Steve Stevens

In the drawing to the left there are three layout templates:

• Far left - The top of the 22° dovetail mortise on the guitar body.   Dimensions are; T-section - 4"x1"x3/4", dovetail - 1 3/8" at the wide end, the 22° dovetail angle makes the narrow end about 1 1/8".
• Right bottom - The top of the 22° dovetail tenon on the heel of the neck.   Dimensions are; T-section - 4"x1"x3/4", dovetail - 1 1/8" at the narrow end, the 22° dovetail angle makes the wide end about 1 3/8".
• Right top - The 15° dovetail opening on the face of the neck block on the body.   The base of the dovetail tenon must match this profile also.   Dimensions are; T-section - 4"x1"x3/4", dovetail - 1 1/8" at the wide end and appx. 3/32" on the narrow end, the 15° tongue on this template is 3 1/2" long from the 'T' to the end.

These three templates are designed to help mark the dove tail neck joint on the guitar body and neck.   The examples used here were constructed of 1/8" hardboard (smooth on both sides) and some small scraps of cherry wood.   Other materials can be substituted.   Glue the 1/8" pieces to the 3/4" cross pieces with wood glue and double check them for squareness to the cross piece before the glue sets up.
Important details are:

• The center lines on the 1/8" pieces need to be square to the thicker cross piece,
• The center lines need to be dark enough to be used in centering the layout on the guitar body and neck [light colored wood or hardboard shows pencil lines best,
• The angles need to be equal on each side of the centerlines of both 22 degree templates,
• The angles need to be equal on each side of the centerline of the 15 degree template.

Saws - Use a fine tooth saw, either Japanese pull stroke or Western push stroke.   These are the saws used for this demonstration neck joint.   (Not the 2 man tree saw though.   That's an old Disston Champion used for larger projects.)

Angle transfer device - This one is a Stanley T-bevel.   A usable tool can also be made of masonite held at the joint by a bolt, washer and nut assembly.   All we use the tool for is to transfer the angle of the top and side from the body to the neck.   This is a critical measurement that assures that the fretboard will stay flat across the traverse from the neck to the body.

Chisels - 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" width.   Most builders own many more chisels but these three are the workhorse tools for cutting the mortise and for trimming the neck dovetail.  

Mallet - light weight for tapping chisels.   The mallet in the picture has an olive wood head and hickory handle recycled from a broken axe handle.   Rawhide mallets work well too.  The key is light weight for gentle tapping.

Knife - Any one of a number of knife shapes and styles will do the job as long as it's sharp.   One main chore for the knife shown here is the cleanup of the bottom backend of the body mortise.   Even a sheep's foot blade on a jackknife will work.  

Straight edge - 30" minimum.  This layout was done with a wooden straightedge about 36" long.  The edge was planed flat and straight using a wood plane.   The straight edge doesn't need to be fancy or expensive - just straight enough to eyeball the neck alignment as the fitting of the joint progresses.

Square - 4" to 6" blade.  Any good cabinet making square with a 5" to 6" blade will work.

Wood files - various