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There was a discussion recently on flushing the neck with the fingerboard after gluing and whether a router table could be used if the fingerboard was radiused. I did a couple today and thought I'd show what has worked for me.

Build up about 5 layers of brown binding tape on each edge of the fretboard and double stick tape in a surrogate nut that is a little oversize to protect that area. Make sure the neck lies flat and does not rock.





Make sure you have a nice flat surface to register off and rout away. I usually always do climb cuts.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Thanks Terence! I'll be using that one. Unless I'm looking for some sort of stress relief therapy then it'll be a spoke shave.

Danny

Terence,

Please explain a "climb cut" for us non-router adepts.

Thanks,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Moving the piece in the same direction as the bit rotation. It can be dangerous but safer for any tear out. I only do it with small bits and light cuts as the bit can grab the piece and toss it or pull your hand towards the bit. With this operation on necks and small bits and light cuts I have not had any problems but keep your hands well clear of the path of the bit and hold onto the piece firmly. I must admit it always makes me a little nervous.

For most operations where flush routing to a template is used like bridges and headstocks I use the RoboSander to remove most of the wood leaving only about 1/32" for the router. Climb cuts are a lot safer then. That's hard to do for the fretboard as there is such a narrow edge for the bearing to key off.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Any thoughts on following this step up with a round over bit to get you further along to the final neck shape?

Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

I've used the same method and if you're careful you'll get good results. That said, I found that to make the routing safer, I cut the neck to within 1/16" of the fretboard on the bandsaw first. I found that if I need to get it that close, I may as well flush it up using hand tools during the actual carving of the neck - my favorite part of a build. For me, leisurely carving the neck with hand tools in quiet solitude is very therapeutic.

Just my 2 cents worth...

Chuck