jonnyfontaine Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 what is the best way to cut a pre-slotted, radiused fretboard to width? in the past i have done it with a table saw and a tapering jig... but the fretboard always had a slight tearout right behind some of the fret slots (a small triangle) it was not too noticeable and the fret covered most of it, but i'm just afraid that eventually it could tear a huge chunk out and ruin the board? i've been tossing around the idea of setting up a jig with my router but since it's radiused i figure setting this up might take a lot of time, or with a band saw... or just get close to width and they hand plane it to final dimension... what has or hasn't worked for you guys? thanks, jonny *oh yeah, it's an ebony fretboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 Tearing and chipping are the result of your table saw blade choice, and possibly your saw alignment. With good setup and the right blade you could make smooth chip free cuts. Exactly 'how' you might use a router for the fingerboard is a very open ended sort of question. I'm sure there are dozens of ways so here's just one. How are you tapering your neck shaft? Are you using a template with your router? If you have a template for the neck taper, use it for the fingerboard too. Now they will match. If you don't have a template then I'd suggest making one. Routing templates are wonderful especially if you every want to make another neck. I use a 1-1/4" diameter pattern bit to follow the neck templates. This produces clean edges with little to no chipping. I think some folks glue the fingerboard to the neck before tapering it, then taper everything all at once. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 I think some folks glue the fingerboard to the neck before tapering it, then taper everything all at once. I do that....I also sand to final shape,so no tearout.It is slow,but safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 I taper my boards on my edge sander. Does a great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 Edge sander? Interesting... It makes the edge straight enough along it's length? Yeah Wes I've tried that before... works good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 I screwed up one fretboard pretty bad, and had to replace it on a neck that was already shaped. I found the easiest and actually the quickest was to cut it close to the final taper and then clean the rest up with a hand plane. With a slightly dulled blade (had been working on other things first so it was not freshly sharpened) it still sliced through the rosewood with ease and I got a nice flat, even, and smooth edge. I've sanded a couple in the past to the taper, which was okay but slow and messy. My table saw sucks for anything other than rough cuts, and the jig saw is not even close to accurate enough to cut close to final shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 Edge sander? Interesting... It makes the edge straight enough along it's length? Yeah Wes I've tried that before... works good. Yeah, really straight. My edge sander is similar to the one below..makes a nice quick job of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I always do mine on the router table, with a bearing guided bit and a piece of MDF or plywood double-stick taped to the bottom as my guide. Using the router table, the flat surface of the template rides on the table, so the pre-radiused aspect never gets to me. A good sharp bit, and only removing minimal stock, and I don't have any tearout. I also find I have better luck (tearout-wise) with these types of edging operations if I use a larger diameter bit, for whatever reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 i cut out my neck shape on the neck itself then glue the untapered board to it then rout flush with a flush trim bit. never had a problem and its the easiest way i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 i cut out my neck shape on the neck itself then glue the untapered board to it then rout flush with a flush trim bit. never had a problem and its the easiest way i think. Probably the easiest way, but if the board's pre-radiused and you've got and angled or scarfed headstock, it doesn't work as well with no surface for the router to ride against or to go on the router table. (certainly, jigs could help here to overcome this, I suppose) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 i cut out my neck shape on the neck itself then glue the untapered board to it then rout flush with a flush trim bit. never had a problem and its the easiest way i think. Probably the easiest way, but if the board's pre-radiused and you've got and angled or scarfed headstock, it doesn't work as well with no surface for the router to ride against or to go on the router table. (certainly, jigs could help here to overcome this, I suppose) it is harder with a pre radiused board, but i have done it on my last 3 necks. i diddnt have a problem, you just have to go slow and keep it 90 degreees. the scarf doesnt affect it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 i cut out my neck shape on the neck itself then glue the untapered board to it then rout flush with a flush trim bit. never had a problem and its the easiest way i think. This is how I do it, or at least have been doing it the past 3 times. It doesn't work so well with a figured fingerboard, had a little bit of tear-out on my birdseye fingerboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 The edge sander will not make a "perfect" straight edge...I use mine to get close,but there is too much variation in the movement of the paper to be nearly accurate enough. I use a long,flat sanding block by hand for the final taper...and THAT is really,really straight.I feel that is the one part of my guitar building that I have become as close to perfect as possible,is the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 The edge sander will not make a "perfect" straight edge...I use mine to get close,but there is too much variation in the movement of the paper to be nearly accurate enough. I use a long,flat sanding block by hand for the final taper...and THAT is really,really straight.I feel that is the one part of my guitar building that I have become as close to perfect as possible,is the neck. Mine seems to make a perfect straight edge - I can get wood so flat it'll stick to the cast iron table of the machine from suction with my sander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I'm old fashioned; a handplane of some sort. Makes nice curlies, and takes all of 5 minutes or so to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 what is the best way to cut a pre-slotted, radiused fretboard to width? in the past i have done it with a table saw and a tapering jig... but the fretboard always had a slight tearout right behind some of the fret slots (a small triangle) it was not too noticeable and the fret covered most of it, but i'm just afraid that eventually it could tear a huge chunk out and ruin the board? i've been tossing around the idea of setting up a jig with my router but since it's radiused i figure setting this up might take a lot of time, or with a band saw... or just get close to width and they hand plane it to final dimension... what has or hasn't worked for you guys? thanks, jonny *oh yeah, it's an ebony fretboard There is a post on using a router to add binding to glued board same issues. You can do it a million ways and probably answered your own question about finishing it off with a hand plane. I bandsaw off most of the excess and either sand or plane. I think someone hit the issue you are having on the head. You are using the wrong blade, or its dull or whatever. That blade has to be able to cut and not chip. If you have some scraps try changing the blade height so the rake angle on the blade strikes the wood in a more downward direction. In short make the blade higher so the blade cuts downward rather than cutting at a 45 Deg angle cowards you. You can see this buy cranking the blade up and down and seeing how differently the carbide angle is in relation to the top of a scrap piece of wood. I also use the glued fingerboard to shape my neck to final size so I don't like the idea of reversing that process, I am not saying its right it's just my way of shaping the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Mine seems to make a perfect straight edge - I can get wood so flat it'll stick to the cast iron table of the machine from suction with my sander. I think that is great...I would honestly have to see it to believe it,but more power to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhattr88 Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Mine seems to make a perfect straight edge - I can get wood so flat it'll stick to the cast iron table of the machine from suction with my sander. I think that is great...I would honestly have to see it to believe it,but more power to you. i have a fingerboard template made from 3/4" MDF..its slightly oversized from the final board i want... 1) band saw close to line as possible 2) double stick tape to MDF template and use ROBO-sander...the guide bushing follows nicely...i even round my FB corners at the 22nd fret. 3) after the FB is glued to the neck, i use a flat sanding block to get to the width i need. matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Mine seems to make a perfect straight edge - I can get wood so flat it'll stick to the cast iron table of the machine from suction with my sander. I think that is great...I would honestly have to see it to believe it,but more power to you. I was thinking the same thing. Actually I almost bought that exact sander. However, after testing it with a couple mock parts I didn't like the final result. I'm still looking... Though I wouldn't be using it on fingerboards. Routing templates rock for me. I get exactly the same thing over and over and over again. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 I wish I could do the template/router thing...but invariably the woods I use are too expensive to risk(too much wild grain). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.