Fretboard Straightedge

[wolfcoast]

This is very simple but wanted to put it up for those that may not have thought of it.

I didn't want to pay a large price for the StewMac Straightedge that has fret notches so here's what I did.

I already had the template for fret slot cuttings from stew mac so I laid it on an extra 18" straightedge I had sitting about and marked the notches on the straightedge with a Permanent marker.

After that, I simply took a file and filed notches on each mark that were deep enough to go over frets.

Voila, straight edge that can be used on a fretted board. I only did the 25.5 scale as that's what I mostly use, but you can use any of the fretboard templates to notche both sides of a straight edge for use on other scale lengths.

Hope that helps somebody.

Randy

[ryanb]

Yup. Been there, done that. But you don't need the fret slot templates. Just stick it next to the guitar neck in question and mark off the fret locations. I use the inexpensive aluminum rulers from the hardware store. You just need to have one good straightedge to check that the other ones are really straight before you notch them.

[cherokee6]

Thanks for the tip; I did something similar with my radius guides.

[Woodenspoke]

Another Idea for $23 plus shipping

Lee Valley's Veritas 24 " aluminum straight edge. Since its aluminum you can cut it with any saw, preferably a table saw. Mark the fret positions, cut it, and you have a very accurate straight edge made from a straight edge. You can also trim this one to length, a truly custom tool with no skimping on quality.

Link

Lee Valley Aluminum Straight Edge

Woodenspoke