Parts Needed

[bombershredder]

Hi ive been going through the neck making tutorial and i want to replace the fretboards on my existing guitars, and the only tool i havent understood is the angle finder, i cant find it anywhere and is there any similar tool or ruler for this purpose and what are the various ways of slotting before sawing, so i can decide which tools to get and what method to practice. thanks.

[bombershredder]

also what diferent clamps which are needed throughout the building process?

[Mattia]

Clamps: Whatever you feel is appropriate. Enough clamps is good. Too few isn't. More is better, basically, but you need to just use enough to get a good, tight join with even, strong pressure along the entire length. What kind of clamps you use is up to you, though; for body lams, I tend to use regular ol bar/F clamps, and a gaggle of cam clamps for all manner of other work. I loves my cam clamps, but other types will do fine.

I have no clue what an angle finder is. There are several discussions on how to calculate a neck angle; mostly, I use basic trigonometry to mark out my neck (look up a math textbook), but the simpler way to do things: Simply draw everything out, full size, side view. There's a pinned topic on this.

Also, what does 'slotting before sawing' mean? If you mean fingerboards, slotting IS sawing. Look at the various jigs/mitre boxes places like StewMac or LMI sell, at templates, the table saw blades they sell, and the many, many photos of jigs for fingerboar slotting people have posted in the past. I'd also be willing to bet some of this stuff's on the main website page in the form of tutorials.

[unclej]

there are several types of angle finders on the market..though i've never built my own necks i use angle finders in many other types of woodworking. the one i use is available at most hardware stores and has a flat blade that folds into a plastic handle and looks something like a knife. i use it in conjuntion with a protractor.

i did a quick google search and this one looks like it might fit your needs.

http://www.arizonadrivelines.com/available_tools.htm

[bombershredder]

the angle finder used in the tutorial for making a neck in the tutorial section, the first tutorial, just skip over to the fretboard slotting part..is that the angle finder you're talking about and i checked stewmac but the one they have is for violins and looks and seems dif from what i read and saw.. in the tutorial he straiht edges the retboard and then uses an angle finder to mark the frets(thats slotting?) and after that he saws.. do i really need an angle finder to slot the fretboard and whats a gents saw? before he saws the frets, he used something to make lines to mark the frets what is that?

STUPID ME i shoulda googles but after looking around at stewmac i didnt bother just decided to post here.. thanks for answering//

EDITL: ill research a bit on cam clamps and others too beffore ordering some they had cam clamps at stewmac but they didnt look clamp-like enough or atleast lie the clamps whici ve seen in tutorials

Edited October 9, 2005 by bombershredder

[Setch]

If you slot your fretboard before you taper it, you can use a square for the slotting. IMO this is the way to go.

A gents saw is a small tenon saw, often referred to as a dovetail saw. It's called a gents saw since it was used by 'gentlemen' carpenters and cabinets makers for high quality joinery, rather than for rough carpentry, where you'd use a larger saw, like you see on building sites, or being played with a bow by oddball musicians.

A tenon saw has a stiff back, usually of brass, which allows you to 'steer' it during a cut, and keep it straight, which is why is useful for joinery, cutting fret slots and, unsurprisingly, for cutting tenons.

[bombershredder]

If you slot your fretboard before you taper it, you can use a square for the slotting.  IMO this is the way to go.

A gents saw is a small tenon saw, often referred to as a dovetail saw.  It's called a gents saw since it was used by 'gentlemen' carpenters and cabinets makers for high quality joinery, rather than for rough carpentry, where you'd use a larger saw, like you see on building sites, or being played with a bow by oddball musicians.

A tenon saw has a stiff back, usually of brass, which allows you to 'steer' it during a cut, and keep it straight, which is why is useful for joinery, cutting fret slots and, unsurprisingly, for cutting tenons.

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it really doesn't matter is i slot the fretboard before or after i taper it does it?

when i get a fretboard blank, i will have to taper it, and make it fitable on the neck and then i will have to slot it? adn thensaw the slots, or the markings and then the rest, which i have no idea about i have seen some tutorials fretting i will go through them.. and move ahead, but are the processes i described right, taper the board..slot it, saw the slots and then ? am i wrong here?

i wanna make a new board for my neck and ineeded to see what all tools i need and more importantly what to do.. there are so many saws, the one at stewmac exclusively for fretting has somekinda system that prevents you from sawing extra and goin too deep.. could you please explain the process and the tools needed i have gone through the tutorials and searched but none of them have been very precise and i didnt even think of tapering and i what is the size of the blanks usually available and does sanding the fretboard have any relation to neck angle.. thanks man, im really lost.

EDIT: also i don wanna waste money on a tool which can only be used for fretting when there might be a tool such as a gents saw or a tenon saw which can be used for frettin and sawing other stuff too....?

Edited October 9, 2005 by bombershredder

[Mattia]

it really doesn't matter is i slot the fretboard before or after i taper it does it?

when i get a fretboard blank, i will have to taper it, and make it fitable on the neck and then i will have to slot it? adn thensaw the slots, or the markings and then the rest, which i have no idea about i have seen some tutorials fretting i will go through them.. and move ahead, but are the processes i described right, taper the board..slot it, saw the slots  and then ? am i wrong here?

I'm having serious trouble figuring out what exactly it is you're asking and/or confused about. Fretboard blanks are pretty simple to do, really, and it really is a LOT easier to cut the slots, and then taper it precisely, simply because you can make sure your taper/centerline is perfectly square to the fret slots.

Order I do it:

1) Thickness board

2) Rough radius board (router jig)

3) Cut fret slots

4) Taper (ie, cut so it's ready to fit the neck)

5) Optional: inlay

6) Optional: bind

7) final-radius sand

8) Glue to neck

9) Level sand

10) Fret

You don't have to do it in that order, but that works for me. Think about what you do at each step, and why you do it at that time, and whether it's easier to do it earlier or later in the process.

i wanna make a new board for my neck and ineeded to see what all tools i need and more importantly what to do.. there are so many saws, the one at stewmac exclusively for fretting has somekinda system that prevents you from sawing extra and goin too deep.. could you please explain the process and the tools needed i have gone through the tutorials and searched but none of them have been very precise and i didnt even think of tapering and i what is the size of the blanks usually available and does sanding the fretboard have any relation to neck angle.. thanks man, im really lost.

EDIT: also i don wanna waste money on a tool which can only be used for fretting when there might be a tool such as a gents saw or a tenon saw which can be used for frettin and sawing other stuff too....?

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Fretboard radius does diddly to neck angle, but fingerboard thickness does. Look up any discussion on neck angles and it'll be obvious. If you're replacing a fingerboard, make it the same thickness as the original (and frankly, I think you need to read a lot more before even trying to pry a fingerboard off a neck; you don't seem to have a firm grasp on what you want to do once you've got it off).

Get a saw for fretting, and dedicate it to fretting. That's my advice. You need precision, a sharp blade, and a consistent kerf (width of cut). If you can find one, get a japanese saw with the right kerf (ask the manufacturers/people who sell it what the width of cut is), better than the StewMac fret saw (their original one, at least. The new one is better, apparently).

If you know you're going to be making at least 5-10 fingerboards of a given scale length, I'd invest in StewMac's templates+mitre box. If you've got a table saw, get the table saw blade and forget the mitre box; read the free info sheets for the templates and the mitre box (on their website) to understand how each works. If you're not sure, do yourself a favour and buy a pre-slotted board.

Slot depth, well, you can do it quite well by eye, by simply drawing a little mark on your saw blade, the StewMac mitre box has depth stops if you use their own slotting blade, or has the built-in stops to keep the depth consistent. There's no tutorial on this because, well, it's self-evident tool use, and depends on the tool in question.

Fingerboard blanks: every vendor out there will give you dimensions of their blanks, and since you know your scale, nut spacing and bridge spacing, and own a ruler and large-ish pieces of paper, you know how big your blank needs to be. DRAW EVERYTHING OUT FULL SCALE, top and side view.

Seriously, buy a book or two. Melvyn Hiscock's 'Make Your Own Electric Guitar' is a good place to start, and will make things a whole lot clearer. Read it cover to cover a few times, if you want repair tips and hints buy Dan Erlewine's 'Guitar Player Repair Guide' and do the same, and you'll come out of it with a good basis for understanding what all the online info/tutorials are all about. Without a sound basis on which to build, I can easily understand why the amount of info seems overwhelming, and something as relatively easy as prepping a fingerboard (only critical bit is the ability to cut accurately laid out parallel slots, if you don't use a template) can seem near impossible.

[bombershredder]

ill get abook and some videos, thanks for asnwering must have taken a little time typing. im so new to stuff that i just dont know where to start i guess if i buy a video on fretting i could get started and maybe all the terms which i didnt understand or processes will come clear and alsoill buy some good books on guitar making and woods and finishing. thanks man..itll be a long timenow before i ask stupid questions again and again but im just not finding the answerrs itts not gonna fall in my lap im gonna have to work at itt.. also there are SO many tools and so many ways to go about and the tutorials arent very precise i gues theyre just good info and good to read for a first timer, but beyond that i need more info as im a complete noob to saws and the processes involved. Just one last question.. after im done fretting is there any way of mathematically telling that fretting was asuccess by measuring the heigts etc setting the action etc.. without having to actually play on it and checking for buzzing uneveness..what i mean is without actually playing and only measuring can i be certain of how accurate my fretting work is.. and also for setting an action and etc..?its possible right bec i was reading through the fretting mysteries thread and read half a page and poeple who posted were saying oh youll only know once you play on it etc.. so..?

[Mattia]

No probs. You have to start somewhere, and personally I'd reccomend a pair of books (the Hiscock and the Erlewine), and then Fretwork Step by Step (also Erlewine, from StewMac). Easier to take notes/refer back to books than to DVDs, and they're probably cheaper. I've never bought any intructional tapes, largely because of the price tags. I wouldn't mind having them, though.

What you need to check if you've fretted properly is a ruler (double-check all the fret slot spacing. Before fretting, ideally), measuring from the nut to each fret, not fret to fret. Then a good straightedge, to make sure everything's level.

Setup/setting action is related to and dependent on a good fret job, but it's a whole skillset in and of itself. It's also a matter of 'feel', so ultimately, playing it will tell you that it's set up right for you. If you've slotted everything and located everthing properly, it should play in tune.

The 'Fretwork step by step' book will answer more than you ever wanted to know, and probably leave your head spinning a little; the basic texts (Make Your Own Electric Guitar, and Guitar Player Repair Guide) will be much, much easier to understand, and will get you started on the right path. A lot of what seems vague about tutorials/discussions will become clearer as your understanding increases.

Good luck, and get reading!