Hmmm....Well, if you cut the fret slots before you radius it, you'd have to cut the board deeper than it needs to be to compensate for a loss of depth at the edges once radiused. This would weaken the board somewhat.
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4001 Mashup
- Thread starter mapleglo
- Start date
I think that trying to match the radius of your fret slot to the radius of your board is an unnecessary PITA, when you factor in how much wood you are already removing and how much metal and glue you are replacing it with.
You are talking about rigging a jig and carefully slotting to avoid removing something like 1/64th of an inch depth in a slot that's .023" wide of wood(I know, multiply that by 24, but you still aren't talking about a lot) that's glued along it's entire length and width to a 3 piece laminated glue and steel reinforced 36" length of rock maple.
Cutting fret slots doesn't have to be that hard.
Cutting fret slots on a radius is a piece of cake if you use the depth guide that comes with the saw. That's how my luthier does it anyway.
Your luthier makes it look like a piece of cake, because for experienced and skilled journeymen it is easy.
For hobby builders it can exceptionally challenging. I think it's an unnecessary flourish by people who have the experience and skills to do it. It might be more of a thing if your radius is pretty extreme, but remember you are still filling those fret slots with CA and metal.
You can't use the depth stop that comes with the saw if you are using a (any) mitre box. The mitre boxes that use built in depth stops rely on a flat board.
Most seem to cut the slots prior to making the radius. Many glue the board to the neck prior to making the radius as well, for reasons obvious to me. I see no down side to cutting the slots a bit deeper than necessary. I already bought the radius block and sandpaper, so I'm good to go there.
If you cut the slots before you radius, you will probably have to cut them a bit deeper after you radius.
This is because radiusing will necessarily shorten the slots, especially at the edges.
If you cut them extra deep to begin with, you may avoid that issue.
However, cutting them again post-radiusing is not really a problem. It also makes it very easy to have a slot with a radiused bottom. The fret saw depth stop will follow the radius and automatically result in a slot with a radiused bottom.
Here's a short guide I posted on slotting on another forum when I slotted the fretboard for my most recent build:
Invalid Link Removed
I did that prior to radiusing, and prior even to gluing the fretboard to the neck. When using a hand-saw, I think it is best done when the edge of the board is perpendicular to the orientation of the frets. It makes it a lot easier to position a saw guide.
After I glued the board to the neck, trimmed it to shape with a router, and sanded the radius in, I went back to the slots with the fret saw (depth stop still attached) and sawed the slots slightly deeper again so that the tang could seat fully. Then I sanded the board with some 600-grit paper to remove the depth-guide rub marks and put the frets in.
This is because radiusing will necessarily shorten the slots, especially at the edges.
If you cut them extra deep to begin with, you may avoid that issue.
However, cutting them again post-radiusing is not really a problem. It also makes it very easy to have a slot with a radiused bottom. The fret saw depth stop will follow the radius and automatically result in a slot with a radiused bottom.
Here's a short guide I posted on slotting on another forum when I slotted the fretboard for my most recent build:
Invalid Link Removed
I did that prior to radiusing, and prior even to gluing the fretboard to the neck. When using a hand-saw, I think it is best done when the edge of the board is perpendicular to the orientation of the frets. It makes it a lot easier to position a saw guide.
After I glued the board to the neck, trimmed it to shape with a router, and sanded the radius in, I went back to the slots with the fret saw (depth stop still attached) and sawed the slots slightly deeper again so that the tang could seat fully. Then I sanded the board with some 600-grit paper to remove the depth-guide rub marks and put the frets in.
Just picked up this jointer off of Craig's List for $50.00. We saw the ad, and raced over there before anyone else could buy it.
I should be able to square off the edges of the body panels, and maybe even thin them out as well. I'll have to download the manual for setup. I'll have to wait for the weekend to do any work with it.
I should be able to square off the edges of the body panels, and maybe even thin them out as well. I'll have to download the manual for setup. I'll have to wait for the weekend to do any work with it.
Nice find! I got mine (a WW2 era Boice-Crane) on craigslist for $20, but alas it had no stand, motor, or other electrical bits. Since I sorted that though, it's been a fantastic machine.
Power Jointers are insanely fiddly things to set up though. It may legitimately take you all weekend.
Power Jointers are insanely fiddly things to set up though. It may legitimately take you all weekend.
With luck, maybe so. The setup process (which must be done every time you have the knives sharpened or replace them) is one of the biggest reasons I am wanting to upgrade to a helical cutter head jointer with carbide inserts instead of knives. They are so very expensive though, I don't know if I'll ever do it.
Nice find on the jointer. There's a great book on setting up and fine tuning saws, jointers, etc called "Mastering woodworking Machines" by Mark Duginske. Best resource I've seen for this, still in print on Amazon. Most of his techniques require just a good straightedge, feeler guages, and a cheap Harbor Freight magnetic base dial indicator. There are some good magnetic jigs out there for setting the jointer knives too. I have to recalibrate my jointer for the Hossenfeffer build, haven't used it in a couple years. My table saw motor is getting a bit wonky too, keeps tripping the breaker. Aggravating to have to fix tools before I can get going!
- Jul 1, 2005
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You can make an accurate and inexpensive jointer blade alignment gauge using a piece of glass and small neo magnets to hold it to the outfeed table. 4x6 inch picture frame glass is about perfect, tape or superglue the magnets to it. That's assuming the table is magnetic.
Looks like the table is aluminum, so non-magnetic. The manual goes through the knife setup. Fortunately, there's only two knives.
Some more progress this morning. I bought some supplies over the past few weeks to make a miter box for cutting the fret slots. Here's a piece of angle iron I'm using. I'm cutting it in 2, one for each side of the miter box.
I don't know how I continuously get myself into working with metal, but it seems to happen with every build. It's hard work.
I brought out the angle grinder to help smooth the cut.
And then cut a slot in each piece. I used the hack saw for all the cuts, and then realized I had a metal cutting blade for the jig saw which worked great.
I cut up some plywood for the base.
I drilled a few holes in the angle iron for mounting, and glued the two 1/2" plywood pieces together.
I'll let that cure while I work on the bearings. I still have to buy some nuts and bolts for mounting them to the aluminum bar I bought. Next stop, Home Depot.
I also took out the jointer and set it up. Ran the fret board and the body wings through it. I have no idea how I ever got along without a jointer. What a time saver. Ran out of room in the camera, so I didn't get any pictures of that.
I don't know how I continuously get myself into working with metal, but it seems to happen with every build. It's hard work.
I brought out the angle grinder to help smooth the cut.
And then cut a slot in each piece. I used the hack saw for all the cuts, and then realized I had a metal cutting blade for the jig saw which worked great.
I cut up some plywood for the base.
I drilled a few holes in the angle iron for mounting, and glued the two 1/2" plywood pieces together.
I'll let that cure while I work on the bearings. I still have to buy some nuts and bolts for mounting them to the aluminum bar I bought. Next stop, Home Depot.
I also took out the jointer and set it up. Ran the fret board and the body wings through it. I have no idea how I ever got along without a jointer. What a time saver. Ran out of room in the camera, so I didn't get any pictures of that.
Are the guide cuts not too wide to keep the saw precise? or are you rigging some sort of rollers like the Stewmac deal?
Yes, I bought some bearings which I'm mounting on the unit to precisely guide the saw blade. I meant to go to the hardware store yesterday, but we had band practice moved up a day. I hope to get some more work done today.
This is great! I'm looking forward to seeing more of the fret miter box, as I have a project in mind that will require one.
Here's a set of bearings on a 3/4" square aluminum bar.
I set up the drill press to make three more.
I bought 2 bars, drilled holes in each end, and then cut them in half.
It's nice to have a strong husband around to take over when my arms get tired.
Once cut, and two mounting holes drilled, I started mounting them.
I positioned them so they make a 90 degree angle as best I could.
I realized that since I don't have the fret saw yet, I can't mount the other two opposing set of bearings. I'd imagine spacing is pretty critical. Though there is some "slop", I think it'll work well enough. I'll likely end up making those mounting holes into mounting slots for finer adjustments, but I'll wait until I get the saw. Off to the StewMac website...
I set up the drill press to make three more.
I bought 2 bars, drilled holes in each end, and then cut them in half.
It's nice to have a strong husband around to take over when my arms get tired.
Once cut, and two mounting holes drilled, I started mounting them.
I positioned them so they make a 90 degree angle as best I could.
I realized that since I don't have the fret saw yet, I can't mount the other two opposing set of bearings. I'd imagine spacing is pretty critical. Though there is some "slop", I think it'll work well enough. I'll likely end up making those mounting holes into mounting slots for finer adjustments, but I'll wait until I get the saw. Off to the StewMac website...
Oh, by the way, total cost so far for the miter box is $16 for the angle iron, $10 for the bearings, $8 for the aluminum bars, and about $20 for all the nuts, bolts, washers, and other hardware. I also bought a can of black spray paint for the angle iron for $3. I don't want it to start rusting again. I thought about cutting up an old bed frame instead of using new angle iron. That would have saved some money, but the bed is still in use in the spare bedroom.
