What’s your favourite neck carving technique?

[TomBicknell]

Of all the different approaches to carving a neck, what have you settled on and why? Rasp, faceting, spokeshave, router templates, CNC, something else?

[kiwigeo]

1. rough out heel with bench chisel.
2. shape heel with dragon rasps.
3. rough shape neck shaft using spoke shave (flat sole) working along facets marked along neck shaft in with pencil
4. rough shape headstock/neck shaft with dragon rasp and small wood files.
5. final shaping of neck shaft working strip of sandpaper shoe shine fashion.
6. final shaping of heel and headstock/neck shaft using sandpaper wrapped around piece of wooden dowel (various diameters)

[Dave M]

Pretty much like Martin except I don't use rasps. I like a pair of skew chisels to get at the two sides of the heel. Quite a lot of sanding with different diameter batons.

Keeping symmetry is key so replacing the centre line as it tends to get lost as you carve is important.

[TomBicknell]

Cheers guys! Have you ever tried knives to carve the heel or volute etc?

[kiwigeo]

Cheers guys! Have you ever tried knives to carve the heel or volute etc?

I bought a set of violin knives with the intention of using them for heel and volute carving but only used them once. I tend to rough out using Dragon rasps. the dragon rasps don't chew off as much material as a chisel with each pass but even so you can get a heel roughed out in reasonable time with the rasps. Skew chisels are handy but again my set have had little use.

[Taffy Evans]

Hi, I use or have used all of the above, and most times, a combination of tools are used. The only knife I have used is the one in the photo. It would be what I use the most along with the japenese rasps.

Neck shaping.725.JPG (146.31 KiB) Viewed 51 times

Taff

[nkforster]

youtu.be/YrlpEYE1728

[kiwigeo]

Frickin spindle moulders.....I'm shit scared of those things! Machines like that should only be operated by blokes with tattoos

[TomBicknell]

That’s a heckuva knife, Taff! Martin, I feel the same way about shapers. It’s the ‘turbine spinning up’ noise when you switch them on that makes me nervous.

[nkforster]

Cheers guys! Have you ever tried knives to carve the heel or volute etc?

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJAQHRLPAY5/