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

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

This was a great way to end a rainy day.

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!

Yes, LOVE these process videos

GREAT VIDEO Tim...Thank you !!

Hellz yeah Tim!

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

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

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.

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

what I enjoy most about your videos is your lack of sell out. Other RU-vidrs 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

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!!!

Thank you for teaching us all of this Tim sway.

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

Jackpot!

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

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.

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.

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

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.