Hi,
Does anyone know how to create a rounded back of a guitar neck in Create Pro?
Thanks,
Randy
This would be a very hard shape to model in Carbide Create Pro as of v8.
Is modeling in a 3D CAD program such as:
and then importing as an STL (or using a 3D CAM tool such as Workshop/MeshCAM) an option?
The most likely option would be something like to:
If you have difficulties with this, upload a .c2d file with dimensions and profiles and we can walk through this with you.
A spokeshave works great and you’ll be done with the job long before you’d ever get it programmed. Way quieter and more pleasant work than using the CNC as well.
I just did a guitar neck back with a router and larger roundover bit to get the rough shape and then finished it off with a sander. This was faster than with a spokeshave or a CNC machine.
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Yeah I appreciate that and have done a lot of acoustic instruments. I have moderate/severe carpal tunnel now and I’ve been searching ways to reduce the amount of hand work. I can do it on the CNC but it does take a while. Was just wondering if there was a way to do it to a relatively smooth surface.
I’ve spokeshaved over 30 guitar necks. If I were still in the business, intended to make more than one more and had a Shapoko, I would likely pursue machining the neck. The big question for me would be how to include the heel.
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Got it! All of the major manufacturers CNC carve their necks, but they almost always have 4-5 axis machines with a lot of tooling available. My son is very interested in trying that on my new machine and we’ve found various internet sources for common neck shapes-- eg it you want to make a Partscaster you can find good models inexpensively or even free (lots of cautions on using the free ones). Actually drawing a different shape from scratch in CC is going to be very difficult; I expect it will require having a real 3d drawing program, eg Fusion or similar, to do an acceptable job. I’d almost certainly start with a purchased drawing and edit it to my desired shape rather than having to do the whole thing myself-- though you’ll probably learn the program by the time you’re done.
I’m guessing there are going to be some challenges with workholding if you are doing both sides of a neck more complicated than a Stratocaster, but probably manageable if you’ve got enough clearance on the Z axis. I’d bandsaw to rough shape lest you have to whittle away through a couple of inches of wood to reveal the headstock and heel. How you tell the CNC that your stock has a more interesting 3d shape than a flat board is beyond me though. We’ve mostly built through neck designs, so then a question is whether you shape just the neck or try to model the entire body. By hand I’ve gone back and forth, shaping most of the neck, adding the wings then shaping the body and blending into the neck. Of course if you’re talking acoustic instruments that’s a different ballgame.
Some of the guitar building groups will have folks with a lot of expertise in this that you might want to consult. Obviously I haven’t tried this yet, just been noodling and reading about what it might take. For sure you want to find folks who are actually doing it for advice. I have used CC enough to know that one probably wants a more powerful tool.
Hi thanks for all the input! Actually I have the design done and have been able to make the necks, what I wanted to see was if someone had a better way. The rounding is being done incrementally with a 1/16 inch tool and many paths. Takes a while 
Hello. Would you share your files and/or your process? Thanks, -Rod
I start with a Mahogany quarter-sawn board 61mm long, 72mm wide and 23.7mm thick. I use a jig on the table saw to do a scarf cut at 13 degrees creating a 6 1/2 inch head which is flipped to createe the down angle of the head and it’s glued on in a form. That rough neck is then placed backside up with the nut line at the work surface edge with the side of the neck against a fence. I run the rounding job (P1-SA-Neck-Backside-Rounding-16th-inch with tenon) with the neck taped down. Next I flip it over, cut the truss channel and cutout the tenon extension and cut it off 14 1/16th inch from the nut (14th fret) using job P2-SA-Neck-Truss-Channel-With-Cutout. The head is resting in a notched jig so as to lay flat. Last, with the head upside down at the edge of the work surface aligned at the nut line, I run the reducing job P3-SA-Neck-Head-Using-Backside-Vertical-Complete. The heel construction is a whole other job but I have included pics and the jobs I use for creating the basic neck with rounding. Scarf cut heads and block heel glue on method is very common and creates a very solid neck. Clamping methods etc are something we all experiment with and it took a while to figure all this out. -Randy
P3-SA-Neck-Head-Using-Backside-Vertical-Complete.c2d (92 KB)
P2-SA-Neck-Truss-Channel-With-Cutout.c2d (52 KB)
P1-SA-Neck-Backside-Rounding-8th-inch with tenon.c2d (220 KB)
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