How does each of us plane a fretboard for either fretless or fretted basses? I've asked three guys and gotten three different ways/tools for doing it. Just thought it'd be interesting to find out what you guys think and maybe find the best/easiest way in the process. oh and don't forget tools, especially if they're a DIY type tool (my 1/4" x 2" x 9" piece of glass with a piece of wood and clothes pins with nails through them to hold sand paper glued to the top seems weird but works great! so far at least...) Since I'm just a novice all this will come in super handy with my first basses that all have ebony and rosewood fingerboards, but I want to have my lutherie chops and ideas up when I plane the snakewood board on the fretless five I'm planning. :) Lemme know,

Justin K.

Glass is great for sanding blocks because it's so straight , I use the same thing. I start the camber with a no. 5 plane down the sides. The basic dimensions are thicknessed first and planing and sanding are the finishing touches.
I thought of making a jig for the router that will actually route the camber but I don't make that many guitars to bother , so out with the good ol' no.5.
I think the finish off a blade is always better than sanding where possible, as blades tend to seal grain. I made a vertical plane when I was an apprentice which was a cross between a plane and a cabinet scraper, this would have been excellent for finishing fingerboards , unfortunately it was stolen.

cheers