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Fretboard Cavity in Neck


ZekeB

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playing around with the idea a little more.  So my side profile for say the osprey would look like this.  I'm definitely going to try something similar on the next one.  I want to do it on my build now but it would be too busy and wouldn't match.  The only drawback I can think of is how to finish it?  I don't put a finish on ebony so would you only do it with freboards that take a finish?  

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3 hours ago, ZekeB said:

What is this called?

Insanity, perhaps? :lol: Just like the rest of it... 

Don't get me wrong, though. A one piece guitar is an awesome project but there's things that don't suit everyone. That piece of mahogany must cost a fortune and look how much of it goes into waste. Also remembering the risk of twisting and warping... Definitely not for faint hearted builders!

Back to the question, I'd call that a built-in fretboard binding. For what I understand the finish on the neck doesn't affect the fretboard material choice. Simply cut the slots and glue the fingerboard into place taking care not to get too much glue squeezed into the fret slots just as you would do with any binding. It wouldn't even matter whether the fretboard is radiused or not when gluing. Also the fretting can be done either before or after applying finish. An unfretted board would be easier to mask for lacquering, but an unfinished neck would be safer for hammering the frets in just as in any build.

Accuracy is the most difficult thing to achieve in such a build if you're using hand operated tools.

 

 

 

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I remember someone asking about this on Amateur Luthier, I've never done it but I achieved a slimilar look on my first build by using neck wood offcuts as binding, if the joint under the binding is good then it will look like a recessed fretboard. probably quite difficult to route the perfect taper and recess.

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it's called channel bound.  fender does it.  pretty beautiful IMO.  I think you could achieve 99.9% of the effect with 30% less effort via a method like AD pointed out.  That said... much respect for those who dare.

afa 1 piece... there is a guy on a few of the luthier forums on facebook that builds 1 piece guitars out of really exotic woods like quilt maple and such.  Beautiful stuff and requires a whole dif skill set.  There is a lot of talk about how it's superior afa 'no glue' and I don't personally subscribe to that... esp when you consider how many glue joints there are on the typical acoustic or hollow body guitar.  Seems to sound good there!  That said... I think it is def something that sets this particular builder apart and can't help but feel a 1 piece should be somewhere on my build bucket list.

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