My fretboard maker, who I am happy with, only makes in cherry and maple. I would appreciate other sources using more natural colored wood or different materials in a 24.75 or 25.5" scales length
Thanks
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A little lower end, CB GItty offers pre-made and slotted fingerboards, in a variety of exotic woods. But again, not super cheap.
If you invest in the right equipment, you can make your own out of any wood you wish. I use a thickness planer (low end model, which works well for me), a fret ruler, and a fret miter box and saw. You can also find fret calculators online so you can select any fret spacing you want.
If you are good with hand tools, you can use just a saw and bench plane to make fingerboards, but there is a big learning curve in this method.
Very good point! Gitty's plastic template works really well, the real trick is having a good miter box (and you won't find one at Home Depot!) I ended up making one. The trick is to make a box, then cut it in half with a good table saw or chop saw. Then bolt it down to a straight piece of wood... makes a nice tight fit...
Trivia that's a little off topic: The guys at Stew-Mac claim that Martin, USA has been using the same "gang" saw to cut frets for years--even as the blades warp further and further out of line. They propose to date Martin guitars by measuring the amount of error in the fretboards.
I've been buying Jatoba from a local hardwood supplier. It is used in flooring and is really really really hard. Not sure if anybody is making fretboards for sell out of this stuff, but I really like it.
Oh, and I have some Purple Heartwood, too...
The stuff is hard enough to make bridges out of, and I've been using them experimentally for nuts (with a bit of thin CA to stregthen...) so far so good...
Replies
It sounds like you are looking for pre-made fingerboards already slotted for frets. It can get expensive.
http://www.stewmac.com/SiteSearch/fingerboard.html.
A little lower end, CB GItty offers pre-made and slotted fingerboards, in a variety of exotic woods. But again, not super cheap.
If you invest in the right equipment, you can make your own out of any wood you wish. I use a thickness planer (low end model, which works well for me), a fret ruler, and a fret miter box and saw. You can also find fret calculators online so you can select any fret spacing you want.
If you are good with hand tools, you can use just a saw and bench plane to make fingerboards, but there is a big learning curve in this method.
Very good point! Gitty's plastic template works really well, the real trick is having a good miter box (and you won't find one at Home Depot!) I ended up making one. The trick is to make a box, then cut it in half with a good table saw or chop saw. Then bolt it down to a straight piece of wood... makes a nice tight fit...
Trivia that's a little off topic: The guys at Stew-Mac claim that Martin, USA has been using the same "gang" saw to cut frets for years--even as the blades warp further and further out of line. They propose to date Martin guitars by measuring the amount of error in the fretboards.
I always put a couple of frets on crooked so you can tell it's hand made...
I've been buying Jatoba from a local hardwood supplier. It is used in flooring and is really really really hard. Not sure if anybody is making fretboards for sell out of this stuff, but I really like it.
Oh, and I have some Purple Heartwood, too...
The stuff is hard enough to make bridges out of, and I've been using them experimentally for nuts (with a bit of thin CA to stregthen...) so far so good...
John