Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and new to lutherie too (I've one acoustic completed as of earlier this year. It came out playable!). I've had a look around here – and the net in general – but a few doubts linger about preparation of the neck billet...

To what tolerances should one work when preparing the face to which the fingerboard will be attached – how flat must this surface be? Assuming access to handtools only, which size plane is best for the job – a #4, or would the larger sole of a #5 jack plane be more suitable..?

Any information/ suggestions would be gratefully recieved!

Regards
Jon

Welcome Jonathan!

How flat...dead flat. You should be able to achieve this with a jack or smoothing plane assuming the wood has been seasoned and aged. If not, what looks flat this week may in fact be cupped, curly or curved next month. I keep my mahogany neck blanks for at least a year at various stages before I declare them neck-worthy. It's worth the effort.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

If you glue the fretboard to the neck with any kind of multiple clamp scheme then the overall straightness of the glued assembly will be determined by how straight you made the individual parts.

If you glue the fretboard to the neck with an accurate, straight gluing caul, the glued neck will take the shape of the caul. This won't fix badly made parts but it offers a bit of latitude for necks and fretboards that are not perfectly flat.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic