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This bocote neck is going to end up with a very large baseball bat profile. To make sure I don't remove too much material, I put a piece of tape down the center so I have a clear indication of where to stay away from.

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Both ends are roughed in with a rasp, and the rest is done with a small hand plane. Once I get it very close to its final shape, I finish up with several grades of sandpaper.

I just realized that I didn't take any pictures of the finished carve! You'll just have to wait until the fretting is done to see how it turned out ;)

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Speaking of fretting, first I need to bend some fretwire.

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Once all the frets are pre-radiused and cut, its time to install them. Some builders use glue in the fret slots, others don't. I like to use a little glue to help fill the fret slot around the fret tang. The glue won't adhere to the metal fret, but it does bond to the wood and harden around the fret making it less likely that the frets will pop when the fretboard inevitably expands and contracts with the changing seasons.

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Bocote is a rosewood so it requires no finish. Only the front and back of the headstock will have clear coats applied to really pop the grain and the inlay.

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Now its time to let the glue cure overnight.

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After the glue dries overnight, its on to fret work. The fret ends are snipped and the fretboard is taped up to protect it while leveling, beveling and crowning the frets.

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Once the frets are done, all that's left is the final sanding and then spraying clear coats on the headstock.

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The grain on this neck is quite straight and it has great range of colours from yellow to orange to black, sort of a Bengal tiger colour scheme.

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Here's a couple of shots with different lighting / angle to attempt to capture the colour.

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This is one chunky neck profile!

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