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Bass Building From Scratch Part 4 is about making the fingerboard and shaping the neck. For me, this was always the most fun part of making the neck and perhaps you’ll agree? There’s challenges involved and some skill is required as well. Today many builders use computerized numerical controlled (CNC) machines for accuracy, repeatability & interchangeability. However, as terrific as that is, it robs you of the joy of hand carving and shaping the neck which is a very satisfying aspect of a luthier’s craft.
Preparing The Neck
Dec 19, 2008 My Fanned Fret Slotting Jig Discussion in 'Luthier's Corner' started. The template locks into place in each fret slots on the metal bar inlayed in the table. This Maple blank took less than 5 minutes to cut. All in all, cutting the MDF template all the way to finishing the cuts on the sliding compound mitre saw took less time than it. This tutorial will walk you through the process of modeling a flawless straight-radius fretboard in Fusion 360, but the design principles can be used in any CAD environment and even applied to your hand-built fretboards. There are three parts to this process – base sketch. Well, I was going to ask basically the same question as the OP, but was wondering what any luthiers have used to successfully cut fret slots. Do you have a precision collet? Cutting with a. Dec 12, 2010 Cutting Fret Slots,without the right tools Discussion in 'Tele Home Depot' started by liamurwin, Dec 11, 2010. Page 1 of 2 1 2 Next Dec 11, 2010 #1. Liamurwin Tele. Fit up 150mm or so into a hand made framework made of wood similar to a. Feb 07, 2015 Can anyone point me in the direction of where I can get a good hand saw for cutting fret slots please? Also am I right in thinking that a flush saw/ pull saw/ gentlemans saw/ japanese saw are all the same thing? Is it like most tools and an ebay mega cheapie will not do the job well? Nov 14, 2019 I started pulling frets from my Epi Dot last night to do a refret, and noticed something weird. All the frets were undercut. The tang stops about a quarter inch from the edge of the board. Like the way they would be installed if there was binding. So all the fret slots are just sitting like holes in the middle of the board. Is there some secret benefit/reason that they would have been.
Now you can cut fret slots on your table cutting fret slots by hand saw or radial arm saw.ah OK, i heads up no limit holdem rules knew i had heard that name before.Jan 2, 2017 #13 mtorn Tele-Meister 495 Nov 29, 2016 Portland, Oregon guitarbuilder said: 0.3 kg. Prices incl.
Assuming you’ve been following my blog and have already completed the steps in parts 1 to 3, you’ll now be ready to complete the neck shaping. If you’ve made a template that can be used to clean up the edges of the neck after band-sawing that’s terrific. If not, you’ll need to rasp, file, & sand the neck. Templates can be made for the neck’s basic shape as well as the headstock and that’s the easiest way to clean up edges before final sanding. But, I’ve often had to work without them because it’s not practical to make templates for “one of” projects.
At this stage, you should have your truss rod slot cut and the sides will be perpendicular to the surface to receive the fingerboard.
Why Not Buy A Preslotted Fingerboard Blank?
Why not buy a preslotted fingerboard blank. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, depending on your design, you can save time and effort by shopping at places like LMI or Stewmac and find some great fingerboards. But, if your design incorporates something unique, or you want more frets than their standard provides, you’ll have to make one.
Making Your Own Fingerboard:
Making your own fingerboard necessitates purchasing the wood, thinning it, trimming it, and then slotting it before final shaping. If you’re fortunate, you can buy a blank piece of wood that is pre-sized ready for slotting. There are wood supply shops that sell suitable blanks in various species as they are often used by hobbyists and other craftsman as well. So, take advantage of this when you can.
Slotting Your Fingerboard:
Cutting fret slots is often done by hand, or by using a circular saw table. Hand cutting is a tediously slow process using a special thin saw blade with a typical thickness of about 0.021″ (about 5,5 mm). It is possible to cut the slots by scoring/marking the fingerboard with a sharp knife followed by skillful sawing each slot. Having done this on more than one occasion I advise you to either us a mitre box made to accommodate the thin blade, or use a circular saw table (unless you are very skilled with a hand saw).
Cutting Fret Slots By Hand Machine
Saw Table Method:
The saw table music be fitted with a special 0.021″ thick blade and be used with an indexing template (see photos below). The latter method is fast and accurate and by far the best way to go (other than a CNC machine LOL!). Ready-made indexing templates can be purchased from outfits like StewMac or you can make your own. If you want to make one, copy and transfer the fret slot locations from an existing bass with the same scale length as you are building. You’ll need to do this carefully with a paper sheet and locate the slots onto your template using a push pin centred over each marked slot location. Or, have one precisely printed onto paper using a computer aided drafting (CAD) process. Then use that to mark the slots. But, purchasing one is the best decision and I strongly recommend that.
Cutting The Slots With An Indexing Template:
Using this method, simply slide the template over to engage with the indexing pin (installed in the wood fence) for each notch in the template. Cut each individual slot by passing the fence and template over the blade with the fingerboard facing down. It only takes about 5 minutes.
Best Fret Saw
Note: Stewart MacDonald provides additional information on how to make your setup for use with their slotting template–click here.
What About The Nut?
If you are using a thin nut recessed into the fingerboard, you can cut slots for that using the indexing template. However, you will still need to remove the wood in between the slots for the thickness on the nut. Cut these two slots to the same depth as your fret slots. A depth of 0.08 to 0.09″ (2 to 2.3 mm) is usually ideal. That way when you add the radius to the fingerboard you won’t have to deepen the slots to accommodate the tang depth of the frets. Obviously, if you want to have a zero fret, or use a nut that’s placed on the end of the fingerboard you have to cut just one slot for the zero fret, and/or cut off the excess fingerboard material.
For this bass, I used a nut placed at the end of the fingerboard so I removed the excess material after cutting all of the fret slots.
Readying The Fingerboard To Glue On To The Neck
Trim each side of the fingerboard so that it will just slightly overlap the width of the neck’s sides. The excess material will be removed after it’s glued onto the neck. At this stage, you must take steps to ensure that it won’t slide around during gluing. There are different ways to do this. The method that I liked is an old carpenter’s trick using a staple gun:
- Shoot a staple into the neck’s surface at each end in a location where it won’t interfere with the truss rod.
- Using a pair of clippers, cut off the portion of the staples above the wood surface leaving only small sharp ends protruding to act as pins.
- Position and centre the fingerboard carefully on top of the neck and press it down firmly once you’ve ensured it’s in the correct location.
- Clamp it down to ensure that the staple ends dig into the underside of the fingerboard. This will keep it in position when you glue it on.
Gluing On The Fingerboard
- Begin by installing the truss rod.
- Apply a few dabs of silicone sealant alongside of the rod’s plastic covering and the wood slot (allow to cure for 24 hours before proceeding).
- Apply a strip of 1/2″ (13 mm) wide masking tape over the truss rod to keep glue out.
- Apply glue to the surface of the neck and the underside of the fingerboard
- Spread the glue evenly using a scraper to obtain a uniformly thin layer.
- Remove the masking tape.
- Place the fingerboard onto the neck ensuring the staple pins are engaged.
- Now that it won’t slide around, clamp it on (use scrap pieces as buffers to protect wood surfaces where needed).
- Using a damp cloth, wipe away excess glue that is squeezed out all around.
- Allow it to dry for 24 hours before removing the clamps.
Visit again in the future for Bass Building From Scratch Part 5 where we continue with the neck shaping etc.
Note: Also check out my related blogs at these links:
For a complete list of my guitar and bass related postsclick here.