AHG (and sometimes U)

[AcornHouse]

Gluing surfaces of the fingerboard and headstock overlay are cleaned up and ready for round 2.
Time to break out one of my most unused tool, the vintage inside spring calipers, and get some dovetail measurements so I can lay out the mating surface on the new neck.

 

[Stuball48]

Inside measurements always make me the most nervous

 

[AcornHouse]

Deja vu.
But it's going a little quicker this time. Dialing in the fit and already brought out the carbon paper.

 

[AcornHouse]

Gluing on the wings, being extra careful to keep grain orientations and surfaces matched as much as possible, using the waste cut from right below the headstock.

 

[AcornHouse]

Only a couple of giveaways that it's not just one board.
This is why a stacked heel is common with Spanish cedar necks in the classical tradition; the grain/pores structure blends so well together. Mahogany is similar. Whereas a maple heel would be a dead giveaway if it were a glued up stack.

 

[AcornHouse]

The neck is now where it once was, but without any fractures. I'm going to be extra careful carving it, watching out for any stressing, not going too thin.

 

[GGJaguar]

not going too thin.

Or just keep it as a square neck for playing slide uke.

 

[AcornHouse]

Getting the neck roughed in. Still a little too D, want to get closer to a C. First fret neck depth is 0.9", maybe take it down slightly more, but not too much.
I'll be focusing on the heel today.

 

[Stuball48]

Getting the neck roughed in. Still a little too D, want to get closer to a C. First fret neck depth is 0.9", maybe take it down slightly more, but not too much.
I'll be focusing on the heel today.

A closeup tells me you have some sharp tools and you know how to use them.

 

[AcornHouse]

With the heel roughed out, the bloodwood heel cap gets glued on so it can be refined along with the rest of the heel. (No, it's not THAT thick. I'm using part of the offcut as a clamping caul.)

 

[AcornHouse]

With the heel shaped, I can work on the neck profile, mating the heel and headstock.

 

[Stuball48]

With the heel shaped, I can work on the neck profile, mating the heel and headstock.

Just beautiful wood

 

[AcornHouse]

Neck is pretty much where I want it to be. A little on the chunky side, relatively, but because it's so small, you don't really notice; and that's coming from someone who loves skinny necks. First fret neck depth is at 0.883". That'll come down slightly as I do all the sanding, but the shape is pretty good; at least in the ballpark.
Next up is the headstock to neck transition. Because of the smaller tuner shafts, the headstock is only 1/2" so it has almost a reverse volute for now. I'll play around with that so it'll have a more natural looking mini-volute.

 

[GGJaguar]

The new neck is coming along nicely!

 

[AcornHouse]

Transition is shaping up. I see lots of sanding in my future.

 

[AcornHouse]

I've done some tweaking (and will inevitably do some more), but it's mostly sanding time now.

 

[AcornHouse]

Went outside for some bright light and good ventilation and got the neck sanded to 220 grit. It's feeling smooth and comfortable.

A little sanding on the body and it'll be ready to join the two for good.

 

[Stuball48]

Looking great to me.

 

[GAD]

Do you ever look at one of your creations and think, “Damn, I made that.”?

 

[AcornHouse]

Do you ever look at one of your creations and think, “Damn, I made that.”?

Sadly, I tend more to “Damn, I wish I’d done this“ or “Why didn’t I do that?”