ loose the waste from the neck (hack off 25mm ish)
b/ Get fretboard position finalised (still need to cut 2 fret slots - yes going full looney 26 frets (wish fretboard was still square )
c/ Trim neck to fretboard width
d/ round neck profile
..all this might change - still in thinking/planning mode !
Ah yes, understood. I’ve just looked back and saw that you already have a pre slotted fingerboard (and presumably radiused as well).
If you’re going to cut two extra frets on the already radiused and non square board then it’s actually not difficult. It’s how I do mine normally. I use a half moon protractor like we all had a school, the plastic transparent ones. Draw a centreline on the board, mark the position of the fret distance and then use the protractor to make sure it’s all straight relative to the centre line, and draw a pencil mark. Once it’s you’re happy with the marks do it again but this time with a craft knife and score it. It helps to keep the saw lined up. Then cut the slots with a suitable saw, making sure that slot isn’t wider than the fret tang.
Once piece of advice to save you a lot of pain. Avoid buying frets that have already been cut. I’ve found they are rarely at the correct radius (not curved enough) and often stick up at the ends. Far better to buy a length of fret wire and then you can put your own curve on it, as the radius needs to be more curved than the fretboard to make them sit right. It’s a pain to try and bend already cut frets.
Sorry couldn't resist!
Actually it turned out fine! (I'm still about 10mm too thick)
Routed as much of the back of the neck as I dared
then spent ages hoovering up the mess before sawing the rest!
couldn't resist starting a little work on the body to neck transition
S2 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 05, 2025 9:34 pm
Wow, you’re very brave using power tools on the neck like you’ve done!
there is a very narrow line between bravery and stupidity!
...this one might bite me!
I wasn't brave enough to go the whole hog so I'm still 10mm short of the target
that's a huge effort for filing, yet still the same danger level for sawing / cutting straight along the whole neck.
Wonks was on the money when he said it would have been best to cut it before glueing the 'wings', but if I got it right first time, the thread title wouldn't have made sense!
BTW S2 thanks for the fretting advise!
I bought pre-cut radiused frets at 9.5"radius but I'm fitting to a 12" radius fretboard - hope that will work out OK (if it does that's luck not planning)
The frets should be radiused to a slightly smaller radius than the fingerboard. So frets for a 9.5” radius will be bent to say an 8.5” radius. Which will be rather too curved for a 12” radius board, where you’d want maybe a 11” pre-bend.
You only need enough bend so that the middle of the fret sits up slightly from the middle of the board. You want to make sure that the pre-bend radius isn’t greater than the board (or the fret ends will stick up and may not both seat properly) or too great, where the ends get pushed out along the fret slot and the fret tangs carve away the sides of the slot which can cause a loose fit if excessive.
Whilst adding some thin superglue at the fret ends is a good belt and braces measure, you don’t want the CA to be the main thing holding the fret in place.
I bought a cheap fret bending device from Aliexpress, (which I’ve only used a couple of times), but it’s pretty easy to make your own DIY one. Quite expensive from somewhere like StewMac though.
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