Workshop video of shaping a tenor neck

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BR Ukuleles

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Probably the most difficult thing for beginers to get their head around is how to go about making a neck that looks and feels right. I don't know if this video will help with that, but at least you see how I go about it.

The total time from start to ready for pore filling was just under 1/2 hour, and that was with me stopping and starting to frame the camera shots and several takes.



https://youtu.be/6lBO7werT-c
 
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Curious as to why your not making necks with your CNC? CNC can work while you do something else.

Fairly complex in setting a neck up for holding, cutting, slotting etc. but worth the effort. Time is probably close to what your doing it manually for one neck if you count everything but reproducible 24/7 with same repeatablility and if you add more than one neck at a time saving will increase at least twice fold.
Neck Example.jpg One Tool Path 14FUkulele.jpg IMG_1270.jpg Neck Jig Guitar.jpg
 
I've done some plain ones for classes Kevin, but haven't found a reliable way to do ones with the head plate and back strap veneers that I add to all of my own instruments. All the different scale lengths, nut width changes, head styles and tuner choices has just put doing them in the too hard basket.

I do like your fixture idea. Is it vacuum that is holding the neck in place along with the bolt at the heel?

I'll have to have another think about it.
 
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Hi Allen,

thank's for this video! i'm beginning in building, it's usefull!
... i'm actually do it on my first neck, yet i do it without the fretboard on it... seem's a good way for a newbie like me to destroy the fretboard during the shaping :p
 
I've thought about doing the necks on the CNC but the programming just seems daunting and I've been programming for years. I've just never done any 3D. I also may be too old of a dog to learn this trick. I'm doing basic 2D, 2 and a half but the 3D just seems to be beyond my grasp. Allen turned me on to a CAD program that I am learning and the focus is really on 3D. I'm struggling to just figure out the 2. The program I was using is Vectric which leaves a lot to be desired but the post processing is easy. I used to use Bobcad before.
I've gotten so fast at hand shaping that I'm not sure if it's worth the struggle to learn the other stuff.
 
Allen, the last neck fixture is a vacuum fixture and I can't seem to lay my hands on a picture of the actual fixture......The fixture allowed for various neck head stock angles and it also allowed for a dovetail / tenon joint at the connection end. We also had another fixture for cutting a truss slot and indexing the neck with the fixture / fingerboard that were also vacuum fixtures.

I'm attaching two more things that we also did/tried. One being a shaper fixture for doing guitar necks which actually was the fastest way of all for making guitar necks (two different fixtures where used for top and bottom sides) ... same process could be used for ukuleles. Also attaching a Cad file of a fixture that we used to do head stocks and the same principle could be applied for your back straps if you have enough Z height. Hope some of these ideas helps 3-4 of us worked on fixtures for doing jigs and fixtures of all kinds for several years.
Blessings, have a great Christmas.

Shaper Neck Jig OutSide Oper.jpg Zheight Neck CNC Jig.jpg
 
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I would be interested to see how a compound dovetail with radius can be carved out with CNC without a fourth axis..Martin got round the problem with the " Applied Dovetail " method ..I use the bandsaw method that I adapted from the Mandolin builders.
 
Ken, you are correct if you are doing the smaller ukulele the compound curve with the sliding dovetail are necessary and difficult if not impossible to do with a 3 axis CNC unless you do it on the edge vertically and have a swinging fixture. (We do have two fourth axis CNCs both being over 8' being able to handle up to 12" diameter but to make this work it was more trouble than it was worth) If we had to have something smaller we had designed fixtures that allow us to use the JDS Multi-Router. We usually were not doing any kits or instruments smaller than tenor and we used the LuthierTools Neck angle jig to cut both body female and male dovetail manually. A swing neck can be done under the fixture but we never used the fixture this way.


JDS Multi-Router.jpg RRTTS156731.jpg RRTTS156732.jpg RRTTS156744.jpg
 
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Nice job Allen, what rasps are you using?
 
I found those rasps next to useless. We have a company here in the UK called Workshop Heaven that had a great rasp but for some reason no longer stock it.... Since then, finding a good rasp has been a real crap-shoot. I've tried several types but not found any better.
 
You will have tried these I'm sure Pete (you put me on to Dictum in the first place) but I find this one good for finishing the heel profile before the sandpaper and scraper are called into play:

https://www.dictum.com/en/hand-cut-rasps-baha/hattori-rasp-cabinet-special-704679

I also bought one of these to supplement the Vallorbe cabinet rasp and half round microplane for roughing out the heel:

https://www.dictum.com/en/hand-cut-rasps-baha/hattori-rasp-crossing-cut-5-cut-length-200-mm-704675

It isn't as aggressive as the Vallorbe and I like the double rounded profile.

I don't use rasps for the neck shaft, but I fancy these wouldn't be much good for that.
 
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The swordfish is a great rasp that I once used - got through 2 of them but the other one underperforms. I think I may have found a Czech Republic brand but am still treating. Might have to get those swordfish back for my students - great profile and very versatile.
 
I managed to buy a box of 10 rasps on eBay about 5 years ago for about £10 they were made by Stubbs, a tool making company long gone....I gave one away to a friend..and I've been using one of the remaining 9 ever since so I have still got plenty more to last out out until i quit...I remove most of the material on the neck blanks by machining, so the rasp doesn't get a lot of use.
 
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