How to Cut Guitar Parts on a CNC - (Pt1: Necks & Fretboards)

#NewPerspectivesMusic #DIY #guitarkit
More info on the download kit as well as the parts I'll be stocking here:
newperspectivesmusic.com/shop...
newperspectivesmusic.com/shop...
This is the type of truss rod I recommend (not affiliate link, buy wherever you like): www.ebay.com/itm/233212684380
And you'll need fretwire, buy where you'd like, this is just for example: www.ebay.com/itm/121449793548 or www.ebay.com/itm/171672683411
Tip Cup: Venmo: @TimSway or www.paypal.me/timsway
My Patreon:
/ timsway
My Websites:
www.newperspectivesmusic.com
www.sqwayretools.com
www.guineapigtanks.com
www.49cycleclub.com
My content creation partners, products I proudly use and brands I believe in:
www.vectric.com
www.avidcnc.com
www.totalboat.com
Other friends
www.arbortechtools.com
www.carolinashoe.com
www.millsupply.com/?pk_campai...
www.thunderlaser.com
www.starbond.com
be good,
Tim

[@vincetaylor6126]

Lmao , the ' I need to hire a model ' remark had me lol. : )

[@cradd00]

Thanks for taking the time to put all of this together. That's a great tip about not putting your locating pins in the same location for both sides. I've already destroyed a couple of necks by inadvertently either flipping end for end or wrong side up and not noticing until it's too late...oops! Even little tips like that are super helpful!

[@timsway]

it's soooo easy to make mistakes like that. cheers!

[@bleigh6562]

This was a great way to end a rainy day. Thank you Tim

[@sgsax]

And we're off! I love the smell of new guitar parts in the morning. Thanks for sharing!

[@johnisch88]

I'm kind of just dipping my toes into CNC, this was super helpful in filling in a couple of holes in my knowledge! Thanks.

[@worksucksletsdrink6011]

Hellz yeah Tim!

[@theRandy712]

Yes, LOVE these process videos

[@squidskunk]

GREAT VIDEO Tim...Thank you !!

[@jonnydregz3677]

Thank you for teaching us all of this Tim sway.

[@John-Kuro]

I really appreciate the effort you have put into this, I think ill be buying your pack soon and making my own guitar.

[@timsway]

awesome! FYI, It's on sale for another week or so as I roll it out, then it will go up a little.

[@John-Kuro]

@@timsway Thank you for the heads up, ill make sure to buy it in the next week then :D, I kind of hope this becomes a "common" thing for you id love to be able to buy designs to make and support you at the same time.

[@jvin248]

Did you do an episode on making your router dust collection/brush head? I've used pop rivet shanks for side markers too, aluminum so they are non-rustng and polish to mirrors.

[@timsway]

great kinds think alike. I never made a vid about the dust collector as I just used plans the Avid CNC freely gives away.

[@garagemonkeysan]

Great video and instructions. Super informative and interesting. Mahalo for sharing! : )

[@faroironandcustoms6577]

Nice!!!! Thank you for sharing!!!

[@vontinkles]

Jackpot! Mucho of gracias. 🤗🕺

[@TheKlauspc]

i love these type of videos, your effort is so inspiring and entertaining. i'm not even into making stuff, i just play guitar for fun, but i'd rather watch hours of your process than a netflix show. great job dude!

[@timsway]

that's cool! and yea, I get it, I can zone out on "How It's Made" for hours. KZbin is full of cool stuff like that.

[@ronc1231]

Nice design work. Tim. Lots of thought and workload considerations. I've been cycling about 9 months, figured out neck shapes, that took months to settle on .I find that a 1/2" ball nose ( just a router bit from home depot) gives me a surface ready for 400 grit. Everything else looks about the same. Really nice communication of ideas. Knowing something is different than teaching.

[@Da5idc]

I'm thinking that a smaller grinder would be useful. Something between the grinder and a dremel

[@LaverneLovatt]

what I enjoy most about your videos is your lack of sell out. Other KZbinrs I have watched have their sponsor ads for products that have nothing to do with the video. I sometimes disagree with some of your views but admire your integrity

[@timsway]

Integrity seems like a good place to start any conversation! lol. I do occasionally do sponsored content, but only if I actually use and believe in the product and company. Usually I seek them out, not via some marketing agency contacting me (they do, I don't reply). Not to name names or products but I've certainly seen friends of mine wholeheartedly support a product that they now regret. And for what, money? No thanks.

[@LaverneLovatt]

@@timsway Keep up the good work

[@RattlecanGuitarRestorations]

​ @timsway When designing jigs and fixtures we call that foolproofing...making the part only fit one way. I enjoyed your video greatly. Cheers.

[@timsway]

exactly. Lord knows I can be a fool. lol. Ring the bell for next week's video - I sure make a fool of myself in it with a very foolish mistake :)

[@RattlecanGuitarRestorations]

@@timsway There’s a lot to be learned by screwing things up…lol. Can’t wait to see you (and us) get smarter.

[@timsway]

you're going to be real disappointed in how dumb I was and how little there is to learn. lol! @@RattlecanGuitarRestorations

[@billysmether6237]

Thanks for the video!! Here are some ideas to make life easier on the cnc that have worked well for me..... Wooden dowels are much easier for fret markers. I oil my necks and do not want any epoxy or shellac on my fret board.... You can get a Kyocera .25/.023 bit for the fret slots for about 5 bucks...... I always screw the fret piece to the machine bed. Six screws. The tape method does not always hold the fret board down properly. The fret slot is very shallow and you need the fret board perfectly flat. Use these procedures and you will not need the fret saw. The fret slot will be flat from the saw, with the cnc you can arch the fret slot so the depth is the same all the way across.... Use the "machine bed" for zero reference. That way your thickness will always come out correct. Using "material surface" is very dependent on the fact that you have thicknessed your material properly. You should always use the cnc to plane the surface of your material first, then flip it and start cutting the surface. Gives you an even thickness and flatness on the piece. This is critical for proper necks and fret boards. Otherwise you may have a hard time adjusting the guitar later.... I run the radius of the back of the neck all the way to the edge. Just like you did with the dowels for two sided cutting, create small (1/8") holes on the inside of the fret board and neck. Then you can add a small pin of some type and the fret board and neck will align perfectly when you glue together. Saves a lot of frustration and guessing...... I fill the dowel holes drilled into the machine bed with dowels, glue, cut, and sand them flush. Does not take long. Provides more surface area for later dowel holes. Thanks again!!!

[@seanriggen]

👍🏻

[@johnisch88]

Also, I use 0.6mm end mills to do fret slots, I just do them on the line, one pass - it ramps in on one side, gets to the end and runs back to the other side (so I guess 1.5 passes). I have one end mill I've used for 4 or 5 fretboards to date without breaking it. I tried using 0.5mm mills, but the slots are just a bit too tight.

[@timsway]

you're doing full depth of the slot or finishing with a saw?

[@timsway]

and yea, i can usually get 10 or more maple fretboards from one end mill but sometimes will go through 3 on one richlite, geesh

[@johnisch88]

@@timsway I typically do blind slots, so you can't really use a saw after, I did get a "fret cleaner outer" (made for refrets) to clean out the slots.

[@sapelesteve]

Excellent work Tim! I was just wondering if that fretboard is radiused? Or did I miss that part? 🤔🤔

[@timsway]

yes, 16"

[@lostinlymbo13]

Thank you for the video! Also, at 9:27, what is that center finding tool called? :)

[@timsway]

the Center SqWAYre. only at www.sqwayretools.com

[@NeoCat1993]

Great video Tim! I used a 0.7mm endmill with 0.7mm depth on my last project which worked sorta well, only broke one endmill for my 30 frets. In my head, if I go in at an angle rather than straight down it should be easier on the tool, do you have experience with that? Because for the most part you should be able to machine the same depth as the tool diameter for any endmill, unless you run into cooling issues, so I'm interested why you go half diameter, or if you'd do that also with a brand new endmill.

[@timsway]

I err on the side of safety. even with a big 1/4" end mill, I'll usually run 1/8" passes (sometimes more like .175"). I used to be more aggressive with the little guy but on dense stuff like richlite and ebony i'd have breakage issues to often. this way in maple, etc., I can geto 10 or more fretboards out of one end mill.

[@itdude1]

Hey Tim, love the video! Just getting my toes wet on the CNC. I'm trying to figure out the flipping part of the neck. Putting the dowels into the neck makes total sense since it's basically a maker. I did it when I was gluing up fretboards to necks, used them as a reference as well as a holder to keep the fretboard from moving during the gluing, but as far as how the CNC knows where to go back to? I saw you re-zero it, but I'm guessing the software knows where to start back exactly? Or is that something you need to tell the CNC to do as far as going back to the exact spot to do the back of the neck? Sorry -- rookie here. Appreciate any help brother!

[@timsway]

every cnc is different but, yea, as long as the cnc machine starts in the same place, the marker trick works perfectly! Only way it goes wrong is if the start spot gets changed.

[@user-vj9eu6sh4k]

🤘💙👍

[@ZOOTSUITBEATNICK1]

👌✌

[@SSRT_JubyDuby8742]

Like deployed 👍 😎🎙🎸✅️

[@JeremyHolmes]

What's the smallest CNC machine size I can get, and still be able to handle the wood sizes relative to building a bass. Thank you

[@timsway]

Figure a full size bass neck, like a fender, is about 34" long, I'd say 36" to make bolt ons. Neck throughs you'd need one big enough for the whole bass, usually less than 48"

[@cliffart7398]

i think I want to make one just to see if I ca. I have vcarve pro which should work as well.

[@timsway]

Yea, VCarve lacks the 3D modelling components, but most of this is 2D and there are ways to "trick" the 3d stuff using moulding toolpaths

[@chrisleech1565]

Hey TIm, I had trouble with pigmented epoxies bleeding through three coats of the same Zinnser product. Up here in Canada it is suddenly very expensive ..$20 USD equiv and the only product available to us. My next step will be to make Shellac with various ratio of methanol. Anyway my next kick at the can involved using carbon powder for black colouring as it was promised not to bleed.. Yes it is very black! Blends well!! And...also bleeds like a prick. What is a guy to do? Not for lack of trying.

[@timsway]

yes, that spray shellac is very expensive, which is why I tried to do only one coat! lol

[@chrisleech1565]

​@@timsway Goodlord man you of all people should by now have a tried and true method to prevent this bleeding. In my estimation it ruins the job, the part, all the time in to said job and the material. My recent disappointment was a three headed dragon v-carved with my last piece of baltic ply. ( no longer available ) and I sprayed three coats paying extra attention to the vertical surfaces and brushing the finer details as in the delicate corners. The bleed of the black epoxy infill was heartbreaking. I couldn't hide it. Destroyed the entire 500x500mm piece. So I decided the next time I would do a test with epoxy thinned with acetone. Thinning is neccessary to conform to smaller features and act like a sealer. Failure to thin enough and it won't soak into the grain. No rushing home for dinner is allowed...🙂. Otherwise if you want to try to make your own shellac .....Check Amazon for >dewaxed< flake. This feature is important apparently. tinyurl.com/bdne2hme. Add a stirring device which may also blend epoxy and pigment as well. tinyurl.com/45rjdur9. Your into $50 for the test. I think I'll do it even though I have to pay shipping and the diff in CAD$

[@timsway]

@@chrisleech1565 Oh, I know how to do it. finish the piece like it's finished! lol!! But it feels like such a waste of time and product. I've used water-based poly, too which works also.

[@schreds8882]

I've just started learning to use CAD software. I've been using Fusion 360. I've discovered that I'm really bad at it. 🤣 It's so hard to get what's in my head into the software. Not that any software would be ideal for me but what are your thoughts on Vetric Aspire vs. Fusion 360. Would love to hear what the crowd feels too. Thanks everyone.

[@timsway]

Fusion is a very powerful software that can do all sorts of things you'll never need it to do. So is Vectric, for that matter, but Vectric is specifically designed for CNC use, so I find it infinitely easier to understand and use in a practical sense, for me. It has ike 2 worlds in it, a 2d world of vectors where you can just draw lines and cut them as well as a 3d modeling world for more complex stuff, but you can acheive 3d like cuts in 2D by using things like moulding tool paths which not only speed up the design process but the cutting time as well. If I were a 3d modeler, I'd put the work in to fusion as it will be more beneficial in the long run, but for woodworking Vectric is the choice.

[@raytbrown2]

TIP - I don't need to hear what you normally don't do. Just talk about what you do. Explaining otherwise is a waste of both our time. Thanks for the videos.

[@timsway]

I understand your point but disagree in principle. Sometimes the reasons for not doing something are as important as the reasons for doing something - or to show the process of how I got there. Larger example is simply learning history to avoid repeating its mistakes - and understanding why those mistakes and decisions were made. In my example, I might just save you from trying a "shortcut" I already tried once and wasting a piece of wood :)