b'The new fret slotting machine.My latest toy, made possible by the amazing variety of bearings, clamps, shafts, handles etc that can be found on eBay. Its more or less a CNC machine, but without any electronics. When i make things like this, I dont draw anything, I just gather bits together and start playing with them. I have a lathe, a welder, and a jig boring machine, plus years of accumulated bits. Guitar making is a great excuse to make toys. Versions of machines like this are quite common amongst older makers, but they have been replaced by CNC. This one can cut any scale, fan frets and compensated fret positions etc to the highest accuracy and I can fit different blades to suit different fret wire. Its made a massive difference to the quality of our instruments. Every maker will have some version of this idea, but they wont be as good as this! Opposite top left: After Ive band sawn most of the surplusso I have a deep cut at one end and a fine cut at the other. wood away, working completely by eye, I use this draw knife,Its intended to be used by pushing, but you can see from this made from an old planer blade. Its an old-fashioned tool. andpicture that Im actually pulling it, as its essential to change takes a bit of practice, very much like riding a bike. The basicdirection constantly, keeping the blade running downhill all the idea is to keep the bevel on the back of the blade rubbingtime.against the wood and tilt the blade carefully down until itIts possible to shape a neck without using these sorts of tools, takes just the right depth of cut, then surf along, balancingjust using a big rasp or file, but its boring, and it makes horrible the different forces to keep the blade under control. Once thedust rather than lovely shavings.technique is mastered, its possible to take any depth of cut,I have shaped about eight thousand necks this way. I do check and generate any shape.I love this tool, its better than anythe dimensions with Verniers, but I can generate just the shape commercial version, and on a good piece of wood, I can get verythat is needed, ready for final sanding with very little reference close to a finished neck using nothing else.other than my hands and eyes. Im very particular about neck Opposite top right: This could be an advertising picture forshape, and very proud of what we do. Record tools, its a spokeshave, basically a woodworking planeOpposite bottom: A superb Japanese chisel with a wide blade with handles on the sides. I like to set the blade at a slight angle,so I can push it round curves. Im rough shaping the transition from head to neck, removing wood to allow the next tools to get down to their starting point. Ill come back later to take a second cut after the rough shaping is finished182'