Handcarved guitar neck

[trumper1000]

Just great work.....love the Pony thingy too!!!......just doing a gtr myself.....mmmm thort i had enough tools but this woodworking can get a little expensive......its a labour of love!

[chrisshort87]

That's absolutely outstanding! Amazing work.

[wcswood]

@chrisshort87 Thanks! Glad u like.

[DarrenTimlin]

how long did them inlays take? thats art right there

[wcswood]

@DarrenTimlin Thanks, glad u dig it. That kind of woodworking is painstaking. The hours just build up, and you kind of forget. Better that way, cause if you could accurately calculate the hourly wage one might end things on the spot. ;)

[Bisbonian]

Beautiful. I make banjos, and absolutely the best part is carving the neck. This looks like a great tool.

[wcswood]

@Bisbonian both the drawknife and the shaving pony are great tools. Thanks for watching.

[grayandholly]

All I gotta say is who in disliked this? They're clearly ridiculous.

[wcswood]

@grayandholly ;) thanks for watching.

[jbl420]

the fretboards are something.

[wcswood]

@jbl420 Thanks!

[grota66]

Excellent love of craft man. CHEERS!!!

I made one years ago and to this day I still play it and love it.

[wcswood]

@grota66 Nice! Thanks for watching.

[MrArtist1971]

Beautiful job my man.  Wonderful!

[utahprof]

Man, my stomach was in a knot while you were using that draw knife - nice work!

[wcswood]

@utahprof lol, thanks for watching.

[dreganism]

@wcswood My stomach wasn't in a knot, because you surely seem to know what you are doing. I like that it is a person making something unique based on that person's skills. You are what is known as a "craftsman" in my old-school jargon. This title confers respect. So wcswood, did you have a website or some way to contact you parties interested in a you making a guitar for them? Dave

[wcswood]

Just my email these days wcswood@gmail.com.  Havent done a guitar in several years now, though.

[totalrandomcrap]

One person didn't measure twice and cut once!

[ApeeGuitars]

Amazing ! Many thanks...

[effortequalsresults]

GREAT SKILLS MAN

[wcswood]

@effortequalsresults thanks.

[Jasaxos]

That's awesome

I'm going to build guitars one day..

[wcswood]

@Jasaxos Do it!

[snakev10v5]

@wcswood Hey I'm making a guitar currently and I need a lital help, I'm cuting and shaping the neck right now but I need the tools you used to cut the wood to shape, can you tell me what they are called so I know what to buy? (am a noob at tis stuff 16 btw)

[StrixNoctis]

@snakev10v5 He used a draw knife with a homemade bench vise mounted shave pony, but if you don't have a cabinetmaker's bench w/ end vise, a traditional shave pony bench can be built for less expense.

He also used a rasp but a rasp isn't essential.

The measuring gauges he used were a caliper, a straight edge, and a contour gauge.

Also, he used a draw knife for both the rough & fine shaving but a spoke shave is better to use for some of the fine shaving (except at the sharp concave curves).

[TH4Tk001]

Spending my summer learning to build guitars (both solid body electric and acoustic; just about finished on my electric in less than a week) and I must say this helped tons with giving me ideas on how to go about shaping and assembling the neck, awesome video =]

[wcswood]

@TH4Tk001 Glad you like. Thanks for watching.



[zummo61]

NIce! Very informative.

[MuscatineBassist13]

how long does making a neck usually take

[wcswood]

@MuscatineBassist13 Those there took about a week apiece,

I'd guess. Did all four at once, so kind of hard to estimate.

Thanks for watching.

[tharrington11]

Amazing work! I want to start building guitars my self, and not spend hundreds of dollars on just the pre made necks.. I want to build it all by hand

[SIRONEDRAGON]

very cool : )

[NoBox9]

This is how a guitar neck needs to be made. I'm tired of things being made by machines on an assembly line. There is no heart or soul in the instrument from the start. I have been researching this for a few months now and I am going to try and build my own guitar from scratch.

[wcswood]

@NoBox9 Hey, glad you like. I do it like that cause it's fun. Enjoy your

build, but dont get too hung up on the first one. You kind of have to build

a few and dabble in it a bit before you get the hang of it. Best of luck.

[MrDrMegna]

somebody's a little cocky

[chetoos008]

@MrDrMegna Dude, if you're referring to the guy in this video, he's not cocky. He has confidence in what he does and he does a great job at it. Plus, if you're good at anything, there is bound to be a little cockyness, I mean c'mon, you have to be proud of what you've done, you put all the hours of work and determination into it.

[benedictguerrero]

THIS is the only video I need!!! THIS is the most important video on youtube!!! Thanks for affirming my belief that I can do this without routers or electric or motorized machines. You have boosted many human spirits!!!

[wcswood]

@benedictguerrero I hear ya! Gotta keep it simple. Thanks for watching.

[goldsmithexile]

Very nice video man, great manual skills and feel

LOL those tiny little shark pull saws are excellent for flush trimming cuts, I use one for chair making sometimes, leaves no kerf scratches behind.....

[wcswood]

@goldsmithexile thanks for watching

[fatkid677777]

this is great work!

[wcswood]

@fatkid677777 thanks!

[Therightpickguitar]

How did you make the designs on the fretboard? Very cool stuff!

[anrmenchaca47]

MAAAAAN those blades must be REALLY sharp!! It looks as though he using very little effort to shave the wood off...Looks like a hot knife though butter....Very nice work though.

[Krischaify]

Hi, I'm about to make my first guitar neck, all be it for an acoustic guitar, I will still be attempting to carve the majorty of it by hand. Is the tool your using a drawing knife and is that more beneficial than using a spokeshave? Also I was not only amazed by your skill at carving but would like to ask how do you achieve the beautiful design on your fretboard? Is it carved in? Is it stained? Please enlighten me. I would like to do the same with an ebony fretboard if possible? Thanks!

[wcswood]

@Krischaify I've not used a spokeshave but I assume it would work. I have another vid showing how I do the marquetry, but it is not something you would pick up on your first go round.

[broodyart]

The second knuckle on my thumb is locked. So I find every guitar I play digs into it & I can't play too long. Is it ok to shave the round back, more into a "v" shape? I'm thinking it might hurt the strength? I only need it on the thumb side... or does someone make a guitar with a more "v" shaped neck, for this problem?

[wcswood]

@broodyart

Custom builders can most often shape a neck to your specs.

I'd be carefull shaving down an existing neck, but it certainly

can be done. Good luck

[nuaurea]

great video and i really admire people who share their knowledge with others..by theway i have a simple question what kind of wood glue used to bond the guitars?

[wcswood]

@nuaurea Thanks.  I use Titebond II

[themudball]

damn, i want to buid an electric guitar, but i'm dirt poor :(

[Kistarrentom]

I think there are relatively few people who are able to produce a neck in this old way - maybe so built necks get something I would call "soul". Thank you for showing.

[regenerati]

Hi thanks for this deep look into all the Love that becomes a guitar neck....can you please detail the initial grade of sandpaper you use on the back of the neck after the knife shaping as well as the type of rasp used there too! Thanks Man!

[Zamiel89]

How can you make it rounded in the same way throughout all the neck??? I need to know that!

You are really good!

[Daystlfin]

Do you make the neck flat or angled back for string tension compensation?

[GoFerrariGo]

that's art! super cool to watch, thanks!

[GoFerrariGo]

that's art! super cool to watch, thanks!

[GoFerrariGo]

that's art! super cool to watch, thanks!

[wcswood]

@GoFerrariGo Thank you!

[BoVaDeZw]

What is the name of that tool you use to measure the shape of the neck (with the needles) and where can you buy that?

[wcswood]

@BoVaDeZw It's called a contour guage. I got mine at

Home Depot, most hardware stores should have one.

[seanfoxie]

@wcswood When you are sanding the radius, how are you making sure you're not sanding too much down?

[darmverstopping123]

can i use acacia for building a neck

[wcswood]

@darmverstopping123 I have limited experience with tropical woods, and have not worked with acacia at all. Sorry.

[rudoman22]

now that's what I'm talking about man! I want to do this in the future when i get my own place! I'm going to need some lessons though ahahha. well when i was a kid I had an obsetion about working with wood. it was so fun for some reason. I never took it seriously though. but as I got into guitar, and later got into things like making guitars, it seems I still do like working with wood hahah

[shannyshanny123]

im gonna try and shave my neck down but i was wondering wat tools i need to get the rounded edges and just make it smaller

[wcswood]

@shannyshanny123 you may just want to use sandpaper, a 60 grit will remove a lot of material, and you can better follow the existing contour. Using a drawknife takes practice and you can f up a neck pretty quick.

[LittleBuddah118]

could you make a neck for a stratocaster and how much would it be ? im only asking as i plan to make a strat in my free time

[wcswood]

@LittleBuddah118 I'm not doing much in the way of guitars these days. Besides you'd be better off getting a factory made one. Cheaper and will be exactly what you want.

[LittleBuddah118]

@wcswood true but i love the fingerboards their amazing

[arrayeniqma]

man!! i love ur passion man...!

[iatemine]

Incredible control and patience Man, super nice job!! :)

[wcswood]

@iatemine Thanks man, I do love woodworking.

[bevelupbud]

More Vids!

[wcswood]

@bevelupbud Thanks for the enthusiasm, but these days I am not building guitars, renovating an apartment and only building the odd tap handle. Maybe someday.

[videosdelaschiquis]

ypu are amazing man, you could make a video showing how you do the inlay in the neck

[cyclist4now]

nice work ! You should use long straight knife strokes ! Hey you know what youre doing - Thats the way I learned how to do it ! Your the man ! Keep up bro. your awesome .

[wcswood]

@cyclist4now

Thanks alot, man. Appreciate you watching.

[97warlock]

I bought an 80s Neckthru Warlock wanted athinner neck,so I boght 2000 grit & 500 grit i believe...and I kept my hand in a basic playing position along the back of the neck applyling light pressure all teh way around almost touching thr board but Not quite, I made long strokes all teh way down & all the way where my hand flowed into the body,until i was close to a "perfect" feel, I then with 2000grit a light sand full strokes......end result...Most perfect neck ive ever played.

[DONKEY9728]

Just watched the end of a program at the weekend on barrel making and how it used to be done and they used a nearly identical jig for shaping the barrel pieces, but it was a bigger and had a seat attached to it

[wcswood]

Yeah, that's a shaving horse, or a schnitzelbank. I've had a few of those, but they take up too much room for in the shop and end up rotting outside. The pony is just a modern take on a very ancient design. The head can be configured to clamp just about anything.

[DONKEY9728]

Love the work your doing and love the shaving pony. Gonna knock one of those up for meself and try it with my acoustic necks, thanks very much.

[wcswood]

right on. Make sure you check out the ShavingPony Page. Several different takes on it. Mine is designed specifically for the necks which is very convenient. You could use bolts for the pivots and save having to turn the dowels, too.

[gielepielemans]

Awe-Some Vid!!

Thnx for showing how necks are build , ive been playing for decades now , and ive never been able to affort a top notch instrument.

Now i'm thinking of just building my own strat.

It seems that getting the right tools for it is the most expensive part..

5 stars!

[ecca73]

You have to admire and appreciate a craftsman work...Brilliant stuff mate...Cheers

[wcswood]

Right on, man. Thanks for watching.

[WaterDragonFist]

WOW Simply amazing! Excellent work sir.

Thanks for the inspiration.

[wcswood]

My pleasure. Thanks for watching.

[getupstairstobed]

simply wow ive made 200 guitars and i must say im highly impressed with the results. im one of the i dont see why any guitar should cost £1000 but through all the patience you had and the skills by the end i was blown away especially with the graphic/inlay (sorry i couldnt tell but its probably a very well done inlay). Thats what i call a handmade guitar neck!!!!!

did you fit this onto guitar, how muchyou charge if you have time would you consider doing 20 mass produced? once again well done

[wcswood]

I thank you for your enthusiasm! Glad you like the vid. I agree, the necks take a long time, but they are such a dream to hold at the end, with all of that care, like a baby. Anyway, yes I could do a batch of necks, each one is unique though, so you would need to be able to scribe a mortise for each one. Thanks again for watching.

[brandon5pennies]

where did you get that tool to get the roundness of your neck and did you take any carpenter type class or did you just do this as a hobby

[wcswood]

If you mean the contour guage, it is just from the home depot. It does not shape the neck, just checks it. The shaping is done mostly with the drawknife and then sanding blocks. I am self taught, but have read lots of books on the subject and of course have been doing this for a while. thanks for watching.

[brandon5pennies]

thanks i've been considering making my own guitar just as a hobby

[guild1978]

Hey could you recommend a knife to use and where to get it? Thanks james in ireland

[wcswood]

I got mine through Lee Valley Tools, they have a website. It is called a carver's drawknife. You can use a regular drawknife, often available second hand, but I do prefer the control I have over the smaller blade.

Thanks for watching,

-Isaac

[leetkilla]

you are an artist! true talent there.

[wcswood]

Thank you very much!  You are too kind.

[chronicpunk]

True woodworking at it's best my friend!

it's true what you said about hand-made necks, there is a considerable amount of time that goes into them so you don't wanna mess anything up!

PS: Dude, you 're almost the older version of me, a redhead and always wearing a hat while building :) (love the inlays btw) grtz P

[wcswood]

Ha, just the beard is red, the top is brown and grey. I wear the hat cause it's Vermont and it's frickin cold in here. I have two layers on today in JUNE. Thanks for watching, glad you like the vid.

[SDMFPhil]

Nice video. Just one question, when you are sanding the binding after putting the side dots in, how to do stop the binding getting all scratched? I think you used wood binding for these necks - but if you used plastic binding how would you avoid ruining it? Thanks

[wcswood]

I've never used the plastic, but perhaps you could use a scraper to avoid damage. If the chisel is really sharp you can pare the dot material down flush.

[center77]

Great video. I want to learn what that double handle knife is. Is the color of the side dot wood different than the neck ? They looked the same. I wonder if the knife would work w bamboo. Thx for posting !

[wcswood]

The tool is a carvers drawknife, the blade is about 4 1/2", you can use a regular drawknife which is longer, too. The side dots go into the binding. I put walnut dots in maple and vice versa. Most important to have a good carvers vice. Thanks for watching.

[crupez5]

thats awesome work man

UG FTW

[wcswood]

Thanks. I have to ask, what does UG FTW mean?

[dbacks4life]

Ultimate Guitar for the win.

[wcswood]

Of Course! UG FTW then!

[AcDc109]

Awsome video...

Ug Ftw

[wcswood]

Thank you.

[rbj1313]

holy crap man that was intense makes me want to build guitars too

[wcswood]

lol Glad you like! thanks for watching.

[cjguitarman]

Fantastic craftsmanship. The fact that you do it by hand makes the guitars even more special.

[wcswood]

Well, I don't know about that, but it definitely makes it more fun to build 'em!

Thanks for watching.