Rough Cutting the Guitar Neck
Source: Guitar Building Articles – The Guitar Neck
Tools and Materials Required:
Band Saw
Table Saw & Miter Gauge
Japanese Pull Saw
Coping Saw
Rough-cut The Neck – Acoustic Guitar:
Tip: This step should be completed after you have cut your neck joint, whether that is a mortise and tendon or a dovetail joint. See the articles on Cutting The Dovetail Joint and Cutting the Mortise and tendon joint. Secondly, cut out your peghead contour after these steps outlined in this article.
After removing the neck from the Heel Block Glue-Up Jig, take your heel contour template and trace the heel configuration onto each of the faces of the stacked heel blocks. Now flip the neck blank so the heel is up and the face of the neck is lying flat on the work bench.
Mark out the center of the blank on the top heel block. Also strike a mark on either side of the center for the width of the heel at the guitar back. You can also place the contour of the heel cap on this block if you wish.
Next, trace the neck outline onto the top face of the neck blank. Flip the blank over and repeat the process on the back of the neck – as far as you can that is.
Finally, trace the heel contour on the back side of the stacked heel blocks. The top lines should line up with your neck width contour.
Tip: I usually use a medium to thick dry-mark for all of these contour lines because I don’t want to miss seeing some of these important cuts. Your eyes may be better than mine though 
Cut The Heel Contour:
The first step in rough-cutting the neck is to cut out the heel contour, as indicated in the top photo. Set up your Band Saw to the proper cutting height and cut about 1/8″ outside the line to keep a bit of wood for final shaping.
Table Saw Setup:
While the neck and neck blocks are still square and all of the same dimension, we will want to rough-cut the heel. If you have plans other than the Ultimate Guitar Building Plans, you may want to handle this step a bit differently due a differing heel contour.
The contour shape of my heels conforms exactly to the radius of a 10″ table saw blade. This was not by accident. Take the neck to the table saw and do your setup. Run the blade up so it is within about 1/8″ to 1/16″ proud of the line.
Check for proper setup by placing the neck with the fingerboard facing your miter gauge. Now place the back side of the heel blocks next to the saw blade (without it running of course), and check the contour. When this looks exactly right, place a stop block into the miter gauge slot.
Repeat this setup process for the miter gauge stop on the right side of the blade.
Cut The Contours:
Turn of the saw and make blade width cuts along the entire heel block. Flip the neck to the other side of the blade and repeat the process.
Cut The Neck Contour:
If you have a Band Saw, this will be very easy. Just lay the neck blank fingerboard side down on the band saw table and carefully follow the contours – try to stay at least 1/8″ outside the line. This will allow you to mount the fingerboard and have enough play to accurately contour the neck.
Tags: guitar building, how to build a guitar, making a guitar neck, rought cut guitar neck
