These J45 twins are coming right along, and I’ve installed the sugar maple bindings and done quite a lot of the neck and fretboard work. Once the box was closed, I switched over to doing the major carpentry work on the neck, which is somewhat complicated by using my version of the Mike Doolin adjustable neck joint. For these guitars, I’ve made a small change to my method again so that the fingerboard is supported by a single, contiguous length of mahogany to further improve the playability of the neck.
Cutting the binding channel for the sugar maple binding
I’ve glued one side of the binding and am preparing to install the other side’s purfling and binding.
The pre-bent binding is first pulled into place with tape around the perimeter.
I follow the tape with an old car tire innertube cut into strips that acts like a big strong rubber band.
The new purfling is scraped flush to the top
Once the headstock scarf joint is made and the nut location is set, I rout the truss rod slot.
Using a floating tenon, I can orient the grain of the tenon for strength.
Once the fretboard surface is ready, I add the heel block and floating tenon.
I cut a recess in the top of the guitar to allow the neck to fit.
Checking the fit of the neck in the routed body.
Checking the fit of the neck with the fretboard in the routed body.
I use the shaped heel to score the sides for the neck heel recess.
The body with the fingerboard extension and neck heel recesses routed out.
