Day 12

Day twelve consisted of much more work on the headstock/neck/heel block unit of the guitar.  If you saw entry 11, you'd know that I did plenty of filing work on the headstock.  I did some more work on the base of the headstock, namely, the transition into the neck.  Let us begin.

The end result- you can just make out the V-shaped
transition.  I'll take better pictures at a later date, to further
illustrate the effect.

I started the day by wrapping up the beveling on the edges of the headstock laminate; just some finishing touches.  By the time I was done that, I had decided which type of transition I was to do on the back of the headstock, where the neck begins.  My options were a curved "V" type of transition, a standard curve, or a bell or uvula-shaped-type of curve.  It was decided that the V-shape was what I would go with, and luckily, Ned said that this was probably the easiest of the three to achieve.  As the neck was still very much a rectangular block of wood, I had to take plenty of it off.

To remove the wood, I began with a coarse round file, to get the feel of the actions I would be taking.  Upon becoming comfortable with the strokes and their shapes, I moved on to a bigger tool, with more bite- a rasp.  I used the rasp to reduce the edges of the neck to curves on both sides.  Before I started, I used a round object to make the outline of the V-shape.  Each segment of the V was essentially an arc of a greater circle, with the peaks pointing towards each-other.  I used the rasp for some time, and towards the end of the process, I transitioned into using files, which would take away less wood with each stroke.  The desired thickness of the neck at the top was to be about 17mm, before accounting for the fingerboard.  I used calipers to measure the section that I had reduced, putting the caliper tips on each side of the ebony center strip, as its edges were the highest and lowest points.  I did some finishing touches to keep the height consistent, and finished the rounding of the back of the neck.

After a good while of work on the top of the neck, it was time to move to the base of it- to the heel block.  There being a large amount of excess wood at this end, Ned did a quick chop for me on the band saw, which would make things much easier.  This yielded a block of wood for me to take home, which I had ideas of making little gifts out of (it contained mahogany, and the ebony centre strip, as well).  I took the neck in my hands and felt the weight that had been taken from it- it was great!  One step closer to completion.  I clamped the neck down to the bench, with a couple clamps, placing a block of wood (softer than mahogany) below it, against the surface to which the fingerboard was to be adhered.  The reason for this was to keep that surface unmarred, and free of blemishes of any sort, to ensure an optimum bonding surface.

I began by using a little template, whose shape resembled a boat, from above, to mark the outline of the heel block's flat surface, which would be attached to the back of the guitar.  After using central lines to align and mark it, I got to work.  In the previous session, I used another template to mark the side profile lines of the heel block, so I now had an idea of the shape of the heel block, from the top and sides.  I began removing wood with a chisel- I found this process much to my liking.  I chiseled away at both sides for what was probably one half-hour, or thereabouts.  Once I had the shape pretty close to what it would be, I began using a rasp.  For time's sake, I will summarize the process:  I used the rasp and various files until the heel block was at the desired shape, which took much time, to make everything fluid and aesthetically appealing.

The heel block was the last step of the day.  At this point, both the top and the bottom of the headstock were done.  The curves at the top and bottom of the

The end of the chiseling process

neck were defined- all that remains on the neck is joining the two curve transitions, which will complete the neck.  Any finishing touches on the heel block and/or headstock can be done before the finish is applied to the guitar.  Ned told me that the next piece of the puzzle may very well be bending the sides, which is something I have yet to put my hand to.  Exciting!  The day draws nearer where the pieces will begin to be joined... ahhhh, yes.

That about does it for this entry- I will throw in a few extra pictures below.  Until next time!

The complete heel block.  Oh!  If I'm not mistaken, there is
still a bit of wood to be taken off of the back of it... but I may
very well be mistaken- I can't quite remember.

Ah, yes- I almost forgot.  I took a picture of the back of a guitar that Ned just started on, today.  The guitar will be a flamenco, which he is building for one of his clients.  The top is Lutz spruce, and the back is a variety of Maple (I'm not sure which).  But the reason I'm mentioning this will be evident, once you see... the grain patterns are beautiful!

There will be a centre strip, containing strips of ebony
and maple.