Visit your nearest guitar store and see what the big manufacturers are doing.

Otherwise, carve until it feels good

For my two cents...

There's no such thing. It's like asking, "What's the most comfortable shoe size?" The size and shape of a player's hand figure heavily into the equation, and one would have to accommodate both men and women. The closest thing anyone could say is to go with an industrial standard, like the thickness of a Taylor or Martin neck.

Interesting you describe the Taylor as being too thin. at .840" at the 1st, its thicker than many of the custom builders including Ryan and Olson. Perhaps its not its thickness, but the lack of shoulder?

. . .Someday I may be able to do most of it by feeling but today is not that day! . . .

You might be surprise yourself. ... You may just find it to be easier than you think.

I think folks tend to like what they're used to. Play an old v-carved Martin for a while, and one's hands will gradually adapt. Switch to a Taylor, and it will feel way too thin. Play that for a while, go back to the v-carve, and it'll feel big and awkward. Having played many drastically different neck shapes and sizes, I know a few things for certain -- 1) there MUST be a recurve to the shoulder, as much as a 1/16" taper from the bottom of the fingerboard to the top. Nothing causes me to put an otherwise well-made guitar down faster than a sharp ledge at the fingerboard edge. I can name several high-end builders who are guilty of this. 2) almost everybody's first neck is way too fat. Rough carve the neck, then fret and attach your fingerboard. You have a much better sense of neck proportions with the board included. 3) unless you're building for someone with small hands, keep your nut width at least 1 23/32", preferably 1 3/4". Anything narrower leads to hand fatigue (for me, anyway).

Hope this is helpful. Cheers.

Ken

I think folks tend to like what they're used to. Play an old v-carved Martin for a while, and one's hands will gradually adapt. Switch to a Taylor, and it will feel way too thin. Play that for a while, go back to the v-carve, and it'll feel big and awkward. Having played many drastically different neck shapes and sizes, I know a few things for certain -- 1) there MUST be a recurve to the shoulder, as much as a 1/16" taper from the bottom of the fingerboard to the top. Nothing causes me to put an otherwise well-made guitar down faster than a sharp ledge at the fingerboard edge. I can name several high-end builders who are guilty of this. 2) almost everybody's first neck is way too fat. Rough carve the neck, then fret and attach your fingerboard. You have a much better sense of neck proportions with the board included. 3) unless you're building for someone with small hands, keep your nut width at least 1 23/32", preferably 1 3/4". Anything narrower leads to hand fatigue (for me, anyway).

Hope this is helpful. Cheers.

Ken

Ken, are you talking about blending the neck curve into the bottom edge of the fingerboard, or are you talking about tapering the top edge of the fingerboard back to prevent a sharp 90 degree angle at the top corner?

The latter. The former is a given in my book.

Ken, I've been leaving my boards straight on the side, about how much of a taper are you talking about?

... there MUST be a recurve to the shoulder, as much as a 1/16" taper from the bottom of the fingerboard to the top.

Interesting. Don't you then need to add extra width to the nut/fretboard to avoid the strings from 'falling off' that rounded edge?

Apparently it's about 1/16" inch.