stereordinary

Add a handle or handles.

I was totally thinking that. It doesn't throw off your balance, causing you to lift it on either end?

Oh, and thanks for the link to the 16" blocks dpm99 (Derek I guess?)! I'm totally gonna get me some of those!

Edit: Just ordered one.

I'm Paul by the way. Hi everyone!

I have tried a few different methods for radiusing fingerboards, and though my quest for making this necessary part of the process a quick and painless one is still in progress, at this time I have decided to do it with little more than a fingerboard radiusing block. Though IMO it is a time-consuming and finger-aching method, the results are consistent and worthwhile. Plus, I can choose from any radius I want, and somewhere around here there's even a tutorial on how to make your own.

So this thread is all about tips and techniques for using this simple tool/method. I'm sure there are lots of great jigs and even some hand techniques that some of you use, but that's not what this is about. Let's talk about things that we do to make our fingerboard radiusing sanding blocks more effective, less back-breaking, and altogether better tools.

What sandpaper can we recommend?

How about pictures of our guide-rail jigs?

Who makes the best blocks? Stew-Mac? LMII? Other?

Luthier's Mercantile sells a book by Jim English all about making laminated archtop electrics. It's worth picking up.

Any Fender neck other than a B width is definitely hard to find. Getting one custom made is obviously an option, but otherwise holding out to find one on Ebay is about it. I think maybe Musikraft will do them, but don't quote me on that. I know that's not much help, but they really are just that rare.

Aren't the truss rods that Grizzly sells made by Gotoh?

Just a thought, though I've never tried it, but maybe don't use strips of abs/wood/whatever. Find a way to fill the binding channel with tinted epoxy.

I love it! Diggin' the Fender offset vibe.

Doesn't surprise me one bit. I made a few necks with various twin rod systems before switching to traditionals and some of them are wonderfully thin. I wasn't saying it can't be done. Just putting in my two pennies.

Just a quick note to say thanks for the Fret Bender! I can hardly believe these tiny blemishes got me such a good price on such an indispensible tool. Fast shipping too!

I use traditional curved-channel rods. They dip 1/2" below the ends at the deepest point, which still gives me 1/8" of wood behind it. Making that part of the neck only 5/8" thick. My fingerboards are fairly thin. I've never tried to make a neck as thin as an Ibanez Wizard, but I could easily route a shallow channel to give myself more area for carving off.

I think I'll take you up on this when I get paid again. Do you take PayPal?

I always end up using Gotohs or Grovers and never had a problem with either. Not to say that I don't like Wilkinsons or Sperzels or anything else, it's just that I like the styles that Gotohs and Grovers come in, so I use those.

Yeah, I really wanna try that method. I just don't have anything to practice on.

You guys are funny. Calm down, it's just an idea.

Seriously though, if I had a way to control the depth of the deepest cut, do you still think the idea big no-no? I mean, obviously I'd still finish it off with some rough sandpaper and go into finer grits, but I'm just talking about rough cutting the basic shape.

After multiple complicated jigs, I've decided that radiusing fingerboards with simple radiused sanding blocks is the easiest way to go... But god, it takes for frickin' ever doesn't it? Maybe it's just me, or I need to use grittier paper, but it just seems like it takes way too long to perform this necessary operation.

So I was thinking that maybe I could adapt a SurForm or a MicroPlane blade to do it. I'd really like to be able to do conical radius fingerboards as well, so I thought maybe this could get me there.

Anybody care to throw in their 2 pennies on this?

Yeah, I just use sandpaper wrapped around a piece of glass.

Man, that is suh-weet!

I'm the other way around. I prefer to use a handheld router. I also do a lot of climb-cutting to avoid tear/blow out.

The general opinion of those that I've gathered is that they sound good, but pretty standard. Like nothing special, but by no means low-quality humbuckers. They are neither constructed nor sound anything like the original Seth Lover-invented Fender Wide Range Humbuckers, but if you use them in conjunction with 1Meg pots you'll get a lot better twang and make them sound at least a little more like they should. Like a '72 Tele Deluxe. *Swoon*

That is ADORABLE! I love it, somebody phone up Nancy Wilson!

Right you gentlemen are. The Fender VI is tuned E to E an octave below a guitar, and it can definitely get low. As low as a regular scale bass? Through a good setup, yes.

Nice to see you over here Motel!

Are you using a bandsaw to cut as much of the excess wood off, before you even attach the template and router it? When "depth of cut" is said, in that case it's not the up/down depth. It's how close to the edge of your template the bearing is. I hope I'm making sense. I use the same cutter/bit and 3/4" plywood templates, but I get that bit down as low as it can safely go. Then I start to router, but I don't push the bit into the wood (read: against the template) until the last couple of passes.

Oh yeah, that AE design is phenominal! *Subscribed*

the jazzmaster's the most comfortable guitar I've ever played, and thats why it's my next build!

Yes! Definitely post pics of that one.

Interesting. Thanks for your help with this, I think I may have come up with a solution. I'll need to invest in a quality router table, but I think I'm gonna just use a 45° bevel bit and then shim up to it. I can't really describe it well, but it should do the trick.