Routing the Neck pocket & Pickup cavities - Building a Single Cut Model Guitar (Part 8)

[@mrwaffles1394]

Thanks again for sharing your process with us, Dan. Excellent as always.

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi David, As always, thank you!

[@jordandominy7295]

This has given me ideas of how to do a better job routing the neck pocket of my next guitar. Thanks!

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Jordan, Thank you. It's nice to hear you found some useful information. Good luck on your next guitar!

[@JohnClothier]

Another incredible video full of tips! thank you

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi John, Once again thank you, and you're welcome.

[@steveroberts]

As always Daniel, lovely work

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Steve, Thank you!

[@CarcPazu]

I've watched hundreds of hours of guitar building videos and you're the first one that finally explains how to calculate the scale length, it made so much sense to me how you explained it. I was afraid that the low A of my drop A tuning would run out of space for intonation. Now I know what to do.

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi CarcPazu, Thank you for your comment. Nice to hear you got some useful information from my video.

[@CarcPazu]

@@UnquendorGuitars No, thanks to you, your channel is highly entertaining to me. I've ordered a quality kit at precision guitars. While waiting for it I'm gathering information on how to do various things. My first attempt at this.

[@richarddewit6856]

As usual, a well thought out way of working. Craftsmanship at its finest. It took some getting used to but I'm starting to appreciate the shape more.

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Richard, Thank you once again, And what a great profile picture. Yeah the shape takes a while to get used to, even for myself. But the more I'm working on it the more I love it.

[@vuygaert]

This one would be very well suited to be headless, both for looks and balance

[@serdarkarvan7183]

Thank you for this good video and tutorial.

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Serdar, Thank you very much and you're welcome!

[@jessijamesguitars7502]

Your the man Dan, as always very nice work, many thanks for sharing your time. JJ

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi JJ. Thank you mate!!

[@shockthefox]

I always enjoy your videos and builds! Great explanation of the hipshot bridge. Cheers!

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hey Shock the Fox, Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

[@AboutTheCloud]

Very useful...thanks!

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Joeri, Thanks and you're welcome!

[@Wu2u22]

Was that a Fluence pickup? If so ... nice choice. :) And a GREAT tutorial on neck pockets! I really appreciate that. So many videos have pre-made templates and they brush over this step. Love it!

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Scott, Once again thank you for the nice comment. I noticed the same thing when watching tutorials myself that a lot of crucial steps are often brushed over. And that is one thing I try to avoid in my videos. Oh.. yeah the pickups are going to be Fishman Fluence Classic humbuckers

[@chipsterb4946]

I’m really enjoying your presentations. You do a good job of explaining how you are thinking as you go through the process. Question: about 18:30 you measure the maximum front-to-back saddle adjustment. 10-4=6 However, you say the front of the bridge needs to be 7 mm from the intonation line. Why? (I understand moving the bridge back 2 mm from the “ideal” position in relation to the intonation line to allow for differences in necessary adjustment of bass vs. treble E strings.)

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi ChipsterB, Thank you for your question. Let me try to explain without any pictures. When you measure 4 mm from the front of the bridge to the saddle in the most forward position and 10mm to the saddle in the most backward position the difference is indeed 6mm. The theoretical intonation line is in the center between these those saddle positions. So divide the difference 6mm by 2 = 3mm. The intonation line measured from the front of the bridge is: 4mm (most forward saddle position) + 3mm (center between most forward and backward position) = 7mm. You can always double check your calculations, or this example, by drawing it to scale on a piece of paper and measure it. I hope this answered your question.

[@chipsterb4946]

@@UnquendorGuitars ah perfect! Thank you.

[@brankobugarski9177]

Thank you!

[@french-shrimps541]

Hello ( im french do sorry for my english) what the depth of the control cavities? And what the depth of the humbucker cavitie ? Thanks you ! Great job and great guitar !

[@hkguitar1984]

Great Content, Thank You.

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hey HK Guitar, Thank you very much!

[@reesriddoch5332]

about 3:55 you mark how far your neck will be too attach. You attach it around the 22nd fret. How did you determine how far back to place your neck?

[@UnquendorGuitars]

That's part of the design process. When designing a guitar you determine where and how you want to connect the neck to the body. Usually you keep in mind that a player should be able to reach the highest fret with relative ease.

[@dimitrikilibarda4138]

Hoi Daniël, ik ben op dit moment ook bezig met het bouwen van een gitaar en moet de plekken van me neck cavity, pickup cavity en me brug bepalen waar deze video me erg bij help bedankt hiervoor. Verder had ik nog twee vragen, waar heeft u de protractor liniaal gekocht want ik kan allen de plastic versie vinden en niet de stalen versie met verschillende gaten en wat is de doorsnede in mm van de kopieerfrees die u gebruikt?

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Dimitri, Bedankt voor je Reactie en leuk te horen dat mijn videos je helpen met jouw gitaarbouw project. De gradenboog is van het merk Incra en heb ik bij Gereedschapspro gekocht (online) Ik gebruik altijd frezen van CMT en de diameter van mijn 'grote' frees die ik het meest gebruik is 16mm.

[@martenvanderee7841]

Ha Daniël, doesn’t the bottom of the neck stick in the cavity of the neck pocket? Or are you drilling/routing that part later. This video was very interesting again and still loving the background music. Especially around 10:00 when building up to a climax. KR, Marten

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hoi Marten, Yes the 'last part' of the neck extends into the pickup cavity. Just before I glue in the neck I'll cut a section from this part of the neck to make room for the pickup. I'll show and explain this in a future episode. And thank you for your compliment on the music.

[@fotice]

Thank you for this great content, very helpful and very tricky, i messed up 3 neck pockets until i figure all out, still stress me out, even a thought of it 😂 👍

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Fotice, Thank you very much. Yeah it's a little tricky, and even after having done a good dozen myself I still get a little nervous when fitting the neck for the first time. But I think this keeps me sharp.

[@ChrisHopkinsBass]

What direction do you go in when routing the cavities?

[@silasrempp9785]

Great Video as always, you are the only guitar-building channel, that illustrates every step very clearly big thumbs up for this. But i got one question, what Kind of router bit did you use to route out the Pick Up cavities? Im asking because it has to be a flush trim bit with a very low diameter and i did not find anything like that.

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Silas, Thank you very much for the nice compliment. I appreciate it a lot. I use a 16mm flush trim bit to remove the most of the material inside the pocket and then I use a fairly short 1/4" bit with a 1/4" shaft for the tight corners. I let the shaft of the bit follow the template.

[@silasrempp9785]

@@UnquendorGuitars thank you very much for the information and the quick respond i think your work is amazing and sharing it helps so much, keep it up. I am so hyped for my own build all the parts have finally arrived. Greetings from Germany.

[@blackkhazee]

Hi Daniël, very nice and informative video, thank you! I was just wondering how you made the rounded corners in the neck pocket while using the straight pieces of wood for the template. Can you elaborate on that?

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Tom, Thank you very much. I hope I understand your question correctly. The rounded corners are made by the router bit. Because the bit and guide bearing are round they can't reach all the way into the sharp corner. The inside radius of the corner is therefore equal to half the diameter of the router bit used. Try and slide a round object, a soda can for example, along the inside of a 90 degree corner, and you'll see that the can doesn't reach all the way into the sharp corner. The same principle goes for routing.

[@blackkhazee]

Okay, that is very clear. Thank you!

[@rootvalue]

I love hipshot bridges... but have you tried the Schaller 3DS? I’ll never go back. 🤤

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Hakeem, No I haven't tried the Schaller 3DS yet. I have been looking at them but something holds me back from them. Might have something to do with the rollers and it being a 'Top Loaded' bridge. I might try one on a personal build one day or give the Schaller Hannes a go.

[@ralfkappmeyer5549]

that first neck-pocket scared the shit out of me, indeed...hope the next will be easier

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Ralf, I hear you. After having done a good dozen I stil get nervous when I have to try the fit for the first time. Good luck one your next one!

[@russellscott1151]

Interesting. How deep do you route out the pickup cavity? On my last build as I routed out the neck pickup cavity it ripped out the top side of the neck pocket. I managed to fix it by cutting it square and gluing in another piece of wood but needless to say it was somewhat upsetting at the time. How do you avoid this as it looks like you did it the same as me just routing clockwise ? Tip I picked up the other day, if you forget to drill the cable hole between cavities you can drill through from the end of the guitar where you will be fitting the strap lock then glue in a matching dowel.

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hey Russell, I'm not sure if I understand your question, but I'll do my best to describe my method. If, let's say, the body is 40mm thick. I make my neck pocket +/- 30mm deep leaving 10mm underneath the heel of the neck. The depth of my pickup cavities is usually +/-20mm. This leaves 10mm of material left on the heel of the neck. Doing this type of neck joint requires a thick enough heel to account for the pickup route. This is the reason why I always make an 'oversized' heel on my necks so I can adjust if necessary with both the heel and the neck pocket. I hope this answered your question.

[@russellscott1151]

@@UnquendorGuitars hi, that is good to know yes, thanks. Do you use a spiral downcut bit or just a normal straight pattern bit? Wondering how I can avoid the neck pocket ripping out when I rout the neck pickup cavity. Thanks.

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi @@russellscott1151 I use just a regular pattern bit. Just take shallow passes, use a sharp bit and you should be fine. If necessary use a fostner bit first to remove most of the material. I never had any real issues with tear out in the neck pocket to be honest. I hope this helps you.

[@thijs199]

Okey! nice, brug is wel duur, niet? Wat zou je kopen voor 50 euro?

[@UnquendorGuitars]

Hi Thijs, Dure brug? Ehm... dat hangt er van af... Persoonlijk vind ik het het geld waard. Ik heb nog geen betere (in mijn ogen) gevonden voor minder. Ik heb een poging gedaan door andere, iets goedkopere, bruggen in te kopen maar die konden vanwege kwaliteitsproblemen gelijk weer retour. Als ik echt niet meer dan €50,- zou mogen uitgeven dan denk ik dat ik de vaste brug van Gotoh zou proberen.