Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Clock The Wolf on August 23, 2012 at 10:59am

Don't bother with fingerboard radius for a 3/4 string... and, whatever you do, don't bother with Stew Mac.

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on August 23, 2012 at 11:49am

how critical ?  not   at  all  .   on a  3 stringer   ,, its  almost pointless .

 

 

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Permalink Reply by wormil on August 23, 2012 at 8:43pm

I was thinking of trying it once just for S&G. Figured I'd make a radius sanding block from a couple pieces of MDF stacked and glued then cove cut on my tablesaw. Probably will never get around to it but it might be fun to do once.

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Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on August 25, 2012 at 6:05am

Really, don't bother. Maybe later on if you want to do really serious 6 string electric or something. Spend time rounding off the BACK of the neck, that will pay off!

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Permalink Reply by Ken Henry on August 25, 2012 at 6:35am

Thanks a lot guys I really appreciate the help. I doubt seriously if I will do any 6 string stuff. At least until I feel like I have gotten really good at building!! I do have a reasonable amount of confidence in my craftsmanship as I once built a portable massage table that was as good a a factory made . That was in '01 and I still have it. I just bought a router table and I got a bit for doing stair rails which I thought pretty closely resembled the BACK of a guitar neck, I got it for $28 at Home Depot which was half price. I would NOT have paid $59( for it though!!!  Also just had to order a new set of batteries for my B&D cordless VPX drill. One of them took a dump on me so I just bought two new ones. Really looking forward to getting started. I will be taking lots of pics as I go along and posting them and maybe a vid or two.

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Permalink Reply by L.J. on August 26, 2012 at 12:11am

Putting a radius on a fingerboard makes it easier to play for the Human hand to grip chords on a neck. I also do not believe it is worth your time on a 3 string. The more strings you use the more important it will become to radius the fretboard. From what I have learned the more curved/radius that is put into the fretboard the easier to chord, but it also makes your strings buzz out if you are trying to do a lot of big bends . There was a video posted here where a member made a jig to hold his router and it allowed for a radius quick and easy. I never got to play one of his builds but it seemed like a good idea.

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Permalink Reply by Richard G Caudill on August 26, 2012 at 4:30am

I've done the radius for 3/4 stringers ... It is not a good thing ..  the neck is so narrow that the frets are bent to much at the ends  and are almost impossible to get smoothed up ..   Was definately not worth the time n effort ..  I find ,,as posted here, getting a good back that fits the hand and finger lengths is  a much better use of time n energy ..  My thoughts

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Permalink Reply by Walter Cengia on August 26, 2012 at 11:06pm

If you only ever buy one tool from StewMacs, make it a Safe-T planer, that's if you have a drill press of course. Not only can you do a bunch of jobs with it but you can also make your own radius blocks.

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=25182&st=...

Don't  forget the VB, it helps get the radius just right.

regards

Walt

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Permalink Reply by rusty case on September 5, 2012 at 3:50pm

IMO, you could do nearly as well as a store bought sanding block thingy by simply gluing a fresh piece of sandpaper to a nice flat stick of suitable length and width for the task...  compress it overnight.  

discard it when it outlives it's usefulness...   a little here, a little there, and you shall get to where you wish to be!  :-)

Best

rc

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Permalink Reply by level6 on January 23, 2013 at 12:52pm

Does giving the fretboard a radius drastically affect using a slide with it?  I could see that if the radius is super small, it would, but I mean the larger 10/12/16" radius..es.. ii?  I loved how my slide held all 4 strings down on a flat, fret-less fretboard, but it sure was weird to finger.  I am just wondering whether giving it a [very slight] 12 or 16" radius would ruin the ease of keeping the slide on all of the strings?

Also, Ken, here is an awesome video on easily making your own radius sanding blocks: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWN5AqNeDfE

Raymond.

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Permalink Reply by rusty case on January 23, 2013 at 3:07pm

radius of the fingerboard should make no difference when using a slide unless it is quite peaked and there is a very close string clearance, and you wish to press down on your slide aggressively.

Small radius on the nut and bridge will definitely make a difference, though!

You will get to some point where a slide will only make contact with 2 strings!

...agreed..  I don't quite care for a flat flat fingerboard!  

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Permalink Reply by Wade on January 23, 2013 at 4:25pm

Some one here made their own radius block by carefully layering masking tape along the length of a wood block and then attaching some sandpaper

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