The front profile of the neck represents the available space for playing. It is a good idea to use a pattern or another banjo as a template for this part of the design because the front profile of the banjo neck is an irregular shape. Think of the banjo finger board as being a five string neck all the way up to the nut with the fifth string area cut away above the fifth fret.  For the purposes neck and tailpiece alignment, the center line is the path that the third string will follow from nut to tailpiece.

After both the peghead and front profile of the neck are laid out it is time to visit the band saw. Mac uses a “cradle” to hold the neck with the fingerboard facing up and sitting level. This helps cut the peghead so that the contour lines of its sides are ninety degrees perpendicular to the plane of the fingerboard rather than the plane of the peghead, a small detail reminiscent of many golden era banjos. The cradle also makes the job easier and safer.

After band sawing, the fingerboard pattern or template is fixed to the fingerboard with double-sided tape or small screws. The neck is put in the vice and the template is routed around to clean up all the rough stuff left over by the bandsaw. I have often worked off the rough edges from the bandsaw by hand with a rasp, working to a line that marks out the shape of the neck.