Tapering A Fingerboard With A Radius

[Moreau]

Hey i was just curious of the best method to taper a fretboard if its preslotted/radiused. A template wont sit flat on top, so what would I do?

thanks

[orgmorg]

Can you put it on the back?

[Setch]

Bingo.

[Moreau]

oh, i thought it would have to be glued to the board before you could taper it. thanks.

[daveq]

You can also glue the fretboard to an already tapered neck and trim it flush. That's the method I use most often. Is that what you meant?

[RGGR]

I used that method too. When using router be sure to use nice sharp (read: new) flush bit. I did Ebony board and you just have to take good care so you don't get any tear-outs.

When almost done with my board on end it just snagged small piece off. ;-(

Good thing with Ebony is that with some saw/route dust and some CA, you can make this tear-out almost invisible.

Best method imho is to glue fretboard on already tapered neck and then use robo-sander type set-up in drill press to SAND the board even with the neck.

[doug]

If you're routing it use a large diameter bit like a comon 1 1/4" template bit. First saw the excess off down to about 1/8" from yur target width. Then rout. Using a template for fingerboard shaping is best. You can make it on a table saw, then attach the fingerboard with carpet tape to it and rout.

Alternatively, you could use the table saw to make the whole taper as it's a straight line anyway. After glueing the FB on, use a sanding block 6" or so long to touch up any overhang, and create the finish profile. This will get you nice straight edges, and you won't gouge the neck itself with a rotating sanding device.

-Doug

[Devon Headen]

How would you make a jig to taper a fretboard on a tablesaw? I know I've seen one once upon a time, but I never got around to making it, and I don't remember how it works anymore.

[doug]

It's sort of simple really. Take a flat piece of MDF or particle board and rip it straight maybe 7" wide and 30" long. Just enough to be safe and steady. Don't move your rip fence after ripping it to width.

Sorry no pictures tonight. I'll just describe the clamping part. Make a couple of rocker type clamps from 2" wide 4" long pice of something hard like maple. Add a small piece of wood across one end so it will "rock" unevenly. Drill a hole in the center for a long wood screw. Now you have sort of a tee. Make 2 of them

Now use those to hold your fingerboard down to the main large piece you ripped earlier. Put lines on your fingerboard where the cuts need to be and clamp it down. Be careful of the alignment of course. Then rip. You'll only cut the fingerboard because the edge of the mail board has already been sawn off and acts as your reference point.

So I'm sure this is confusing, and I'm sorry, but I hope it helps. You might search "make a taper jig" or something like that in Google. There might be pictures or drawings already.

-Doug

[Devon Headen]

I think I get what you're saying, but I did find this while I was looking around.

http://www.luthiersforum.com/pages/jig_too...ls_fb_taper.htm

Looks a bit wierd to use...I might try what you were describing.

[doug]

Ouch! That one looks dangerous! I like jigs that secure the piece.

I'll see about taking a picture of my old crude one that I described yesterday for you.

-Doug

[Maiden69]

Devon, that don't look too safe, but the thing that cracked me up was this

This is a table saw jig. One of the beauties of the jig is, that in use, it leaves an edge which is ready for gluing. No touchup or sanding required. Let’s begin. Your fingerboard should already be squared and fretted and cut to the correct length.

It has to be fretted, or did he meant slotted? Oh well, i guess that nobody is perfect. But on topic, I haven't done any but if I do one I would taper the neck then glue the fingerboard and thne using a router bit with a bearing at the end I taper the fingerboard to the neck, (just be sure that you take the excess out with a bandsaw os something, you don't want to get too cocky with th erouter and have a nice tearout on a premade fingerboard.

[Devon Headen]

But I want a jig that will let me cut it perfectly ready for bindings. The flush trim method (what I've used in the past) doesn't allow for bindings. It does seem really unsafe to me, but if you could come up with a way to keep the jig pushed against the fence it could be doable. I'm not sure it's worth the risk. Doug, that'd be great

[Cracked]

I think I get what you're saying, but I did find this while I was looking around.

http://www.luthiersforum.com/pages/jig_too...ls_fb_taper.htm

Looks a bit wierd to use...I might try what you were describing.

←

Call me slow today but I have no idea how that would work. Unless or course you held the end of the fretboard that's not in the jig against the fence?

[Devon Headen]

That's what you do.

[orgmorg]

Yeah, that looks a bit sketchy. What happens when the fingerboard is longer than the distance from the front of the blade to the front of the fence?

Two lever type hold downs can be easily mounted to a piece of plywood to make a very versatile tapering jig. Just draw the profile on the fingerboard, line one side up with the edge of the plywood, clamp it down, and cut. Then the other side.

[Maiden69]

Devon, all you need is a bit like this .Or atleast the bearings, I'm sure this bearings work with most router bit that have a bearing up front. Once you trim it flush, change the bearing to the one you need for the binding you will be using, and run it on a routing table, make sure that your board is not pre radius, it should be a piece of cake, and if you are not binding the headstock, just stop short of the nut and finish with a chisel.

[doug]

Jig Here

Here's my old jig loaded up with a fingerboard being shaped for binding.

first make the FB the right size for the neck, then make it smaller just by the thickness of the binding on each side.

Hope this helps

-Doug

[Devon Headen]

Thanks a lot doug. I though that's about what it was going to take, but a picture is always good. I believe we have the same tablesaw if that's yours. In fact, it looks nearly like you broke into my shop to take that picture. All except the lighting anyway. And the wood floor.

[javacody]

This is an old thread, but Doug, do you still have a pic of your jig?

[Mattia]

I don't build enough, or enough identical guitars for real jigging up to be the best possible thing. For fingerboards, I radius, slot, mark the taper with an exacto, fill the line with something visible (if I'm binding the board, minus the binding width, natch), saw off the excess, and simply use a good old-fashioned, sharp handplane to get it down to size. Time per board is, post marking, maybe 5 minutes, and it gives you the best possible gluing surface. I don't necessarily trust ebony not to blow out on me if I route it; rosewood boards I'd be more comfortable routing to size.

I'm not a big fan of gluing then tapering, but that's just the way I build my necks. I've done the 'glue then taper' once, and I didn't like it. I prefer to locate the board accurately, tapered and all, and have that define the rest of my carving. The edge of the board becomes the edge of the neck, and about 30-45 minutes with hand tools (mmm...microplane rasps and scrapers yay!1) later, and I've got a completed neck.

[doug]

This is an old thread, but Doug, do you still have a pic of your jig?

←

Send me your email address. I found the picture.

-Doug

[doug]

I'm with you. Glueing the fingerboard on first then tapering has its benefits, but I really like to glue it on afterwards. If there should be a mishap with the fingerboard at least it can be fixed by itself which is far easier then if it's glued on.

Using a saw for the taper works very well. The key is a really good blade. I always use a tripple chip becasue of how it makes that little score in the center before the rakers fly by and complete the cut. Of course, proper saw setup is very important to chip free cuts with smooth edges.

-Doug