jwj Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 as I am looking at building my first neck (been buying bolt ons) for a set neck guitar I though i would start practicing my fret slotting and inlays. I have seen the fret slotting set ups in both stew mac and LMII. The stew mac seem to be less expensive, but the LMii seems to able to account for the carve of the fingerboard. anyone have any thoughts.... pros and cons on these or other fret slotting jigs??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledzendrix1128 Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 if you have no budget id go with the LMII version... but for me... id go with stew-mac because its 200 dollars cheaper... and i honestly dont think theres many added features i can think of for a miter box that i would say "thank god i payed 200 extra dollars for this" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 I bought the stewmac fret slotting saw blade ($70) and the fret slotting template ($40). I then built a shooting board for the table saw and couldn't be happier. I used a hobby saw and miter box for my first fingerboard and it took forever. With the blade, template and shooting board I can do about 12 finger boards an hour. Love it, and wouldn't do it any other way. I radius my boards after I slot them, It took a few pieces of scrap to figure out how deep to set the saw blade, but through trial and error I got it down pat. Now everything is smooth as silk, no fuss, no muss, just fingerboards when I need them. Good Luck! Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 I've been using the Stewmac version for over 5 years. Been working fine all the time. I radious after slotting too. No problemo Also:You might consider adding a SMALL amounth of grease to the side of the saw to reduce friction and get a smoother usage. Using too much will get the saw dust to stick to the saw side and it will get REALY messy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 If you have a good table saw, sliding miter saw, or radial arm saw. Get the blade. Just have faith in what I am saying there is no better approch. Ask any guy who has had a manual slotting set up and any of the above set ups and they will tell you there is no way they would go back. Here are a couple photos of my set up-Pics. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 I have StewMac's mitre box, one of their new SS templates (had acrylic one, broke it. Pesky doublestick tape!), and I do quite like it. If I had a table saw, I'd go that way, but I don't. I also don't build much. Here's the thing, though: StewMac's old fret slotting handsaw was pretty much crap. Only crap tool I've ever gotten from them. Since then, they've converted it to a pull saw, and it supposedly works a little better. Waxing the blade with a candle can help, but only goes so far. Me, I'm sticking with my giant Japanese crosscut saw. Takes me about 10-15 painless minutes to line up, set up, and cut all the fret slots. Because the saw I've got isn't backed, I need to keep the blade guide tight, and use minimal pressure so as not to flex the blade. I don't fint it a problem, and I've successfully slotted the last 4 boards with this. Check your local woodworking store of choice, measure or get the kerf specs, and get the saw you like best (for UK folks, I got mine from Axminster. Haussanme crosscut saw or something like that. Does the trick for me). Picture of the setup: http://www.xs4all.nl/~mvalente/guitarpics4/stratele15.jpg That's one board done, other one being cut, post-radiussing (with router). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 At first I bought the StewMac pull saw & mitre box, and it works fine (if a bit fiddly to set up square). I also bought 2 of the steel templates. After doing 5 fretboards that way, it was fine but I realized I'd be slotting a lot more boards in the future. So I went & bought the $70 saw blade and slapped it on my radial arm saw. Could not be easier. I drilled a small 1/16" hole in the saw's fence for the steel pin, and now I can slot a fretboard blank (with template on the back) in about 2 minutes. When I want to go back to cross-cutting, I just flip the fence and change blades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGGR Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 I drilled a small 1/16" hole in the saw's fence for the steel pin, and now I can slot a fretboard blank (with template on the back) in about 2 minutes. When I want to go back to cross-cutting, I just flip the fence and change blades. Erik....could you elaborate on this some more......I have no clue what you mean with a fence and a pin??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 I drilled a small 1/16" hole in the saw's fence for the steel pin, and now I can slot a fretboard blank (with template on the back) in about 2 minutes. When I want to go back to cross-cutting, I just flip the fence and change blades. Erik....could you elaborate on this some more......I have no clue what you mean with a fence and a pin??? ← Fence, as in the thing that guides the wood you're cutting. Pin, as in metal pin to index the tempalte (which has little matching slots) on. Having a peek at StewMac's Fret Slotting Template info sheet should help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 If you have the StewMac mitre box, you'll notice inside that there's a 1/16" diameter pin that sticks out maybe 1/8" or so, it goes in the notches of their fret slotting templates (stuck to the back of the fretboard blank) so that all you have to do is slide the template over the pin, push it down to catch the pin in the slot, then saw away. There is a notch for each of the 24 frets, at the proper fret positions of course. This is the best photo I have on hand at the moment (note this is NOT the StewMac blade in the saw...hehe). The radial arm saw fence is that dead-straight piece of oak running across behind the blade, it is used to make sure the stock is square to the blade when you cross-cut. The fence is held tight in place against the table with a piece of MDF screwed up against (behind) it. The StewMac mitre box came with an extra pin, so I just drilled a 1/16" hole in the fence and stuck in the pin (press fit). Now I can use the radial arm saw with the template to cut slots. When I need to cross-cut, the pin gets in the way and prevents me from holding the stock square, so I just loosen the back screws, remove the fence, and flip it 180-degrees clockwise so that the pin is pointing backwards, then clamp it back down. Change the blade and you're ready for cross cutting (or sawing the nut slot, in my case....). When doing this, you just have to be absolutely sure that you have the blade and table set up so that the table is flat and the fence is exactly 90-degrees to the cut. I had to play around a bit when I first got the saw to make sure I had 90 instead of 89 or 91, but now it's great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledzendrix1128 Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 Yeah, this tutorial has a good fret board slotting jig...looks home made... Just read about it, it doesnt seem that hard to do and itll save a lot of money. http://projectguitar.com/tut/neck.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 Erik, we -NEED- more pictures of that bass (?). Those laminations alone are making me drool. On topic, my slotting set up is just a sled that rides on the table saw. Lay out the fret slots, and cut away. I don't use templates because I like to use different scale lengths a lot. Looks like that radial arm saw is a little more versatile. My dad has an old radial arm saw he's been talking about getting rid of for a long time, and right now it's just gathering dust. I might have to try something out with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 Devon, you should definitely rescue that radial arm saw. I needed some space in my garage, and *almost* tossed it (methinks: "I can just cross-cut with the band saw"). But the ease of fret slotting saved it. Also makes another nice work surface when you swing the arm out of the way. Erik, we -NEED- more pictures of that bass (?). Those laminations alone are making me drool. ← Sorry, you'll have to drool over the old pics until it makes its GOTM debut. I hope to have the Tru-Oil on this weekend, but I've still got a bit of work left on the buffing & electronics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwj Posted September 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2005 thanks for all the great input. I had not thought of the circular saw blade. a table saw is one of the only power tools I have. I will give that some thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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