Compound Radius Fret Board?

[radrobgray]

so ive decided i am going with a compound radius fb. but i have a few concerns. if i do a 10"-12"-14"-16" radius wouldnt i need to continue the change of radius all the way to the bridge? as in: nut10"-12"-14"-16"-bridge18" or 20". im asking because i am going to do this to a guitar that will have a floyd rose, so i need to know if i need shims for the saddles or not.

what is the best combo of radii for a compound raduis?

also how would i go about pressing the frets in with stew macs inserts. the compoundedness of the fret board mean that the radii will be differnt at every fret. is it ok to use a insert that is close or is it best if its the exact same radius?

thanks

rob

[Mattia]

There is no 'best', but yes, in theory, the radius at the bridge needs to be flatter still. In terms of fret pressing, John Watkins sells a set of cauls that fit the StewMac set with a whole boatload of radii; not cheap, though. Either use one that's almost exactly perfect, or hammer it in.

The GAL Big Red Book #3 has most of the math required to define the 'ideal' radius for any given set of parameters, but again, ain't cheap. Frets.com possibly has some forumulas, as might something in the MIMF.com library. Alternately, remember its supposed to be a cone, get out some high school math books, and do the math.

[soapbarstrat]

I have to say that there is a 'best', especially when you're dealing with a floyd type locking nut, which has a radius you can't change (unless you get another floyd nut with a different radius, but not a lot of options when doing that).

So, you have your nut radius, then using 'the formula' (I use the one in Erlewine's GPRG) the optimum radius farther up the neck is determined by the width of the neck (necks usually get wider as they get closer to the body, so this is why a conical (aka compound) radius makes perfect sense.

[radrobgray]

There is no 'best', but yes, in theory, the radius at the bridge needs to be flatter still. In terms of fret pressing, John Watkins sells a set of cauls that fit the StewMac set with a whole boatload of radii; not cheap, though. Either use one that's almost exactly perfect, or hammer it in.

The GAL Big Red Book #3 has most of the math required to define the 'ideal' radius for any given set of parameters, but again, ain't cheap. Frets.com possibly has some forumulas, as might something in the MIMF.com library. Alternately, remember its supposed to be a cone, get out some high school math books, and do the math.

who is this John Watkins and where may i look at his producs?

[Mattia]

There is no 'best', but yes, in theory, the radius at the bridge needs to be flatter still. In terms of fret pressing, John Watkins sells a set of cauls that fit the StewMac set with a whole boatload of radii; not cheap, though. Either use one that's almost exactly perfect, or hammer it in.

The GAL Big Red Book #3 has most of the math required to define the 'ideal' radius for any given set of parameters, but again, ain't cheap. Frets.com possibly has some forumulas, as might something in the MIMF.com library. Alternately, remember its supposed to be a cone, get out some high school math books, and do the math.

who is this John Watkins and where may i look at his producs?

http://www.cncguitarparts.com/

[radrobgray]

thank you