Guitar Neck - shaping fretboard

[roger wiegand]

For what it's worth, here are pictures of my first guitar (a bass) and the second. Both were made while trying (successfully it seems) to entice my son into an interest in woodworking. I'm told by good players I trust not to BS me that both instruments are pleasant and easy to play and sound good. I'm not a player, so I wouldn't know; I just worked on them until they felt really nice in my hands. I re-shaped the bass neck on the advice of a pro player, and it feels even better now than it did before-- getting it thin enough caused me more than a few worries about going through to the truss rod slot. The second build is almost certainly better than the first-- it was far easier, anyway.
My point is that a half competent woodworker can make a very creditable instrument by studying a lot and then being very painstaking during the build. It's not rocket surgery, but it does require both a plan and care in doing the work. Both fingerboards were purchased from LMI. The design of both is my own and all the rest of the wood parts were made in my shop.

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[John Kananis]

Just want to say that I appreciate all the encouragement. There are some beautiful pieces here - I'll aspire to come close. I'll be doing the entire piece and can shape the neck to the musician's hand/preferences so not too worried about that part. The fretboard seemed more challenging and that's why I posted this thread... seems like a ton of information out there though so I'll start by shifting through it all.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Best wishes! These are fun and rewarding projects. To quote Dan Erlewine, “Each fret is a piece of jewelry”

[John Kananis]

I'm really liking the inlay on some of these. I've never done any inlay in ebony though so maybe another challenge to take on with this piece...I guess once I've researched enough I can start making design choices... really wish this build wasn't so far off all of a sudden.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

CNC has had a big impact on inlay. A lot of "hand made" builders slip in CNC inlays. They usually are easy to spot, they are very, very perfect. Getting them perfect by hand is something to aspire to.