Neck Scalloping

[rsera]

Brian,

didnt you use 1 of those dremel thingys to do the scallop in the tutorial?

[The Tube Doctor]

Eh, it would make the refret go easier if that little ledge were there, from the start.

The MalmStrat in question had the scallop brought right up to the edges of the frets, so there was not really any level surface to use as a reference. Once the frets were removed from the maple neck, there was pretty much NO level flat surfaces to use as a reference. Sooooo, flattening out the areas left with the frets removed (lands) didn't necessarily give me surfaces even with the rest of the neck. There's some lacquer stuck to the edges of the frets, which means you've got to sand at least a little bit just to get the fret slot ready for new wire. And if you sand with too much enthusiasm, your scallops will become shorter and shallower. I certainly concur with the rest of the comments regarding playability; once you get used to having all that air under your fingertips, you can play with a lighter touch, and your speed will increase like never before!

[Brian]

Brian,

didnt you use 1 of those dremel thingys to do the scallop in the tutorial?

For the main tutorial on the lower frets yes but on the upper ones like pictured above I just use a 1/4" round file.

In my early days doing them I used wooden dowels with sheet's of sandpaper wrapped around and taped at both ends, long process but it worked.