How to Make a Fretboard

By Society & Culture & Entertainment Last updated Monday, April/23/2029

Preparaing and Radiusing the Fretboard

1). Make sure all corners of the board are exactly 90 degrees using a T-square. This is important to ensure that when the fret slots are cut, they are perfectly perpendicular to the edge of the fretboard. Trim the edges of the board with a block plane, if necessary to achieve the proper angle.
2). Sand the surface ot the board completely flat using the sanding block and 80 grit sandpaper. Use long smooth strokes to achieve best results. Periodically check for flatness with a steel ruler by holding it on edge and looking beneath it toward a light source. When no light can be seen coming from beneath the edge of the ruler, the surface is flat.
3). Sand the fretboard to the proper curve - more properly referred to as the radius - using a sanding block with 80 grit sandpaper. Taking more material off on either side of the centerline, leaving the top higher than the sides. Use a fretboard radius gauge to monitor your progress, checking at several points along the length of the fretboard.

1). Determine the position of each fret using a printed chart or a fret calculator program, available for free online.
2). Mark the postion of each fret on the fretboard with a very sharp pencil. Use a fret scale rule to measure the exact spacings; and use a T-square to ensure that the marks are exactly perpendicular to the edge of the fretboard.
3). Cut the fretboard down to the proper size, tapering it evenly on both sides. This will vary according to your design. For standard Gibson-style guitars with a 24 3/4 inch scale length, the width of the fretboard at the nut is 1.695 inches and 2.062 inches at the 12th fret. For Fender-style guitars with a 25 1/2 inch scale length, it is 1.650 inches at the nut and 2 inches at the 12th fret.

1). Drill 5/16 inch holes .050 inches deep for position markers in the exact center of the fretboard at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 17th and 19th frets. Traditionally, there should be two holes side by side on the 12th fret to indicate the second octave, but this is a matter of personal preference.
2). Spread a thin coating of epoxy in the holes drilled in the fretboard, and place the position marker inlays in the holes, pressing down firmly to ensure they are firmly seated.
3). Thoroughly sand the fretboard with 220 grit sandpaper to remove any excess glue and level the position markers. Make sure the position markers are perfectly flush with the fingerboard.

1). Cut the fret slots with a fretsaw. Be extremely careful to stay exactly on line with the pencil mark. The tangs on fretwire vary from .060 inches tall to .074 inches tall and that measurement should be noted on the package; if not you will have to measuer with your fret scale. Cut the slots slightly deeper than the height of the tang.
2). Seat the frets beginning at the nut end and working toward the bridge. Take a length of fretwire and seat it in the slot. Pound it home with a fretting hammer. It is important to use a specially designed fretting hammer with a brass face, rather than a regular hammer, so as not to damage the frets.
3). Nip the ends of the frets as close to the fretboard as possible on both sides.

1). File the ends of the frets flush with the fretboard using a fine tooth leveling file. File tops of the edges of the frets at a slight inward angle so as not to catch a finger when fretting the notes.
2). File along the entire top of each fret using a very light touch. The idea to flatten the fret just enough to ensure that it is level along its entire length.
3). File each fret again, this time with a fine tooth round file. The purpose is to slightly round over the top of the fret. For proper intonation, the contact area where the fret and the string touch should be as small as possible.
4). Sand each fret with 1000 grit sandpaper to polish them smooth. Unless each fret is perfectly smooth the strings will catch on them when fretted.

Source...

music Culture