Routing for neck reinforcement
I'm using a carbon fiber T for neck reinforcement. It's like a normal truss rod except it can't be adjusted and costs more. Not without benefits, though: it requires a smaller channel (less wood removal), weighs less, and you don't have to find a place for a hole for the adjuster mechanism. Some people say this and other non-adjustable bars are fine in a well-built neck. Others would rather give up instrument building than take the chance. You know I have to make my own mistakes (research!). I need to try it and see how stable my laminated neck is well built. Or maybe the whole thing will bow like a wet strip of paper and I'll be back here in a year crying about it!
Anyway, this step is pretty simple. Using a router bit sized to each piece of carbon fiber, route a blind cut using marks on the paper and side of the neck. A few passes are required with pieces of tape added to the fence to make the channel just wide enough. It's kinda fun how the lower channel ripped right through the wood dowel plug from the last session. I'll glue the bars in later when I add the first layer of trim veneer.
