Hello, does anyone have any advice on creating a guitar neck in a program like sketch up so that i can machine it on the cnc? Looking to start doing them but not sure which is the best way to start off.
I have crashed-and-burned pretty badly in every 3D CAD program I’ve tried (mostly because I find it hard to find time to use a 3D CAD program at a desk w/ a mouse).
The MeshCAM folks have a list of 3D CAD software to consider:
and of that list, Moment of Inspiration 3D is the first one which I would try for the shapes of a guitar. Note that there is a series of videos on it which explain it very clearly:
and lots more on their Resources page:
Or, we sell Alibre:
(note that it is also bundled w/ a Nomad)
which is capable enough that one should be able to model anything in it.
A similar free/opensource tool is FreeCAD — it even has a dedicated Guitar Workbench:
and the recent v1.0 update was a sea change in terms of usability and functionality and reliability.
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Thankyou Will, that is a massive help.
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I like Rhino for Luthier related Cnc. Check out Tom Dalia aka Frettie Mercury on Instagram for Rhino classes. I’ve taken the acoustic, electric and a few other classes with him as well. Rhino is the way to go. Are you Mac or Pc? Unfortunately Rhino doesn’t support Cam on the Mac side so I utilize Rhino for Cad and Fusion for Cam.
Note that Michael Gibson who was the lead developer for Rhino 3D went on to develop MOI3D after leaving.
Interestingly, Tom Meeks mentions having a copy of Rhinoceros 3D v1, but having been unsuccessful with it.
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Thankyou, i am on pc, i have managed to do the fretboard using carbide pro which worked quite well, just looking mainly at doing the neck now but having a bit of trouble with designing it. I did try to do it in sketch up but i don’t think it has the ability.
I have made several guitars and guitar necks using my CNC on the parts that are easily done with my CNC. I make a separate fretboard and use my CNC to cut the slots for the frets to get them spaced perfect. Then I use my CNC to cut out the outline of the neck body, to cut the slots for the truss rod, etc… These things can all be done with simple CNC work with short project times.
Then I do the final shaping of the curved back of the neck and the headstock with a combination of my router and spindle sander. This part takes me about 30 minutes before I can start sanding. I realize that you are looking for ways to do all of this on the CNC and I am sure that it can be done with expensive and complicated 3D software and long cutting times. For me though, this is unnecessary and not time efficient. For example, sometimes it is better to drill holes with a drill bit than to program the whole process into my CNC machine.
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yes, i agree, i currently have made all the necks and fretboard by hand which is ok, i don’t mind shaping the neck, originally started doing the fretboard on the cnc so i could experiment with inlays a bit quicker.
I use CC Pro, building fender type necks for now.
- surface both sides of the stock so they’re flat and parallel.
- Contour, rough and finish pass the bottom.
- Flip the stock, RESET XY!, pocket the body to .75, install the truss rod and glue the fingerboard on.
- Reset the stock thickness to account for the fingerboard, run the rough pass and pocket the dots, glue in the dowels.
- Finally run the finish pass and fret bit.
That’s the easy part, the rest is all hand work.
You can download my .C2D and STL for a tele neck modeled close to my '63 tele here: tele 60.zip (1.7 MB)
CC won’t save the STL in the file so you’ll have to import it for the top and bottom.
Have fun and practice on scrap. My wife said I should build a sculpture out of my practice runs…
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Lots of reading and viewing out there on this topic. I’m working through some of it myself, still haven’t settled on a final solution. I’m currently messing around with FreeCAD and the Marz Workbench for guitar design.
If you don’t mind Fusion – I happen to really like it, but understand why others don’t – then take a look Austin Shaner on YouTube. His videos are directly related to what you are asking.
Nice! (and thank you for your generosity in sharing the file!)
What software was used to make the STL?
I used Fusion for the STL. I know I could use it for the tool paths if I could get my head around it, but this works for me.
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Probably folks who are using Fusion would be interested if you would be willing/able to share a link:
probably someone would even walk through making toolpaths.