Fingerboard Erm.... Depth (i Think)

[PuK]

ok. I've been doing lots of reading etc but i cant seem to find the answer to a really stupid (and probobly inconsequential) question.

Does the fingerboard have to be any required depth? i.e 5mm

personally i wouldn't think so but i want to make sure before i do anything else.

thanks for any help

[Brian]

Not really but remember your going to need to slot it so you don't want it to thin. Most blanks I think start out at 3/8" thick these days 9.525 mm

[PuK]

Hrm. ok.

the nut i bought is already slotted though and at the moment there is about 3mm clearance from the top of fret board to the top of the nut.

Note: the fret board is 5mm thick.

Like i said... i wouldn't think that this would matter... but i would like to take the width of the fret board down another .5mm just to be safe... what do you think?

[westhemann]

i go anywhere from 3/16" to 1/4"

[joej]

To me, it seems that it'd be easier to just to make a new nut at the right height

(as opposed to thinning down the fretboard).

But thats based on my "I'd screw up thicknessing a fretboard vs. a doing a nut" experience

-- joe

[westhemann]

you can easily shim the nut as well with a piece of veneer

[Devon Headen]

I usually start with 1/4" blank then while I'm radiusing/prepping the neck, it thins out quite a bit. I'd definitly shim the nut instead of having to thin the fretboard.

[Curtis P]

The one i made was 1/4 inch thick.... I gont no complaints on how it functioned and all, it was actually pretty sweet fingerboard

Curtis

[PuK]

cool. thanks for all your help...i will see what happens... had not thought of the shims ^^;;

just a side note... im not really planning on cambering the fretboard... i might a little but not a huge amount... just a personal preference

thanks again

[frank falbo]

Remember if you're using a double truss rod (either double action or one-way) it works by applying upward pressure to the middle of the fretboard, and downward pressure at each end. A fretboard that's too thin will be prone to cracking under truss rod pressure. A traditional rod/filler strip alleviates pressure against the fretboard so even a thin vintage Fender "veneer-style" fretboard is fine.

[Devon Headen]

Try something like a 19" radius or so. I used a compound 12"-17" radius on my tele, and I like it. I have a 24" radius block, but it barely removes anything on the edges.

Now a question (not meant to hijack). I made the high (gbe) side of my board slightly thicker than the low (EAD) side, probably 1/16" difference, so that the high strings will be closer to the board (the bridge doesn't adjust individual string height). Has anyone else tried this before?