Part 4 - The neck takes shape

Wow, lots of progress this weekend. I am truly surprised.

First, I carved the rosewood fingerboard blank. Even after carving, it had that little ring when I sound-tested it. It's still my theory that this ring means that the wood will be a good fingerboard.

Next, I shaped the neck. The back of the neck is now rounded. I originally thought that I'd have an angled bevel between the sides and back of the neck, but then thought that might be a little weird to feel when playing. So, in one more of a series of "hang on, here we go" moments, I rounded off the back corners of the neck.

I'd been thinking about how to angle the neck back from the body, in order to accomodate the bridge that I'll be ordering (the minimum height of the bridge has to be 1.25"). Shims? No, that little air space between the neck and the body might cause some buzzing. An adjustment screw, a la the 3-bolt Fender necks? No, same reason as the shims.
I decided to cut the incline I needed directly into the neck, starting at the heel, and moving back towards the headstock. Another "here we go", and there I went. This time, I had one the many "holy sh##, it WORKED!" moments (hereafter referred to as HSM). The incline seems to be just right, to tilt the neck backward from the body, to accomodate a healthy action, and the miminum height of the bridge.

At this point, it was time to decide, once and for all time, whether this was going to be a 5-string or 6-string cello. The string spacing, coupled with the finite width of the neck as it fits into the body, more or less decided for me that this will be a 5-string cello. If I want more strings, I'll have to make that electric viola da gamba that I've begun thinking about...

I measured out the spacing for a 5-string bridge, and cut 5 lengths of string, to see what the string layout will be on the fingerboard. As I think about it now, 6 strings would have been a little too tight for my tastes. So now I have a first set of measurements for my bridge template.

I scored a piece of heavy red oak for my tailpiece. No measurements taken on that yet.

Next, I cut the holes for the tuning machines on the neck. Not having a drill press, I had to rely on eyesight alone to ensure that the holes would be cut right. Oh yes, and since the headstock in at an incline from the neck, I had to find a way to make the headstock as level as possible. Enter a 2x4 lying around waiting to volunteer. After the drilling, another HSM. The holes were cut right, although one of the three on the left is about 1/16" out of line with its brothers.

Next to last, I drilled the holes for the neck joint. Another eyesight measurement, because remember, the neck joins the body at the incline. So, it wasn't just a case of drilling straight down into the neck. Instead, I had to eyeball the drill to be perpendicular to an approximate 2- or 3-degree incline. Now that was tough, but I was rewarded with my next HSM.

Finally for tonight, I glued the fingerboard to the neck. I'm clamping it down using cable ties, padded with old socks (yes, they're clean socks). Right now, the patient is resting comfortably. Pictures to follow, after I've removed the cable tie clamps.