Neck holding jig

Larry made this jig to hold the neck while shaping it. It can be used with almost any kind of vise. The slots on the bottom allow the jig to clear the guide bars and screw of his bench vise (cheap vise from Harbor Freight). The rectangular holes in the side allow for some additional clamping if necessary.

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Some neck shaping tools

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Misc photos

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C-Thru Ruler

Here's a handy, flexible ruler that Larry really likes.

It's available at:
Southern Graphics and Supply
2332 Franklin Rd., SW.
Roanoke, VA 24014
540-342-6449

Or you can get it online here: www.dickblick.com

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Vises

The neck holding jig (shown in the left column) can be used with almost any kind of vise. In the pics below are a bench vise, portable vise and a vise made from pipe clamps.

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Tools to help you shape a neck

We used a bunch of hand tools to shape the neck - Files and rasps, draw knife, sandpaper and scraper, neck cross-section templates. We also used a bandsaw to remove a big chunk of wood at the heel. Additionally, you can use hand saws, chisels, a spindle sander, and whatever else works for you.

Sandpaper can be glued to dowels and credit cards (or hotel keys or other flexible material) to help shape the contours of the neck.

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Neck prior to shaping

Here's what the neck looked like in it's raw, chunky form. The waste on the sides was cut off with a bandsaw. The neck was then trimmed to the fretboard width using a router and flush trim bit (sorry, no pices of this process).

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Shaping the neck

First some waste wood was cut off of the heel with the band saw. Then Patrick marked a centerline on the back of the neck for reference. Then the neck was shaped using some of the tools listed above.

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Patrick Geoghegan - Uke in progress

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