Neck carving

I did make a point earlier in this three-fold build that I tried to break the process into small chunks. Well this morning as I lazily carved one of the necks I had to admit that one chunk would now mean one neck only. Not that it takes long but I want to do it really carefully and be done with one before I start the next. So I thought I would carve the one and maybe sand it tonight. 

But I sanded it too before running off to work, and then after dinner tonight I started on the next, and that's the one in the pics. 

First I set a marking guage to 11 mm and score the sides of the headstock. 

Then I saw it to thickness. I want a rip filed carcass saw, or a tenon saw, for this (and maybe these ukes will pay for one) but until then a Japanese rip saw works ok. 

Then I carve the area behind the heel, the heel itself, and a section at the nut end. This is to provide entry and exit points for the spokeshaves, draw knives and planes I'll use. 

But first I took the skunk stripe down. Luck would have it that the grain in the stripe went in the opposite direction from the neck halves, so carving was interesting. 

I did carve more than I took pics so here's one of the finished second neck on the jig, the first one next to it and the remaining rough blank for the third. 

But ---

--- a bit later I went ahead and made the third one as well. So all three chunks, or was it one large chunk, of the build were carried out today. I am very pleased.