This evening I carved the back of the Mandolin neck. I started by filing the nut end to the depth I required. I'm conscious that this tiny neck has to support eight strings without warping and yet not be too thick as to be uncomfortable to play.
Once I had the required thickness at the nut end I started to shave the edges of the neck. I used a small block plane and a spoke shave and tried to take even amounts from each side of the neck.
I originally had glued a block to the neck and has intended to carve this flush with the back of the body but decided to remove it tonight. It was getting in the way of the carve and when I offer the neck to the body it looks better without.
Gradually the carve starts to take shape, I used a cabinet scraper blade and 60 grid sand paper to continue to refine the profile.
The neck fits perfectly and removing the small block I had glued on gives easier access to the higher frets much like a bolt on neck does on an electric guitar like a Stratocaster.
I can now think about laying out and drilling the machine head holes and also creating a slot to allow access to the truss rod.
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