table saw heel jig

For those who haven't seen it yet in a book, here's a nice way to profile a guitar neck using a 10" table saw blade. To get enough curve on a banjo or uke neck I would use the bottom slot and switch to a 7 1/4" blade. If you aren't using a truss rod the guide pins can be set directing into the neck.

That looks interesting. I've done similar improvisations with a table say, but that looks clever - like a single dado blade. Of course you also need that backing board and the right specs for everything.

If I understand the first picture correctly, you would make multiple cuts in the end of the neck until the entire heel has that shape.

I don't understand the second picture.

John - I can't let this slide: Only in America!

Jerryc41 said:

That looks interesting. I've done similar improvisations with a table say, but that looks clever - like a single dado blade. Of course you also need that backing board and the right specs for everything.

If I understand the first picture correctly, you would make multiple cuts in the end of the neck until the entire heel has that shape.

I don't understand the second picture.

Click to expand...

Heck, I was hoping it would be obvious. There are little filler pieces in the truss rod slot level with the neck surface. There are pins in the filler pieces that fit the length-wise slots in the upright part of the sled. The sled stop is sort of out of focus in the foreground.
There is only the 10" blade, no dado. Blade height and sled stop are set up according to your wishes, which is how they are in the picture. The neck is hand-held to the jig with the pins in the slot, and the first pass is made. The sled is backed out, the neck is slid along the sled the approx. width of the blade and another pass is made. And so on until the heel is carved, then the heel can be slid back along the sled to clean up the cuts. The neck is swapped end-for-end, the pins are placed into the same slot, and the same process is run on the other side of the heel. It takes 2-3 minutes to shape both sides of the heel, after which a rasp is used to shape the back of it.