It may go horribly wrong.

Something tells me @rocknroller912, that in your capable hands everything will be just fine. Have fun!

@mattbeels

Thanks for your vote of confidence, I’ve spent some time this evening marking out the route for the truss rod channel and making sure the headstock still fits the blank. Not many mm to spare.
I used to do it differently by using wood screws to fix templates down the the bits that get routed out, but after watching Mark’s live streams realised I was doing it the hard way. Cutting the shape first then the channel by hand tools.
Ceased work for the evening due to the extreme drop in temperature, Scotland in April not being much warmer than Scotland in November. 

First job is making the blank flat and level and not having a drum sander it’s all done the old way with hand planes.

That is indeed the hard way!

Respect to those who have the skills to achieve that with hand tools.

👍

Questions for the experienced electric builders please on my practice run before going to the wood I got from Mark. Do I need to glue a fillet in to the last gap where the adjusting nut shows. I’ve only used the old style truss rods before which are in an aluminium channel. It’s wider at this part obviously so difficult to make it in one piece. Some fill in patches to cover up bad router tear out.

@rocknroller912 can’t see why you’d need to as it’s not going to be pushing on any wood. I can’t find any examples on the internet where anyone’s taken a fillet that far either. Apprécie though I don’t fit into the “experienced electric builders” category though 😛

@tej I didn’t think of checking the web it’s too much like being back at work

Now the big question - ebony or rosewood fretboard.

Do you think I’ve got to many ?

Now the big question - ebony or rosewood fretboard.

Laminated combination 😉

@tej

That might be a bit hard but I do have an ebony plank I got from David Dyke suppliers a while ago, not sure if ebony is good for laminating it might better just for fretboards.

Now the big question - ebony or rosewood fretboard.

@rocknroller912 Are you opening a new supply shop? 😳🤩

@boo

I got some supplies when they were on offer. Wait till firms want to unload stuff. I think the rosewood was £6 each ten years ago and the Ebony was £10 two years ago. I like to spread my investments. I was thinking of asking Mark if he could slot and radius some for me at whatever cost. I have all the original paperwork to prove it’s legally sourced. Also there more in the loft.

I have all the original paperwork to prove it’s legally sourced. Also there more in the loft.

@rocknroller912 Good stuff, I’m impressed. 👍

@rocknroller912 that is a lot of necks you gonna be building with those 🙂

@koendb

It was cheaper to buy in bulk than small quantities with postage and bulk discounts. 

Do you think I’ve got to many ?

No such amount exists ...

You have planned wisely to be able to meet future needs.

Planing fretboard the hard way but it’s good fun. It is of course my cheapest and nastiest bit of rosewood being a practice build. A very old piece from Touchstone Tonewoods some time in the 90s. I think fret slotting will be challenge as it’s already tapered. Much measuring and lining up before cutting.

That’s one of my favourite tools - the little Lie Neilsen scraper plane. Once you have learnt how to sharpen it properly it can change your life!!

@darrenking

Thanks for your comment. I’ve found the blade very difficult to sharpen even with a small roller jig and a diamond stone, so would be grateful for any professional tips that you can pass on. Doesn’t hold its edge at all and I wondered if the blade hasn’t been tempered correctly. Now that businesses are starting to open I’m thinking of buying some tool steel and making one.

Hi @Rocknroller912

The key thing is not to sharpen it like a normal plane. Yes the steel will be softer that you may be used to but it needs to be, otherwise you would stand no chance of turning the edge over to create the burr and hook which are what actually do the cutting. The instructions on the StewMac site are pretty good, if not slightly daunting, but the process if pretty straight forward once you've got the knack. I am sure there will be loads of YouTube videos showing how it done also. You can also get a simple rod burnisher from Axminster that does a perfectly good job so you don't really need the fancy angled SM gizmo shown in the pictures.

https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas/online-resources/how-to-install-and-repair-instrument-binding-and-purfling/how-to-sharpen-a-scraper.html

If you are already doing all the above then it could be that your burnisher isn't hard enough or that you aren't getting the edge of the blade 'sharp' enough before turning the burr. I put 'sharp' in inverted commas because the angle of the bevel is probably only 15° off being square so it isn't 'sharp' in the way that a chisel is sharp. However, it does still need to be honed to a fine finish as this is what dictates how cleanly it will cut.

Once set up and sharpened correctly a scraper plane will take the beautifully thin shavings off even the most troublesome of timbers so it's worth persevering with.

Good luck and let me know how you get on.

Darren