Stewmac Fretboard Problems ...

[fyb]

I'm wary of radiusing & slotting my fretboards, so I've tried to get some from Stew Mac. I got one a few months ago that was pretty nice, so I ordered 2 more recently and they're both very disappointing. The first was half pink, half brown with spotting and the second (actually a replacement for the first) was nice other than some rather severe tearout at the second fret.

Is it usually this hard to get a decent board from them? Should I just keep trying (and racking up the shipping charges )??

Is there a way to fix some tearout in Indian Rosewood? The only problem is that I'm wary of sanding it too much and screwing up the radius or making the slots too shallow. Can I steam it out like you would a ding in other woods?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Supernova9]

I'm wary of radiusing & slotting my fretboards, so I've tried to get some from Stew Mac. I got one a few months ago that was pretty nice, so I ordered 2 more recently and they're both very disappointing. The first was half pink, half brown with spotting and the second (actually a replacement for the first) was nice other than some rather severe tearout at the second fret.

Is it usually this hard to get a decent board from them? Should I just keep trying (and racking up the shipping charges )??

Is there a way to fix some tearout in Indian Rosewood? The only problem is that I'm wary of sanding it too much and screwing up the radius or making the slots too shallow. Can I steam it out like you would a ding in other woods?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Take it up with StewMac, their customer service is really good. They'll probably replace the board with tear-out. If you showed photos it might help us advise you better.

[westhemann]

also...consider lmii for fretboards in the future...i always call them directly and tell them exactly what i want...and they take good care of me.

for example...i wanted a ebony board at a 12" radius...compleely black and 25.5 scale,but with room behind the "zero fret" for a locking nut seat to be routed...they did a good job.

but stewmac does have great customer service...if you contact them they will almost assuredly replace it at no cost to you

[Southpa]

Got any pictures of this tearout? I can't imagine them sending any fb wood that has damage on the fretting surface or edges. If that is the case then send it back, I would consider than unacceptable. But if you are sick up and fed with shipping back and forth you could sand it back with a 8" to 10" radiused block, ie. same radius as the fb, it all depends on how deep the damage goes. Where do you get a radiused block? Take a wild guess. Yeah, more shipping. I hope Stewmac's QC isn't sliding. I haven't ordered much in a while but so far no real complaints yet.

I guess another option would be to score the damaged area and then fill with a mix of the native fb dust and CA glue. I've seen it done successfully on a rosewood fretboard refurbishing job by another board member, Boggs is his name. But the wood has to be exceptionally dark for this to work well.

[westhemann]

keep in mind to that 1/4" is what most of those places make their fretboards(thickness)...and that is much too thick for a comfortable neck when installing stewmac's hot rod truss rod.i always take it down to at the most 3/16" in the centter of the radius...then you have to recheck the fret slot depth

[fyb]

Thanks for the quick responses folks!

Here are a few pics so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about...

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/3446/tearout2qw8.jpg

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/3181/tearout1ii2.jpg

What do you think? Should I call and complain? Do you think they'll ship me a new one free? I'm a little worried about filling it with dust, because if I screw it up, I'll just have to buy another board anyway

I have a 12" radiused sanding block, but how much can I take off before the frets won't sit right? I also don't want the board to take on an uneven shape/thickness on top

[Mickguard]

I had similar trouble with the boards I received from LMII --the first board was way too thick to be useful, and of course I ruined it when I tried to sand it. The second board is also really thick, but since I have a narrower truss rod, it should be possible to make it work. One of these days, when I get up the mood to try again.

LMI offered to take the boards back and refund the money, minus the shipping, which doesn't help all that much...

[fyb]

I just wanted to let you guys know that I gave StewMac a call and get through in 1 1/2 rings! The woman on the phone sounded apologetic about the funky boards, and told me she'd send a new one (which should be better selected) out ASAP with a shipping label to return the others.

I'll keep you posted when I get the new board (hopefully by Saturday), but I must say that so far I'm very pleased with how they dealt with this.

[JohnRossitter]

Yeah call StewMac.

Send them the pics and ask if they could send you a replacement.

Don't let them make you pay shipping either, their QC team should have spotted that one.

Better luck with it.

I generally try to avoid buying from StewMac, only because I like making things myself, but their stuff is usually top quality.

[Daniel Sorbera]

I've bought a bunch of boards from stewmac. On one of them there was a very small hole (looked like some kind of bug hole) it was so small I can see how they missed it. But I called them up and they overnighted me a new one and even asked me what kind of grain/color I wanted on it. The new board was perfect (and exatly the color I asked for)

So I only had one problem that was quickly fixed. I'd give them another chance.

Edited December 6, 2006 by Godin SD

[westhemann]

I had similar trouble with the boards I received from LMII --the first board was way too thick to be useful, and of course I ruined it when I tried to sand it. The second board is also really thick, but since I have a narrower truss rod, it should be possible to make it work. One of these days, when I get up the mood to try again.

LMI offered to take the boards back and refund the money, minus the shipping, which doesn't help all that much...

ideally you would take a jointer and take down the underside of the fretboard...that's what i would do now that ihave a small jointer

[Mickguard]

ideally you would take a jointer and take down the underside of the fretboard...that's what i would do now that ihave a small jointer

Yeah, I've since found a carpenter with a really precise thicknesser machine, I'll take it to him when the time comes.

[Southpa]

Regarding the pictures, I would consider that fairly easy to sand out with a radiused block. Its something I do anyway prior to laying frets just to get rid of any contaminants, sort of a fresh start for the wood. I figure those blocks can be pretty necessary at times, not only for the wood but also for "post-inlay" sanding and can be useful for fretwork as well. Its a good investment and you can deal with those subpar fb's, nothings perfect these days.

[Mattia]

When ordering wood from stewmac, allied, lmi, tell them what you're looking for. They will generally deliver.

[westhemann]

southpa has a point...nobody delivers a fb that doesn't need at least some sanding to make it look it's best.

and even if you somehow did get one that nice,it would be difficult to get to the point where it is ready to fret without putting at least a few scratches in that you would have toremove.

but that chatter you show in the pics is a little rougher than i would expect,though i would probably deal with it just to save time...but i have all of the tools to easily fix that.you may not

[fyb]

southpa has a point...nobody delivers a fb that doesn't need at least some sanding to make it look it's best.

and even if you somehow did get one that nice,it would be difficult to get to the point where it is ready to fret without putting at least a few scratches in that you would have toremove.

but that chatter you show in the pics is a little rougher than i would expect,though i would probably deal with it just to save time...but i have all of the tools to easily fix that.you may not

The first board that I got from them for another project a few months ago was superior to the last 2 I got. I was just trying to get something in that ballpark. I know I'll have to do some work on it anyway before fretting, but the less the better since I'm still new at this and really don't want to screw it up! I have a radiused sanding block. What else do you think I'd need in the pre-fretting stage?

Thanks for all the help folks!

[Desopolis]

allthough more expensive then some places, stewmac constantly delivers and impresses me. the customer service from when I ordered the wrong part to the quick shipping..

the FB I got from them was super nice, but now I just get 1/4" ebony from a hardwood store and use stewmacs slotting jig to get what I want..

[Magnus]

I ordered a maple neck blank & fingerboard

from Stew Mac about a month or two ago.

Both pieces are just fine.

[ryanb]

I have ordered Stew-Mac boards in the past and they have been very good. Of course, I got a maple board a couple days ago with some nasty tearout (much worse than the chatter on your board) near the bridge end at one side. Maybe they are having a bad month. I'm not going to bother replacing it, since I am pretty sure I can sand it out without too much trouble. Stuff happens sometimes. Ther rest of the board is great. (I normally make my boards anyway.)

Stew-Mac still has the best customer service anywhere. If you are unhappy with anything, they will fix it, and fast.

LMII has good boards too, but they are very thick. If you don't have the tools to thin the board down, you probably should go elsewhere.

[Acousticraft]

Ive only used 2 Stew Mac Pre-radius ed/pre-cut slot FB's in Rosewood twice but have been pleased as they have been top quality.

I wonder if they have a new person packing who isn't up to speed on quality control.

[fyb]

I just wanted to tell you guys that I got my new fretboard today ... it's perfectly quartersawn with tight chocalate and black streaks, and no splotchiness or tearout at all. It's absolutely beautiful.

I have nothing but good thiings to say about StewMac's customer service