My CNC Neck Setup Process | Fusion360 and Mach 3 | Stratocaster Neck

how do ideas transform themselves into realities an interesting concept perhaps thoughtfulness a bookmark laid in the consciousness establishes a connection to the real maybe it's luck along with the dizzying volume of ideas we contemplate i receive questions regularly about my method for cnc milling x consequently i'm thinking about how to explain my method comprehensively i'm faced with making three guitar necks so i let this thinking become a reality as a video that i can only hope answers these questions they each differ a little bit but they're principally similar in style if not to mention the tone wood inlay and headstock shape differ while the fundamental elements of the neck and heel shape are alike i usually like to start with something simple and build on this foundation unfortunately the first problem to solve is one of the most contentious which is grain orientation i take a very simplistic view on this controversial topic if you enjoy confusion by all means go out and comb through the mountains of threads and forum posts on this topic i won't be taking any sides tone is far too personal a topic to discuss we all have our preferences as far as i know there's no silver bullet so let's leave that one by the wayside likewise i could go on and on about the precision required for the fretboard i think we can save that for another day this element of the instrument is at its core structural so let's begin there [Music] you will hear the preference for next stock is quarter sun quarter sun lumber makes for fantastically stable necks there is however a drawback if you look closely at figured maple it becomes apparent we diminish the beauty within this lumber one quarter song [Music] i'd like to explain how these differences affect the structural function i will leave the decision making to you armed with the facts it will be much easier to make even bigger mistakes at least that's my experience so what is grain and how does it affect the stock it's important to remember that wood in its simplest description is a series of tubes used to move water and nutrients these tubes grow at different rates and in different sizes depending on the season seasonal growth patterns form the grain and are at their essence size variation of these tubes i like to think about it logically tight-knit grains will contain tiny amounts of air and moisture the opposite is also true how do these variances affect the medium simply put voids filled with air and moisture expand and contract laterally across the grain structure bigger voids make for bigger movements this knowledge makes it relatively simple to look at the lumber and decide how this expansion and contraction will affect your stock for the flat sawn stock i'm working with the boards will cup or bow with seasonal changes it's good to think about this movement while making these pieces although in the finished part there should be very limited movement seasonally there is one other factor to consider internal stress maple the preferred lumber for next of this type is prone to internal stress when cut it can move significantly this process becomes less pronounced when the lumber is well dry or aged my process is simple i purchase dry stock and cut in the orientation that looks the best [Music] now that we have broached this difficult subject that will no doubt bring a hailstorm of critique let's move on to how i cut these parts [Music] i have put a lot of thought into this method like many of you i have advised many theories about this task i've made several realizations tempered with my experience many of my early notions were far more complex than necessary i'm not trying to say this is the definitive approach it's worked well for me i encourage you to try all the message you see and hear about and decide for yourself i get these questions frequently how do you match the parts when milling from two sides or i seem to be off by a millimeter or two when i flip my parts i feel your pain i spend a lot of time trying to figure out this problem i will do my best to explain it i start by thickness sanding the stock with a drum sander to the dimensions specified in the fusion 360 cam setup then run one edge through the joiner now i have three reliable surfaces then i attach a sacrificial piece of mdf to the spoil board and use the mach3 wizard to mill the face that will define my y-axis and is parallel to the x-axis use this milled face and the joint face to align the work piece [Music] i index the y-axis from this edge and the x-axis from the end grain face index the z-axis from the spoil board and then using mdi in mach 3 i move the z-axis up to the thickness of the lumber and then re-zero again this indexes all three axises to the same origin as the fusion 360 setup [Music] [Music] the enormous secret to two-sided milling is simple avoid contacting the same point from two sides this makes any error nearly impossible to see human senses can recognize incredibly subtle differences while we lack the precision to define these dimensions we possess the capability to discern them in great detail it's more often than not that the woodworker must attempt to fool the eye of not only themselves but also the recipient of the work [Music] when i flip the part i reindex the origin in the same way this location is different on the machine but to the part it's only the thickness of the stock away i've also chosen my order of operations in a way that disguises any unintended error i cut the truss rod slot first then the headstock thickness and contour followed by the boring operation then flip the stock and re-index from the same surfaces matching the second fusion 360 setup origin this is a simple point but it makes a massive difference if you indicate from the same point or as close as possible it reduces your margin of error to your ability to mount the part on access since we have milled a sacrificial piece to control this we can limit the error considerably i am careful to support the overhanging material if it's free to vibrate it can catastrophically destroy your part i have unfortunately learned this lesson the hard way i can now mill the outline first with a roughing operation with sixty thousand stock to leave and finally two quarter inch depth passes at thirty thousands each to the final dimension this strategy works well for me feel free to live and learn while creating your own outline finishing strategy i can then run the last two operations roughing out the neck contours and finally finishing with the scallop toolpath there's still a bunch of work by hand to enjoy once i've glued on the fretboard the milled surfaces make for accurate reference points making necks is one of the most intimidating aspects of this work i enjoy this process even though it can be quite stressful i hope to help you enjoy it as well [Music] i produce this video differently i hope the style i've developed still shows through i've been working on some interesting additions to my neck making process and i hope to reveal them soon every comment subscription and thumbs up count so i thank you all for helping to grow the channel i hope you will all be back for the next one thanks for watching [Music] you

Channel: Two Cherries Instruments

Views: 5,707

Keywords: Woodshop, hobby, design, woodworking, shop, Art, Wood, How to, Carve, carving, make, soundboard, guitar, mandolin, violin, nyckleharpa, DIY, making a guitar, tutorial, Luthier Tips du Jour, O'Brien Guitars, guitar building, LMI, luthier, guitar making, handcrafted guitar, Dan Erlewine, StewMac, Steward McDonald, trade secrets, Frank howarth, Frank makes cnc, Frank makes, music instruments, Tomy hovington, Marius hornberger, Fusion360, CNC, CAD, CAM, CNCrouterparts, Tim Sway, Stratocaster, neck

Id: NWk9QEd9no8

Length: 10min 27sec (627 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 09 2021