The V joint part 2

In the previous post I detailed the construction of the the female portion of the V joint. This post will show the male part, the final gluing & clamping and the final result.


In this photo I am planing down the 14 degree angle on the end of the long neck piece. The marked line that I am planing to is visible in the photo, and there is another line on the other side. At this point I switched from my larger block plane to the smaller low angle plane, as I concentrated on making the surface flat rather than removing wood quickly.
When I reached the marked line I checked that the angle was correct, and that the surface was flat.

The male part of the V Joint roughly cut (1-2mm spare) on the bandsaw. You can also see the replacement insert I made for the table which fits better than the original plastic one.


The underside of the V was first cleaned up to be parallel to the top side.


This piece is then cleaned up in the same manner as the female part, chiseling across the grain to form a ridge between the knife-marked Vs on each side. The ledges at the side of the V also need to be cut out square.

Here are both of the surfaces fine fitted together. The joint is close enough to hold the piece in place by friction.


You can also see that the neck has been marked and tapered down to near its final width.


This fit took several hours of fiddling with both pieces. It's better to take wood from the headstock piece as it is flat and smaller, so it can be salvaged, whereas the neck part has a limited amount of wood at the 14 degree angle to lose.


The pieces are now ready for gluing.

This is the two pieces clamped and gluing in Geza's workshop. I don't have clamps that long! The glue used is natural hide glue, which needs to be applied hot, and dries quickly. 


Although not visible in this photo the headstock is supported by a 14 degree wedge to hold it at the correct angle.


The joint was clamped for about 18 hours overnight.

The final result is a very strong and to my eye beautiful joint. Unlike a scarf joint, it is also very easy to taper the sides of the neck down to their final width right up to the nut before gluing.

After some cleanup the joint shows just how close a fit it is. I will admit that I made quite a few practice joints on scrap mahogany first, but still I was very pleased with this considering I had zero woodworking skills a year ago :)


In my next post I will be talking about making the headplate with ebony and some veneer.