5 string buckeye burl/mahogany neck through

[HaMMerHeD]

I use CA glue in the fret slots, but not to keep the frets in. I use it to fill any gaps that might exist between the bottom of the slot, and the bottom of the fret tang.

 

[lbridenstine]

That neck is a work of art!

That is so cool.

That turned out really great. Now I'm going to have to go back and take notes how you did it!

Thank you guys!

I've done quite a few bound fretboards. Using wire that is bent to a smaller radius than the fretboard, the fret ends have plenty of down down pressure and I've never had a fret end that hasn't laid flat to the board. I would not glue them down as I don't find it necessary, but it is done by some people.

Okay, good. These ones don't seem to be moving or anything, so I think they're okay. They're not perfectly down to the board, but it looks like it's because I didn't do a good job filing the bottom side of the crown after nipping the tangs off, so there's little tiny bits of tang left that I think are seated on the binding. Maybe I can try some clamp pressure and see if that will push them down slightly.

Beautiful work, Kudos on the neck laminates!

I agree on not gluing frets,.... well not FULLY gluing. I do all my fretboards similar to a bound board by cutting the tang off the wire at the ends a tad. This way if the wood swells or shrinks I don't have a sliver of fret tang sticking out which will eventually be a discomfort. I put a drop of CA glue and saw dust on the edges where the slot shows... very little glue and plenty to hold down the ends.

Thank you!

That's what I usually do, minus the cutting tangs part.

 

[lbridenstine]

I use CA glue in the fret slots, but not to keep the frets in. I use it to fill any gaps that might exist between the bottom of the slot, and the bottom of the fret tang.

I tried getting some in the slots on the first two, but I just made a mess and decided to stop trying with the glue. I was able to clean it up with acetone, at least.

 

[thebassbuilder]

If you are going to use CA in the fret end like that, start with thin or medium. They will fill in the slot with less mess. may take a couple of applications.

 

[lbridenstine]

If you are going to use CA in the fret end like that, start with thin or medium. They will fill in the slot with less mess. may take a couple of applications.

There are no fret slot ends, it's bound.

 

[thebassbuilder]

I forgot about that! Disregard lastpost.

 

[scottyd]

Quick question, did you bevel your fret slots before fretting? Its good practice to run a beveled needle file over each slot so that the fret seats fully. The bottom of the wire is never a flat 90 degree angle where the tang meets the wire. The bevel cutting releaves that area.. This could make the ends appear un-seated, I ask because in this photo it looks as if a few are not fully seated? Of course photos can play tricks, so its prob best decided by your own eye.

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EDIT, and don't be afraid to use a steel hammer.. those plastic hammers/brass dont have the umpth to seat into hard woods.. I use a flat square nose steel hammer originally intended for auto body work.. Some people will probably argue this, but check out one of the Fodera videos that show fret work.. dude is using a CLAW carpenters hammer!

 

[lbridenstine]

I forgot about that! Disregard lastpost.

I've had a lot of people bring that up lately, since I'm asking about the ends of the frets. No worries.

Quick question, did you bevel your fret slots before fretting? Its good practice to run a beveled needle file over each slot so that the fret seats fully. The bottom of the wire is never a flat 90 degree angle where the tang meets the wire. The bevel cutting releaves that area.. This could make the ends appear un-seated, I ask because in this photo it looks as if a few are not fully seated? Of course photos can play tricks, so its prob best decided by your own eye.

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EDIT, and don't be afraid to use a steel hammer.. those plastic hammers/brass dont have the umpth to seat into hard woods.. I use a flat square nose steel hammer originally intended for auto body work.. Some people will probably argue this, but check out one of the Fodera videos that show fret work.. dude is using a CLAW carpenters hammer!

I didn't. I've seen a lot of people do it both ways and guess I didn't see a need for it. You could be right though, maybe I should have.

So, I just took the radius block and clamped it down on all the frets. I think it may have seated them a little better, but I did notice by looking at a different angle, that the ends aren't actually up, it just kind of looks like it because the binding is rounded over and the frets don't round with it.

 

[lbridenstine]

Neck pocket = done

I'll glue the neck in soon.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Nice! I love deep set necks!

 

[BassHappy]

Neck pocket = done

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I'll glue the neck in soon.

Absolutely beautiful Lisa, very VERY nice. Love the lines in the "body" part of the neck - as well as the lines on the back of the neck as in the photo you posted above.

Really shaping up!

 

[Lonnybass]

Lisa-

I really like the end of the fretboard underneath the 24th fret. A nice decorative element to what is usually just a straight line.

Lonnybass

 

[lbridenstine]

Nice! I love deep set necks!

It was supposed to be a neck through, but we both decided we wanted the burl to be solid on the front and the mahogany to be solid on the back, so I guess it's a combo neck through/set neck now? Either way, while I was doing the neck pocket I was just standing there thinking "I probably should just do a normal neck through next time..."

Absolutely beautiful Lisa, very VERY nice. Love the lines in the "body" part of the neck - as well as the lines on the back of the neck as in the photo you posted above.

Really shaping up!

Thank you! The lines through the body will end up being covered, but the burl will look nicer.

Lisa-

I really like the end of the fretboard underneath the 24th fret. A nice decorative element to what is usually just a straight line.

Lonnybass

Thanks! Now I just gotta get that shape into the template and cut it out of the top so the top will fit around it.

 

[BassHappy]

It was supposed to be a neck through, but we both decided we wanted the burl to be solid on the front and the mahogany to be solid on the back, so I guess it's a combo neck through/set neck now? Either way, while I was doing the neck pocket I was just standing there thinking "I probably should just do a normal neck through next time..."



Thank you! The lines through the body will end up being covered, but the burl will look nicer.

You have me so enamored with this build that I completely spaced on that beautiful buckeye burl top~

How could I forget that!

 

[scottyd]

I didn't. I've seen a lot of people do it both ways and guess I didn't see a need for it. You could be right though, maybe I should have.

So, I just took the radius block and clamped it down on all the frets. I think it may have seated them a little better, but I did notice by looking at a different angle, that the ends aren't actually up, it just kind of looks like it because the binding is rounded over and the frets don't round with it.

It does help quite a bit, I can say this from experience, and if you ever need to pull a fret it will be less likely to pull out chunks of wood when removing it.

 

[lbridenstine]

It does help quite a bit, I can say this from experience, and if you ever need to pull a fret it will be less likely to pull out chunks of wood when removing it.

I'll try to keep that in mind. I've done a couple refrets and didn't have any issues with chipping or anything, but it couldn't hurt.

 

[lbridenstine]

I re-shaped the truss rod cover.

And while I had the naphtha out, I had to see how it looked on the neck.

Aaaand, I glued the neck in.

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[lbridenstine]

Not glued on yet, gotta do the pickup wire/ground wire routes first.

There's a small gap around the end of the neck/fretboard, between that and the burl. Should I fill it with clear or black epoxy? I think I did clear on my last one.

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[lbridenstine]

I really regret agreeing to cut out the butt end of the body to match the bark on the burl... I've already done the mahogany, so I can't back out of it, but I think I'm going to try to manipulate the shape so it's not impossible to route/sand/finish.

 

[Lonnybass]

Lisa-

By the looks of the shape of the gap, you could probably close it up by sanding back the edge under the B/E string area of the burl - it would probably even out the curve along the D/G string area, enabling you to square up the gap and close it.

Lonnybass