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C B Getty fret slot saw and miter box

Does any have any feedback on the use of the C B Getty fret slotting saw and miter box? I would like to fret a neck and was wondering if this works nicely are not. Thanks for any info.If not I may have to try something else. Definitely not going to Stewmac for their jig. Nice but way out of my price range.

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on September 5, 2018 at 5:34pm

Here’s a link to a video using it for a neck, they should work fine. It was invented just for cbg’s. Ben knows what he’s doing as far as quality.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9TPZ4TCY_Ug

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Permalink Reply by Frank Scott on September 6, 2018 at 3:26am

Thanks for the video Brian but it is for the scarf joint which is nice. I am looking for info on their fret jig.

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Permalink Reply by Webster Miller on September 6, 2018 at 2:53am

I wouldn't want to cut fret slots without some sort of depth stop. It takes all the guess work out of how deep to cut; just saw until the stop is reached. It ensures that the slots are uniformly deep; not just from slot to slot but the individual slot itself. I use a piece of aluminum channel (flat side down) that I stick to the saw blade with double sided carpet tape. As I'm using a flush cut saw, this also serves to make the blade rigid. No miter box for me; I simply use a 6" square to ensure my cuts are straight.

I had a neck I needed to slot so I decided to go ahead and do so in order to get you a couple of pictures and to see how long it actually takes me. It's a 19 fret neck and took me 11 minutes to cut all the slots. FWIW the saw is a Stanley Fat Max flush cut and I've been very happy with it as a fret saw. I'm pretty sure the Kerf is .020".

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Permalink Reply by Frank Scott on September 6, 2018 at 3:24am

Thanks for the info Webster. I have never seen a saw like that . The Fat Max saw I had seen on Amazon had teeth on the bottom and a handle unless the handle ride that was attached covered up the teeth on the upper side. It looks like it has teeth on the top and bottom or am I just confused? The aluminum channel is a wise choice I like that. What type of channel is it? Does it have a specific name if I looked at Lowes or Home Depot? I looked up the saw

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Permalink Reply by Webster Miller on September 6, 2018 at 3:43am

The aluminum channel will be found were rods/flats/tubes are sold at Home Depot. Here's a pic of the actual sticker on it. FWIW, this same channel can be used to build Martin style truss rods.

Yes, the saw has teeth on both sides as it is designed to be used for flush cutting of dowels and such with a specific side facing up. So depending on the location of what you are cutting you might have to use one side or the other. With this is mind I always cut my fret slots with the 'down' side resting against the square's edge and the channel taped to the 'up' side. Same is true when I'm using the saw for cutting boxes; I use the 'up' side towards the waste side of the cut. In all honesty I can't tell a difference in the actual resulting cut, but it never hurts to err on the side of caution.