Over the past couple of nights I have been carving the back of the Telecaster neck. I drilled the holes for the machine heads at the start of the week and couldn't put the carving off anymore although it is very enjoyable when everything goes well.
To start with I needed to get the thickness of the neck right so I marked out the areas i didn't want to carve and then marked the depth I wanted on the side of the neck.
I used my small end grain plane as well as a chisel to get the required depth and then sanded everything smooth giving me a nice flat area to mark out on.
With a nice clear centre line marked on the back of the neck I laid out the head and heal transitions and started to tidy them up with my chisel. It's about now I start to realise how important it is to keep my tools sharp!
Once I was happy with the neck and heel I started to lay out marks along the length of the neck. I would draw a line from one end to another about 4mm at the head end and 6 mm at the heel end and then use my plane to take off material until I got the the line, finishing each end off with the chisel.
I usually use a rasp file at each end and then the plan in the middle but this leaves a lot of tool marks. Using the chisel and plan is more time consuming but so much more accurate.
Unfortunately the hole I drilled under the fret board for the truss rod anchor was a little too deep and I have chiseled through to it. Nothing a little filler made up of wood glue and sawdust wont cure though and it will be all but invisible once finished.
There is still a bit more fine sanding to be done. The profile is quite flat across the middle and the neck is nice and thin. Once I have finished filling the hole and some final sanding this neck will be ready for a nut slot and then finishing.
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