Fretless Cocobolo questions

[RAHAZ]

Hey all. I am new to this forum but have been looking around for a little while. I am planning on building two basses as my first venture into building my own instruments. One of which will be fretless which brings me to my question.

What is the best way to build a lined fretless fretboard? I plan on using Cocobolo with maple inlays for the lines as well as the dot inlays. This is what I was thinking I would do:

Take a fretboard blank (3/4" thick) and route the fretlines to 1/8" wide by half the depth of the board with a jig then glue, insert and clamp the maple to the board. Drill, glue and insert the dot inlays. Plane the top flat to an overall height of 5/8". After that I haven't a clue on how to get the radius I want on it (12"). How difficult is Cocobolo to work with?

Your advice is apreciated.

 

[Musiclogic]

3/4" is a bit on the thick side...even 5/8" is heavy. Most Fretboard blanks are 1/4" to 3/8" thick. You can buy slotted fretbord blanks(Cocobolo) from Luthiers Mercantile, and fr around $10 they will radius it for you too, then all you have to do is press/glue some maple veneer into the slots, and inlay your dots. Sand/level it out with a radius block and it's ready to go.

Cocobolo is relatively easy to work with, but it clogs up sandpaper quite readilly, so have a good supply handy. It an also be hard to glue because of it's oily nature, so be sure o prep the gluing surface with a good Naptha rub, or Acetone, or Alcohol, before gluing to get the surface oil cleaned off.

 

[RAHAZ]

Thanks for the advice. I'll go take a look at thier site.

 

[FBB Custom]

As musiclogic said, cocobolo clogs abrasives and can be difficult to glue. On top of that it can have interlocked grain and/or can have squirrelly grain that explodes on a planer or jointer. The dust is also a sensitizer.

It's certainly workable but it is one of the more problematic woods to work.

 

[RAHAZ]

That sounds like it will be a challenge to work but I think it'll be worth the extra effort due to it's beauty. Thanks again for the heads up on what to watch out for an measures I can take to get it to adhere better.