Making the Neck Blank

I got the laminated neck blank finished today. The two pieces sat glued over night. They were planed down to 2 3/16" by 1 7/8".  Then it was partially planed down to 1 1/2" to match the side pieces. 


I used the scraps from cutting the neck blanks down to size as a cushion against the clamps.

 

The partial plane down to 1 1/2" had to be done in one shot - taking off 3/8".  There was a high possibility of that screwing up and the whole thing going in the garbage. It worked out fine though. I did it on the jointer as there is no automatic feed, it could be stopped when I got to where the fret board will begin.

 

10,000 trips through the planer took off about 3/8" on each side of the freshly laminated neck blank.

This is the complete blank, ready to be carved into a neck and to cut out the head stock.

The two pieces came together pretty tight.

Here you can see the purpose of the partial plane. the fret board is raised from the main body. There will be a 1/4" maple top stuck on top of the main body later to be almost in line with the neck. The fret board will raise the neck up a little farther after that.