Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on November 12, 2017 at 9:49pm

I've been reading this thread for a few days now, so I thought I'd have my 2 cents worth, I can't think of any good reason to go with a 1/8th fretboard as a 1st choice, my reasons, among others are, 1. it will add very little to the strength of the neck, and any imperfections in the trueness of the neck top will just be followed. 2 . any sanding or finishing resulting in thinning the board will become more obvious on the smaller board. 3. because of the lack of depth, side markers are unlikely to be easy to fix, and the reduction in break angle at the nut needs to be considered. As I say, these are just my thoughts on the issue, i feel that it just makes the whole build harder by reducing the margins in the adjustment areas

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Permalink Reply by Ducati Scotty on November 13, 2017 at 4:45am

All good points, but you can build a CBG on a bare 1x2 and it works just fine.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on November 12, 2017 at 10:34pm

What Darryl says is all very relevant, but I should point out that early banjos, mandolins and guitars had very thin fingerboards, many less than 1/8".
Cheers Taff.

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Permalink Reply by JL on November 13, 2017 at 2:43am

You can also treat the 1/8 boards like veneers, glue on to the neck before cutting the fret slots, put the side dots in the neck, cut the nut slot into the neck through the veneer, use for headstock decoration, etc

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Permalink Reply by Ducati Scotty on November 13, 2017 at 4:46am

This is basically how I’d use them. I use a zero fret instead of a nut so no worries there.

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on November 13, 2017 at 5:16am

Ok . my 5.5 cents plus 13% Canadian tax  on this is :     Remember  to try not to overthink stuff , or , underestimate stuff either . Heck,  you can fret a bare  1x2 neck  3 string  with no fretboard  and  no worries , (with a good piece of wood) .  and a fretless  = even less worry.  Not to mention ,  A 1/8th fretboard may  bring the neck to the  height of / match the thickness of / , the box top , making a flush fit  without cutting out any neck space . resulting  in less work and a nice look .  Inlay height would match better too . heck  you could   drill through  or  scroll cut out the negative space  and fill in with what ever . heck even leave the negative  / scroll designs for a nice carved look .(on a slider)  . etc etc etc .. the possibilities are endless . 

Sometimes it is better to explain why you did something ..... than to ask if you should first  ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Ducati Scotty on November 13, 2017 at 5:30am

Yes, sometimes better to just forge ahead, but this thread is generating some really good info.

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on November 13, 2017 at 5:51am

Wasn't givin ya grief for asking .  just bringing  it back to simplicity .  ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Ducati Scotty on November 13, 2017 at 6:15am

Cheers to that! Often best not to overthink things, but then what are internet forums for? ;)

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Permalink Reply by Scavanged Sound (Pete) on November 13, 2017 at 5:31am

I agree. My first guitar build I used a nice solid piece of 1x2 maple for the neck and fretted it. Even though I shaved a little meat of the neck while shaping it, It is still pretty much dead straight after over a year.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on November 13, 2017 at 7:48am

I use 1" x 2" boards for my necks(actual 3/4" x 1&1/2") and then apply a 1/4" x 2"(actual) for the fingerboard/fretboard.

Using a 1/8" thick piece would okay for a non-fretted git, but not for a fretted git in my opinion. The groove for the fret tang is usually 1/8" or close to it.

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on November 13, 2017 at 2:03pm

Goes to show that shopping/hunting   for the right/ adequate  piece of wood , is just  an important knowledge base as building is.

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