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rolling fingerboard edges?
- Thread starter RS
- Start date
I've watched my tech accomplish the same thing with a few careful passes of a razor blade in a scraping motion. Obviously this wouldn't work for lacquered maple but for all other fingerboards it would be much faster and equally as effective as rolling without any risk of fret sprout.
A cautionary note about rolling the edges before fretting: I ordered a tele neck once with this option and soon discovered that the radius reduces usable the width of the fingerboard and therefore the usable length of each fret. Then the fret ends were beveled and dressed, reducing their lengths even more. The end result was that the outside E strings were much closer to the ends of the frets than normal. So on that guitar I don't do vibrato on the low E or pull offs on the high E for risk of the strings falling off the edges of fingerboard. In other words, the guitar doesn't get played much.
This is much less critical for bass but still worth noting.
A cautionary note about rolling the edges before fretting: I ordered a tele neck once with this option and soon discovered that the radius reduces usable the width of the fingerboard and therefore the usable length of each fret. Then the fret ends were beveled and dressed, reducing their lengths even more. The end result was that the outside E strings were much closer to the ends of the frets than normal. So on that guitar I don't do vibrato on the low E or pull offs on the high E for risk of the strings falling off the edges of fingerboard. In other words, the guitar doesn't get played much.
This is much less critical for bass but still worth noting.
i use a paint stick with anything from 400 to 1200 sandpaper sliding lengthwise(but i'm an autobody guy for 30 years and have'sticks' with sandpaper stuck to them laying all over the shop),,,it's not that critical if all you are seeking is getting rid of the sharp edge,your fingers will do the rest
i do it initially to rid the neck of sharp fret ends not to(neccesarily),do a major re-contour,,if that's what you're after= i can't add anything,anything you sand off is gone forever sooooo=YRMVary
i do it initially to rid the neck of sharp fret ends not to(neccesarily),do a major re-contour,,if that's what you're after= i can't add anything,anything you sand off is gone forever sooooo=YRMVary
I rolled a few boards so far and I use a mill bastard file at first:::
Then I come back for a few passes with 80# stick-on paper:::
At that point, I just run some 400 and then 800 on the same area and it's done.
If you feel it's important, take a triangle file and dress off the ends of the fret wires a little bit too.
Then I come back for a few passes with 80# stick-on paper:::
At that point, I just run some 400 and then 800 on the same area and it's done.
If you feel it's important, take a triangle file and dress off the ends of the fret wires a little bit too.
