©2014, Rockler Woodworking and Hardware
Page 6
For
the
neck,
the
entire
fretboard
(fingerboard)
must
be
masked.
It
is
made
of
rosewood
which
has
a
lot
of
natural
oil
in
it
and
is
typically
left
unfinished.
Near
the
end
of
the
assembly
process
it
will
instead
be
protected
with
a
light
coat
of
oil
(see
“Oil
the
Fretboard
and
Bridge”
).
Also
mask
the
areas
of
the
neck
that
will
be
glued
in
the
neck
joint
(the
face
of
the
neck
heel
and
the
bottom
of
the
fretboard
that
is
glued
to
the
top
of
the
soundboard).
For
the
body,
there
is
no
need
to
mask
the
bridge
location.
Its
final
location
can’t
be
determined
exactly
until
the
neck
is
glued
in
place.
The
finish
will
be
removed
from
the
bridge
location
before
gluing
(see
“Install
the
Bridge”
).
At
the
neck
joint,
some
masking
may
be
done,
or
the
finish
can
be
removed
later
before
the
neck
joint
is
glued,
depending
on
the
builder’s
preference.
However,
if
stain
or
some
other
type
of
finish
that
is
absorbed
into
the
wood
is
to
be
used,
the
neck
joint
area
must
be
masked.
Once
the
stain
is
absorbed
into
the
wood
it
cannot
be
scraped
away
without
removing
much
of
the
wood,
damaging
the
neck
joint
in
the
process.
To
mask
the
neck
joint
on
the
body,
apply
masking
tape
to
the
side
of
the
guitar
at
the
neck
joint,
cutting
holes
for
the
dowels.
Then
attach
the
neck
and
use
a
razor
knife
to
trim
the
tape
around
the
neck
heel.
Be
careful
not
to
cut
the
wood
on
the
heel.
This
same
procedure
may
be
followed
for
the
portion
of
the
neck
joint
on
the
soundboard.
Alternatively,
an
approximate
area
can
be
masked
based
on
lines
left
from
the
manufacturing
process
or,
if
only
a
clear
coat
is
to
be
used
on
the
soundboard,
it
can
be
left
unmasked.
Be
sure
to
mask
the
inside
of
the
guitar
body.
The
easiest
way
to
do
this
is
by
stuffing
some
newspaper
or
brown
packing
paper
inside
the
sound
hole.
Figure
3:
Various
Examples
of
Neck
Joint
Masking
