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Sal's Flamenco ~ Neck


Here's a lovely rosewood blank for the headplate, surface prepared for gluing.


On the other face, the headcrest is drawn and trimmed to neck size.


The headplate is being glued to the neck.


After glue was set, the headplate is planed for a fresh surface to re-layout the new head outline.


The edges are roughly cut with a coping saw.


The edges are trued with a block plane.

Sal's Flamenco ~ Neck


The slots are sawed on either side of the heel block. These slots, separates the heel block in two parts, the heel and head block (which will live inside the guitar). The slots are cut twice with a backsaw to widen the gap to 0.08", which will receive the sides later.


The slot cut is 1/16" offset from the 12th fret. The web (the centre gap which is not cut) distance is 10mm.



The head block is reduced to dimension: 40mm with a backsaw.


After some sanding with #110.

Sal's Flamenco ~ Neck

Spanish Cedar neck assembly
Clamps removed from neck assembly.


Excess neck is being sawed flush to the heel block.


A bit of dressing on the side of heel block with bench plane.



The height of the heel block is brought to correct dimension.


The centre line determined; profile of fingerboard is also drawn unto the neck (61mm at the 12th fret, tapering to 50mm at the nut). Classical guitars, however, are usually about 52mm at the nut, which makes the flamenco a little easier on the left playing hand.

Sal's Flamenco ~ Neck


The Spanish Cedar heel block is being glued to the neck shaft.
I'll be shifting in a few days to another studio on the first floor. It'll take a little time away from this guitar...

ps: pardon the quality of my photos. Think I need photography lessons :(

Sal's Flamenco ~ Neck


Today, my landlord broke some heart wrenching news that someone else has offered a higher rent for this studio where I'm working from. It's very sad just thinking about having to leave this studio, let alone the time and effort to find and move to another. I have a month to do just that. But instead of feeling nostalgic, I decided to stay on the side of faith, knowing that all things will work for good for me. I called up an acquaintance and immediately went to view of his commercial properties. Then I came back to the studio to glue up the neck.

Sal's Flamenco ~ Neck


This quartersawn neck blank (26" long) is the fragrant Spanish Cedar, which has been sitting in my studio for almost 3 years. Sal, you'll enjoy this scent everytime you open the guitar case!


With a simple setup, the blank is sawed at the 15 degree angle for the head/neck scarf joint.


I don't have a sharper back saw deep enough to complete the cut, so the steel backing removed to cut through the blank.


A steady cut can give you a good result, even by hand.


To get a good gluing surface, the pieces are stacked to be handplaned (I used the bigger metal plane in the background, a bench plane).


Between each hand planing, the surface is checked with a square edge to achieve flatness in all directions while maintaining the 15 degree angle.