Back in the Shop!

It has been one long hot summer this year. Central Texas has been suffering through nearly a solid month of 100+F degree days. Coupled with the drought conditions (last measurable rain in early July), it has not been much fun to be out doors (or in the sauna that was my workshop) for extended periods of time. This weekend finally brought a little rain and a break in the heat. With the shop at a more comfortable temperature, I spent nearly the entire 3-day weekend in the shop.

Now, I haven't been completely idle during all this time. I spent some time building a few jigs and working on the neck for #2. Here is a jig built from plans by Paul Woolson that is used to route the tenon on the neck. You can find the plans here.



The jig holds the neck against the template for the tenon. The guitar body is placed against the metal bar sticking up through the top of the jig. The bar is attached to the support piece that holds the neck. The bar is rotated until it is at the correct height at the place where the bridge will be glued on. The angle of the support piece (and the neck) is then locked into place before the tenon is routed.





After routing the tenon, the heel of the neck is pretty close to the angle that will result in the strings being at the proper height at the bridge. When the neck is attached to the guitar body, only minor adjustments will be needed to get the angle just right.