Rebuild: Update 6

With the neck properly glued in place, I began shaping the bottom fretboard portion. This was tricky due to the small size of the mahogany 'wings' that need to be made. I first obtained a scrap piece of mahogany from the original neck blank. Using a jewelers' saw, I cut a long, thin piece at roughly the shape of the wings.

The piece was cut in half and placed on either side of the tenon. To the right is a scrapped piece I cut too thin.

I held the pieces down in place against the walnut. A piece of sandpaper in between shaped the pieces to the very slight contour of the the walnut top. The same was done to the end faces in contact with the rest of the mahogany neck. At this point, I tacked the pieces to the top using very small drops of wood glue.

 Obviously some trimming needs to be done. 

 With a 3/8" chisel, a rasp and file, I trimmed the pieces to the proper height so the fretboard segment sat flush with the 'wings' and the neck tenon.

 The fretboard now sits flat. The mahogany wings still need their outside edges trimmed flush with the binding.

It took a few days of planning to establish a procedure that would yield accurate, sexy results. The above steps are aimed towards thicknessing the 'wings' to the proper fretboard height, while everything below is aimed towards trimming and finishing them to the profile of the fretboard.

 I pried the wings off of the walnut top with ease and placed a few slips of paper between. These were used so the little wings would be held slightly above the tenon, and clamping force would be targeted to the wings only. Glue was applied and the fretboard was adhered.

Fretboard segment can fly now. 

The transition down the fretboard is seamless. I used the same chisel, rasp, and file as before and brought the adorable little bits of mahogany down to size. The little 'step' of glue and lacquer covered mahogany tenon at the end of the fretboard was trimmed down later.

 Prepping for hide gluing. Kept the glue fresh from before in the fridge.

 With everything shaped properly, I used a radius sanding block as a clamping caul to apply even pressure to the fretboard. I'll leave it clamped overnight. Then I will clean any glue that oozed out and contemplate the complete refret that lies in my future.

Thus marks the end of the neck reset. Everything after now will only be fretting and finishing.

-Alfred