Luthier Tips du Jour - Neck Carving - O'Brien Guitars

Luthier and Instructor Robert O'Brien shows how to carve a guitar neck.

[@megabyatt]

Thankyou ,very informative and great presentation.

[@OBrienGuitars]

Thanks for watching. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@koipondmusic]

Thanks for all these informative videos!

[@brucelevine6517]

Some times i takea sanding belt and sand across the garain like a shoe shine rag to asimilate the lines then i use progresively finer papers ( emery) to remove the cross grain lines i also use a 1 1/2 inch dowel wrape in sand paper to remove rasping lines out of rounded areas

[@nataku012]

Thank you so much for this! Gave me a lot of tips to work with, now I can say I'm actually looking forward to carving my first neck!

[@OBrienGuitars]

Thank you everyone! Glad you are finding the videos useful. Happy Building.

[@biggestclaptonfan]

@OBrienGuitars thanks alot of the quick reply, love these videos Thanks, Paul

[@paulusishak89]

Thank you for your share O Brien.

[@bejnard]

excellent vid. Thanks Robbie

[@trackie1957]

Wonderful. Each neck I carve is better than the previous one, still have a way to go! I like the fact that you use no machines to do it, too.

[@TONDANO-09]

Amazing,..

[@tinho236]

fascinante!!!! Agora com legenda melhor ainda!!!via seus videos como se lê uma revista quando não se sabe ler..rs..grato..

[@OBrienGuitars]

Todos os meus videos originais Luthier Tips du Jour tem legendas em Portugues. ë só usar a opção CC no youtube

[@natanborges5983]

Mais uma ótima aula, essa madeira da caixa parece claraiba

[@najtrows]

awesome! just so interesting! hopefully i'll start luthierschool next year! :D

[@snidermike]

You are the man.

[@alanmcc4794]

It is a medium bodied dreadnought btw and just gotta say , I love your videos so easy because its very well explaned

[@OBrienGuitars]

@paulbraz2 Glad you liked the video. Happy Building!

[@perothing]

this is the scariest luthier vid i've ever seen. Amazing chisel skills.

[@OBrienGuitars]

Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@OBrienGuitars]

@moucon Yes, you are correct. Carve the neck on or off the body?? Finish the neck on or off the body? Good things to think about. I prefer doing the two steps above on the body and for a classical guitar with a Spanish heel you must do it on the body. I am going to work on the audio levels and see if I can improve them. I am a guitar builder though not a video/audio guy.

[@syariffudin3102]

whether the Dutch teak wood can be made the guitar neck information please thank you

[@OBrienGuitars]

@batrango I prefer the flat spokeshave

[@sandiprai8191]

Wow nice

[@center77]

Thanks for the video. I am a beginner, I have made about five necks, only one with a heel. I would be scared to carve with it attached to the body. But, hey you are the expert, I am a beginner. You gave me several ideas that will help me. In the past I did it all with a rasp and sandpaper, you might imagine it took a while :). I have chisels and draw knife now. Thanks again. You can check out my headless 8 string acoustic for a laugh.

[@OBrienGuitars]

This is a bolt on mortise and tenon neck joint and no glue was used in the joint. On my Spanish heel classical guitars I use a very small amount of CA glue to hold the sides in the heel.

[@OBrienGuitars]

@perothing It is really not as difficult or scary as it looks. You have to almost want to hit the sides with the chisel for it to happen

[@OBrienGuitars]

@cobraman115 They are on the luthier supplier website

[@LUCKYB.]

ThankYou .. question .. are you ever going to show how to do a Carved oval or round Hole Arch top as the old Gibsons were from round the .. early 1900s in the early L series .. and How to lay out Ladder Bracing ? Mr OBrian you have been a big help .. thankyou .

[@OBrienGuitars]

I have no plans to do that at this time. I will see if I can put it on my loooooooooong list of things to address.

[@TheAlexkru]

@supersentz i know, my school doesnt have a woodshop but im a pretty fast learner and it seems like an interesting career choice

[@79antigua]

great talent, if I were a guitar builder I would definitely carve the neck then attach it to the guitar,I'd be too worried I'd damage the body or loosen the joint.

[@OBrienGuitars]

It is just a cheap rasp from a hardware store. I like using the Nicholson #49 and #50 They are great rasps!

[@massnb]

What kind of neck attachment method was used for this guitar? Am I correct in assuming that there was no glue placed between the heel block and sides, where you chiseled away the proper heel shape? My reason for asking is that I plan on using the Spanish heel method, and I want to know if I would be correct in gluing only the inside of the sides where I insert them in the heel. Thank you very much.

[@OBrienGuitars]

@sirgreggins8824 Some folks use flatsawn lumber but the guys I know who do are laminating it. I prefer quartersawn, even when laminating.

[@alanmcc4794]

hi I am currently building my first guitar and am just about to attempt the neck but I have a question about the head with my wood being thick enough should I carve it all in one piece? use the v technique? or just use the traditional cut and do you have a video on this would be greatly appreciated and the neck is mahogany with English spruce and engelmann spruce also what do you think of the combination as I also have a cedar top and would it be better to use this for my soundboard? Thanks

[@OBrienGuitars]

Thanks for the support. This makes you eligible to join my invitation only google chat group. Let me know if you want access by sending me an email.

[@cobraman115]

Hi where did you get the neck radius templates? I cant find them from luthier suppliers.

[@sirgreggins8824]

can flatsawn wood be used for necks or quartersawn Only?

[@Aint1S]

My question now... Where is your school located & can you use the GI Bill for tuition? Thank you for your time and great videos!

[@customgtrs]

I always shape the neck before it goes on the guitar. I love your videos and thank you for posting them. I just don't have the nerve to shape a neck on the guitar.

[@OBrienGuitars]

It really is a lot easier than it looks.

[@user-lg7rg6gh4d]

اا

[@biggestclaptonfan]

Hi there what kind of wood rasp is that our using? thanks

[@OBrienGuitars]

@dandeliontea7 The answer is whatever makes you feel more comfortable.

[@sirgreggins8824]

@OBrienGuitars I need to find a supplier that sells quartersawn lumber. Not online, just b/c i want to look through the wood myself. I think i'm gonna go with walnut on my next guitar. Cedar top black walnut b/s, walnut neck. Ebony fb and bridge. gonna be sweet.

[@byjuu246]

What is the difference between a 7.5 and 7.25 fret board radius?

[@SamMaskery]

what is the minimun thickness for an electric guitar?

[@juliantaylor7663]

What size contour gauge did you use? Awesome vid as always

[@OBrienGuitars]

I do not use a contour gauge these days. There are several available here. www.luthiersuppliers.com

[@mareDBS]

Thanks :-)

[@TheAlexkru]

i wish my school had woodshop

[@OBrienGuitars]

Fretboard radius is measured in inches. So, a 7.5 radius on a fretboard would be a 7.5 inch radius.

[@TheAlexkru]

would being a luthier be a good career choice because i play guitar and need to start thinking about colleges and careers.

[@Aint1S]

@byjuu246 Imagine a circle, you probably have had subwoofer speakers around your house before. A 10" sub has a 5" radius. Apply the same idea to your fret boards, but this time imagine only a small section of the circle. The circle with a radius of 7.5" is 15" & a 7.25" is 14.5" circle. The difference is playability & possibly hand size for some. Generally, a small radius fretboard is a better rhythm guitar while larger is easier solos. The board is a 2"(+/-) section of the circles outer edge.

[@TheAlexkru]

would being a luthier be a good carrier choice?

[@najtrows]

@dandeliontea7 the egg came first, of course. because chickens evolved from reptiles which lived looooong before chickens did. so the egg existed first :)

[@EtienneCorbet]

Hi ! Very interesting video ! Is it not easier to thickness the neck before to round it ? Thank you !

[@OBrienGuitars]

Whatever way works best for you. Both ways will work.

[@EtienneCorbet]

OBrienGuitars Thank you for your answer ! I'm still hesitating over doing like this ok like that... Thanks.

[@OBrienGuitars]

Etienne Corbet Find a way that is best for you and go for it. You can do it.

[@EtienneCorbet]

OBrienGuitars Thank you ! I used a method I found very reassuring for a beginer like me. I started by lowering the neck at its final dimension (+1mm). I drew the shape in 2 boxes on a paper of the transversal cut of the neck at frets 1 & 8, then drew a tangent at approximatively 45° to the shape, took mesurements and report them on the neck. then, using a spokeshave and a rasp I removed material to the lines. I repeated the operation with three others tangents and when done, finished with sandpaper. Here is the link explaining how I did : lutherie-guitare.org/wordpress/manche-mise-en-forme-1/ It did the job as expected, I'm quite satisfied. Anyway, when I'll be more skilled, i'll probably use your method !

[@OBrienGuitars]

Fold a piece of paper in half. Draw your desired shape on it and then cut it out. Glue this to your heel cap material and cut it out. Final shape with a file and Violá

[@Songwriter4God]

Man, really helps you see why guitars are so expensive. :P

[@toadroller]

Those are some SHARP chisels. Wow. I might have to practice sharpening before I do much else in luthiery.

[@OBrienGuitars]

I teach out of my private shop and also give a few classes at the Colorado School of Lutherie. I am not able to accept the GI Bill and I don' t believe the Colorado School of Lutherie does either. You can contact Edward Dick to ask. He pops up on a google search

[@juliantaylor7663]

How thick is your neck blank Cause a lot of neck blanks are 22mm

[@OBrienGuitars]

My neck blanks are 22mm or 7/8 inch.

[@OBrienGuitars]

I would suggest you check out my online video courses available via my website. That will clarify things for you. Soundboard choice, that is a personal question. Does this dress make me look fat?? I shy away from those type questions. haha

[@waynecorners6]

Why wouldn’t do most of the heel and neck shaping before you glued it to the body?

[@OBrienGuitars]

you could certainly do that. I just prefer to do it this way.

[@waynecorners6]

Well I can't argue with the results.

[@mareDBS]

Hey OBrienGuitars Thanks for this nice video. Where I can buy commercial neck templates like ones you use in this video? Thanks

[@OBrienGuitars]

I prefer the flat spokeshave

[@andrewgrossman6066]

Eggs came before chickens on the fossoral record, so eggs came first, and snakes have labial scales, so yes they do have lips.

[@OBrienGuitars]

do a google search on luthiersuppliers and you will find them.

[@natanborges5983]

Vc tem zap eu quero te mandar um vídeo

[@LUCKYB.]

Looks alittle Dangerious carving on that heal joint being rt next to the sides of that body .

[@OBrienGuitars]

Looks can be deceiving.

[@kerranz]

Eggs came far before Chickens, from an evolutionary standpoint. Just so's ya know.

[@najtrows]

@dandeliontea7 haha, dont believe in evolution? i didnt think you guys still existed.