theodoropoulos Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 (edited) I had my fretboards 100% straight but after installing the frets in 2 necks i noticed this thing...The whole fretboard had a small arch ...(small gabs in the nut side and in the last fret compared to the straight line passing from center)...Is it my idea or a mistake,or is this normal???? Edited February 10, 2011 by theodoropoulos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 You developed back-bow. The frets are each a little bigger than the slot. Add up 22 or 24 of those tiny amounts, and you get back-bow, or, an arch. I keep my fretting saw handy while I'm fretting and after each 2 or 3, I clean out the next 2 or 3 slots. Install the next few, clean the next few ,on down the line. Never have a problem with backbow that way. Unless the fret tang is just way bigger than the kerf of the saw you're using. You can try gently arching the board in the opposite direction to settle the tangs in a bit. I have never had to correct a back bow before, so I'm kinda guessing. Maybe someone with experience should tell the best way to fix it ?? Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theodoropoulos Posted February 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 (edited) everything is from Stew mac and i guess they are compatible.. Frewire#0149/japanese saw /fret arbor... The slot width is determined by their saw,which is compatible with their fretwire...I dont know...I am talking abou 1 mm but no more... but why should it happen?? the olution is the dual truss rod i guess...i can correct the backbow with it... Edited February 10, 2011 by theodoropoulos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 I've used pre-slotted Stew-Mac boards as well as my own boards, slotted with a Stew-Mac saw, fretted with Stew-Mac fretwire and what I noticed is that with harder woods like Ebony, I almost always end up having some amount of back bow after fretting. I let the neck rest a little after fretting and apply some moderate pressure in the middle of the neck to let things settle. After a couple of days, the amount of bow lessens and sometimes dissapears. The amount of variance depends on the neck stiffness. For example, a 1/4 saw piece of maple with have more resistance to back bow, as will a laminated piece. I've used maple a couple of times with Wenge and had no issues. The thing is, anything you do on the neck will affect its straightness. I try to start with something that is a flat as possible but there are always some adjustments to do after fretting with hard words. Rosewood isn't as bad as Ebony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theodoropoulos Posted February 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 well the first neck is from rosewood/purpleheart/rosewood and cocobolo fretboard plus 2 carbon fibers. the othe is mulberry quarterawn and 2 carbon fibers.... there is nothing stiffer than carbon fiber... i did not expect that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 I always thought that CF rods were complete overkill in a guitar neck... and this proves it. When fretting hardwoods like Ebony, the fret barber from stew mac could be a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theodoropoulos Posted February 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 that is what i am thinking for next project..i did not know about the use of this tool..now i know...but i am sure that the type of the fretwire #0149 is wide so,this could cause the problem.Probably a narrower would be ok...but i have a question...can the fretwire after this tool be easy to get out of the slot,no matter if there is glue?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 but i am sure that the type of the fretwire #0149 is wide so,this could cause the problem.Probably a narrower would be ok. 'wide' refers to the crown of the fret - the tang is the same size whether you buy it wide or narrow. this is just what happens sometimes with ebony, the barbs make the tang a little wider. in most woods they bite right in, because ebony is hard they sometimes need to be encouraged to do this. use your truss rod to straighten it out and those barbs on the tang will bite in as they should CF bars are neither overkill or a cure all. their job is not to provide perfect straightness, but long term stability. I.e the neck should still be affected by string tension, and you should still be able to adjust your truss rod - but once you have it set-up it should stay as it is for longer than a non-CF neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theodoropoulos Posted February 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 thank very much guys for your advice!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 that is what i am thinking for next project..i did not know about the use of this tool..now i know...but i am sure that the type of the fretwire #0149 is wide so,this could cause the problem.Probably a narrower would be ok...but i have a question...can the fretwire after this tool be easy to get out of the slot,no matter if there is glue?? The stew-mac fret tang (the part that goes in the fret slot) is always the same width, regardless of fret size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theodoropoulos Posted February 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 @ VIP i noticed that the tang is not the same in every fretwire..check here http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Stewart-MacDonald_Fretwire/Medium_Fretwire.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 the depth varies, not the width Our fretwire tang is sized to fit a 0.023" (0.58mm) fret slot width. and the saw Sheffield steel blade has .023" width of cut, to match our fretwire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theodoropoulos Posted February 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 ok,the depth varies but with the same width in a deeper tang the fret is compressed more,so a back bow is more possible to occur... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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