fret board material

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) on January 19, 2010 at 2:00pm

If I'm making a neck out of cheap wood, I'll use a 1/4" thick poplar or red oak board. You can get them at Lowes or Home Depot, right necks to the boards that they typically use for necks. If you want to get into making necks out of fancier materials, I highly recommend developing your skills on these lower cost woods first. That way, if you mess something up you're only out a few bucks and some wasted effort.

Permalink Reply by Arnold ( ARNIE ) Rydberg Jr. on February 20, 2010 at 12:03pm

STEWMAC.com has unfinished fret boards , ETC. HAS anyone used a 4 pole bass pickup or TWO 4 pole bass pickups on a CBGB ??? PEACE / Arnie Rydberg

Permalink Reply by Rick Martin on March 9, 2010 at 10:21am

Sam,
I try to use only regional (North American) woods for my builds, and among those I try to use the hardest woods I can for the separate fret boards. Maple is nice because it's hard and fairly easy to get and smooths to a glass-like finish easily. Also, walnut is a pretty hard wood, but not as easy to find. Maybe your best bet for a separate fret board wood from a lumber store would be oak, white or red. It's the basis of many mouldings and most stores sell whole oak boards. It's hard and stiff, which will make it lie flat against the neck when gluing. A piece of oak moulding might serve, since it's already fairly thin, so you will need to do minimal planing. I am a long time wood-worker, and the only thing I have found necessary for preparing oak for a smooth surface, is to fill the thick grain with wood filler then smooth it.

Permalink Reply by Sam Fontenot on March 9, 2010 at 1:18pm

where do u find maple and walnut, locally i have been havig issues of finding a good source of woods

Rick Martin said:

Sam,
I try to use only regional (North American) woods for my builds, and among those I try to use the hardest woods I can for the separate fret boards. Maple is nice because it's hard and fairly easy to get and smooths to a glass-like finish easily. Also, walnut is a pretty hard wood, but not as easy to find. Maybe your best bet for a separate fret board wood from a lumber store would be oak, white or red. It's the basis of many mouldings and most stores sell whole oak boards. It's hard and stiff, which will make it lie flat against the neck when gluing. A piece of oak moulding might serve, since it's already fairly thin, so you will need to do minimal planing. I am a long time wood-worker, and the only thing I have found necessary for preparing oak for a smooth surface, is to fill the thick grain with wood filler then smooth it.

Permalink Reply by Arnold ( ARNIE ) Rydberg Jr. on March 9, 2010 at 5:34pm

FOR YOUR WOOD CHECK OUT www.ROCKLER.com ALSO exotic stuff at - www.Lmii.com PEACE - Arnie Rydberg

Permalink Reply by Alan Roberts on March 26, 2010 at 1:54pm

It's a question of HOW MANY fretboards do you need? If you only need one or two, your options are limited.

I just turned a $4.00 chunk of walnut into a five 34.5" x 1.5" x 0.25" strips for CBGs and a few wider 2.5" x 0.25" strips for 6-string instruments. First reaction was "Wow, almost no waste." Second one "What the HECK am I going to do with all these fretboards?" Each of the 34-inch pieces is long enough for one CBG plus enough left over for a uke, so that could be maybe a dozen fretboards for $4.

I'm no "tool master," but if you can run a table saw and have 10 fingers left over at the end of the day, you can do this.

Permalink Reply by Jordan Burk on July 1, 2010 at 1:14am

www.woodcraft.com has some good wood also, but I am lucky enough to have a woodcraft store not far from me, and you can get some good deals in store that arn't on line, and there is several other wood working stores around the area I live. Walnut is pretty easy to get in Oregon.

Permalink Reply by Alan Roberts on July 1, 2010 at 9:25am

Jordan Burk said:

and there is several other wood working stores around the area I live...

Have you tried Urban Lumber? 2440 Main Street, Springfield, OR (541) 988-9663. I've found some AMAZING pieces of wood there.

Permalink Reply by Jordan Burk on July 1, 2010 at 7:17pm

I have been there. It's a nice place. I haven't got any wood there, but they do have a nice selection of woods. I haven't needed to buy any wood for a while, so I haven't been there, or any other woodworking stores for some time.

Alan Roberts said:

Jordan Burk said:

and there is several other wood working stores around the area I live...

Have you tried Urban Lumber? 2440 Main Street, Springfield, OR (541) 988-9663. I've found some AMAZING pieces of wood there.

Permalink Reply by Mama Mojo on July 1, 2010 at 7:36pm

Excellent advise, Josh - I learned this the hard way..... bye-bye $20 piece of rosewood....

Permalink Reply by Jordan Burk on July 2, 2010 at 3:05am

Have you found any local sorces for cigar box's?

Alan Roberts said:

Jordan Burk said:

and there is several other wood working stores around the area I live...

Have you tried Urban Lumber? 2440 Main Street, Springfield, OR (541) 988-9663. I've found some AMAZING pieces of wood there.

Permalink Reply by Alan Roberts on July 2, 2010 at 8:48am

Jordan Burk said:

Have you found any local sorces for cigar box's?

Not in Lane County, heh heh.

You need to put some photos up on your page.

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