Neck side pofiling jig

This jig works with the Robo-Sander in a drill press. I've made several of these in the past, but this is the first time I've used a movable heel that allows the jig to be set up for soprano uke, tenor uke, and banjo necks, and whatever else I feel like later on. The neck illustrated is from my 2x4 project. It's slow, so its best to band saw close to the lines (which I get from placing the blank in the jig and tracing). Thought some of you might find it useful. A sturdier version with safety handles would work in a shaper.

Very cool John! I use something like this to shape the heal to body join. I'm gonna give your method a try on the profiling

Great jig. Used to use something similar on an overhead router with a vey long spiral cutter - scary stuff. I can now accurately bandsaw this profile....

It dosn't really matter how you do it ..its just a matter of removing unwanted wood..I use a bandsaw, router, and a lathe, then chisel, Rasps, files, scraper, and sand paper..and end up with a ukulele neck.

So, just start with a block of wood and remove everything that isn't a ukulele neck?

TjW said:

So, just start with a block of wood and remove everything that isn't a ukulele neck?

Click to expand...

Can't tell if you're being facetious or serious, but making a neck isn't quite the same as sculpture. Sculpture requires a deal of visualization, whereas making a neck only requires laying out the proper lines, removing all the wood outside those lines, then blending the leftovers into a cohesive, useful, pleasing shape. If you wish to call the last step sculpting its fine by me. The whole process can be accomplished by hand, which is very satisfying and maybe even fun. Lutherie is still satisfying to me, but I think the fun went away a long time ago. I just want to get the job done as quickly and accurately as possible, and that's where the machines come in. These days I have no use for planes, chisels, or scrapers while making necks. They've been replaced by various power saws and sanding machines, but the instruments are still lovingly created. It just takes a lot less time.

Well, if you see a post by me and are unsure, facetious is the safe bet.