The Hub

Hey folks! I picked up a neck relief gauge from Doug in one of the earlier batches, maybe the introductory run? Some of the small feet caps that thread onto the moving legs of the tool have cracked, broken, or become worn down. I contacted StewMac about purchasing replacement parts, but they don't sell subparts for the relief gauge and otherwise won't help me. They appear 3D printed, so I was wondering if anyone with the means to print s…

Guitar neck topology is worth going microscopic. 🔬🦠 After building my starting surface from a wireframe network in the sketch environment; a system of 4-degree control point spline rails, tangent to projected isoparametric curves along the shaft — I can convert the NURBS surface to a T-Spline and start cleaning up the artifacts left behind by the original loft. In this demo I’m turning on Box Display, which feels strange at first because…

Does anyone have a laser cutter/engraver file for the Acrylic centerline guide for the O'Brien Neck Jig? I can't find any replacement parts and was hoping to simply make my own. Its the most susceptible piece on the jig and my students can be rough on those.

Hi! Would like to drop a quick post if anyone knows whether the Proper’s Neck Relief gauge will be coming back instock any time soon? Would love to pick one up!

Dear looth community/colleagues around the world, During 2023/24 I have developed a digital gauge to measure so-called longitudinal twist of (bass) guitar necks: the LTwist® gauge. Just to be clear, this is about the "cork screw" type of deviation along the length of a neck, not the bow of a neck. I think there is no need to explain how a too severe neck twist can make it difficult or even impossible to set up a stringed instrument (guita…

Hello -- I am trying to joint a Tele-style mahogany neck blank. I have a Metabo planer in good condition, but no jointer. I secured the c. 40 mm thick blank to a flat plywood sled and shimmed it well. It's hot-glued in place, and absolutely no rocking from any corner or edge. But as I plane it down, I still have about 1 mm difference from one end of the blank to the other when I put a straightedge on the surface (see photo, with backlig…

Anyone use a 3D scanner to make models for printing, or CNC? I've noticed a number of inexpensive scanners on the market that appear to be an able to scan with fine detail and accuracy. I've wondered if they could be used to scan a guitar neck, or arch top mandolin plate to then cut on a CNC after tweaking in a CAD program.

I have searched the forums and was not able to find any discussion about 3D printing neck shims. This made me wonder if with the proper density of infill, may be a viable option. Or is this just taboo? appreciate hearing others thoughts on this

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-design-validate-document/need-lofting-advice-or-is-there-a-better-way-for-this/m-p/13219436

Hey! For those who use the foam cutters, which ones are you buying? They have a "luthier" set with a cranked up price and a variac attached. I have heard folks say the cutters burn up after a while so is it worth buying the more expensive ones? Thanks!

Hey Everyone! Does anyone have experience with using the neck jig/shop stand setup without bolting the stand to the floor? Eventually I will bolt it down but want to try a few different spots to commit (still working on shop layout). I just had epoxy floors put down and do not want to drill extra holes in the floor! Thanks!

I have access to a nova thunderlaser 5-something and I saw a video of somebody cutting out a fret board as well as the fret slots, as well as an entire neck out of a blank with a laser cutter, and I’m wondering if this is a reasonable thing to do and if anybody has experience with the kind of shrinkage that would probably happen with such a deep cut in the neck blank. Any insight at all is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Happy New year everyone!!! I have an LMII neck angle jig but only have the dove tail templates. Would like to try a bolt on for my next acoustic build. With LMII's unfortunate departure do you know where I can get the templates for the mortise and tenon? Is anyone making these? perhaps our friends fortunate enough to have a CNC? I tried making one for a ukelele build but with the tools I have, not confident in the accuracy. Any leads are…

I'm the proud new owner of a "new to me" Fireball Meteor CNC machine. It feels really odd to have a computer in the shop but I guess I need to get used to that. Fortunately for me, I am well versed in CAD, unfortunately not so much on the CAM side of things. My 3 kids are all experts and are steepening the learning curve dramatically, this would be overwhelming if they weren't helping. So far I'm using the Fusion 360 personal use versio…

What holders/jigs/vise devices have you built to hold an acoustic guitar body upright? I saw Michael Bashkin using something like this in his neck reset video. I’d like a way to clamp the guitar to the side of the bench while I work on the neck.

I had to pull some frets on a neck I built to straighten it out 😣 given that the neck is bound, cleaning up the slots with the little StewMac fret saw with the red handle was a serious chore I’d like to avoid doing ever again. I’ve heard the little Japanese fret saw Stew Mac sells is nice to have but also I’ve always been shy about putting a Dremel on the board to get the job done and I think I’d like to try that out. Curious about othe…

Hello, I just went to the Northwoods seminar and came away with ,maybe it's time to get a CNC machine. So I'm curious which one do you have? Why did you purchase said machine? At this time I don't want to buy an entry level machine. I would prob start with making bridges, templates, jigs and other assorted small parts. Maybe necks at a later date. I would like a machine that I dot have to upgrade in one year. Would also prefer a spind…