Fret tang removal?

[Woodworm]

I apologise if this has been discussed before and for it being a very basic question!

If I am making a fret board with no binding, is it necessary to remove the ends of the fret tangs and if so, why?

The only reason I can think of is the possibility of the tang chipping wood out of the edge of the fret board, when hammering them in.

[curtisa]

1 hour ago, Woodworm said:

If I am making a fret board with no binding, is it necessary to remove the ends of the fret tangs and if so, why?

It's not necessary, but you might want to consider doing it for appearances sake. Some people find it looks a little more streamlined when the tangs aren't visible on the fretboard edges.

 

[Bizman62]

As @curtisa said, it's about looks only.

I've never thought about or even heard about worrying about the tang chipping wood. Now that you mentioned it, I can imagine that a stud of a tang might end up right at the edge of the fretboard which might be visible.

It's common practise to cut and level the fret ends including the tangs after having hammered them in. If (rather 'since') your fret slots are a bit deeper it's also common practise to fill the gaps with dust and glue. Some people take that one step further and cut the tangs a bit so they can hide the tang ends with dust and glue. No right or wrong here.

Speaking of fear of possibilities, I've always wondered if the tangless ends would curl up and cut your fingers...

[ScottR]

2 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

I've never thought about or even heard about worrying about the tang chipping wood

Only on the way out as in pulling frets....

SR

[ADFinlayson]

I don't cut the tangs when I'm not doing a bound fretboard, personally I don't mind having the fret tangs visible down the side of the fretboard - that is the norm. the only time IMO it can look weird is if the slots are cut way too deep. chip out when removing frets is possible anyway but can be avoided by hydrating the board with a dash of oil and heating up the frets with a soldering iron and pulling them very carefully. The only other con to having tangs visible at the sides is fret sprout if the fretboard shrinks, but even if tangs are cut. the edge of the crown will still stick out.

[Bizman62]

17 minutes ago, ScottR said:

Only on the way out as in pulling frets....

That's true but not the case here. Good addition for accuracy, though.

[KeithHowell]

Another option is to slice of a few millimetres on each edge of the board, cut the fret slots then glue the edge strips back and install the undercut frets. Thereby making a non-bound bound fretboard if you get what I mean.

I have on occasion bound the fretboard with contrasting veneer as well.