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Measuring Frets the Easy Way - WFret to the Rescue!

wfret.zip I just thought I would use the blog feature to pass on some of what I have learned building cigar box guitars.
If you are still using a ruler to measure where to cut the frets on your fretboard or neck you are working way too hard! I measured and marked (guesstimated really since my ruler lacked the precision required for the job) the fret lines for cutting on my first cigar box guitar. I found it challenging to say the least and hoped I was accurate enough. I discovered the WFret program (see link above) for Windows by Jonathan D. Whitney on the web and gave it a try. I will never measure by hand again. I have used it for 24", 24.8", 25", 27", and 30" scale length fretboards. You can pick a popular scale length from a list or be adventurous and enter a custom scale length in inches or millimeters and you can print a template. I tape the template to the fretboard and just cut on the lines; it couldn’t be easier. Have fun Doug

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Comment by Doug Thorsvik on January 21, 2017 at 10:12am: I just cut the strips out then angle cut the ends of one side so I can line up the overlapping fret lines and then tape the strips together.

Working on moving beyond the StewMac miter box for cutting the slots to a custom sled on Harbor Freight's 4" Mighty Mite table saw! It should be more versatile technique.

Comment by Murray on January 21, 2017 at 6:11am: Question on use.

I just installed Wfret on a laptop with Windows 10. No printer connected at the moment so I print as pdf file then can carry the laptop to a printer later.

The PDF file basically looked like two lengths of fretboard laid side by side.

Obviously, most fretboards will be longer than letter-size 8.5"x11" (or metric A4?) paper, so this is probably normal...

Just cut the sections out and line them in-line?

Thank you

Comment by Murray on January 21, 2017 at 6:01am: Thank you.

Comment by Burt Philbrick on February 25, 2016 at 9:08pm: This is excellent! Thanks for sharing. I built one fretless cigar box guitar and was looking into what I need for the next build to be a fretted model.

Comment by blharmon on January 16, 2016 at 1:56pm: Wfret installs and runs using the WINE windows emulator on a linux machine.

Comment by Greg Shipley on December 8, 2013 at 5:42am: Thanks Dan That is a great download.

Comment by Dan Sleep on December 7, 2013 at 8:38am: Greg, just pick a big number like 22 or 23 and print it out. Mark the frets up until you run out of fretboard.

Comment by Greg Shipley on December 7, 2013 at 8:33am: I am new to fretting and guitar building that said i have a 3 string guitar with a fret board 17" in length and i assume the scale length is the distance from the nut to the bridge so if i am right so far and this software asks how many frets what is the answer?

Comment by Mike Strehlow on November 14, 2013 at 8:32pm: I've used this before but never tried to enter a fractional scale length that is not on the preloaded list. I am trying to enter 12 7/8 (It's a long story) but I keep getting an error message saying the scale length is 0. Any suggestions?