Rough cutting the neck

After copying the pattern onto the wood, I started to cut the side profile out using the bandsaw.

Cutting the neck on the bandsaw

Here I have the back of the peghead cut and the bottom of the heel

Back of peghead cut

The glue joint looks good!

Glue joint at back of peghead

Here is the neck with the side profile all cut out.  You can see that much of the block gets cut away.  If more than one neck were being made, it would be better to start with wider boards and nest the patterns together to minimize waste.  The portion cut away will be used later to support the neck during some other shaping operations, so it’s not a total waste.

Neck side profile cut out

Below are the patterns for the fretboard and peghead laid on top of the neck blank.  You can see how the peghead pattern I chose is wider than the wood.  I’ll glue some additional maple to the sides later so it will be wide enough.

Fretboard and peghead templates