| GOOD PROGRESS TODAY, time to shape the heel plates, glue on the fret boards and begin to shape the necks. first of all you must establish the position of the fretboard by tacking it down where you want it to be. Note the two brass brads that I have used to drive into the neck and creating memory holes when we place the fretboard down with glue.  Now you clamp it down tight, confident that it will stay in the right place because of the brads that are re- hammered into their original holes.  Now that the fretboards are attached their edges must be met by the curves of the neck. This is done with rasps, files, exacto knives and finally lots of sanding. Here I am beginning to shape the neck.  | once you have established the position with the brads it is time to apply the glue. A light coat on both surfaces works for me. Don't use too much, just enough to coat all surfaces  Then it is time to glue on the peg head plate, the Pinecone image engraved by laser into maple. This is not an exciting photo but it illustrates that you want to apply pressure across the surface. Thus the cauls.  The shaping of the neck is an essential in the success of the instrument. It must feel right-so here is when art enters the equation. I begin the shaping with an aggressive rasp , then progress to a fine toothed rasp and finally to a lot of sand paper work.  |
