Q's: Necessity of Fretboard, Using Fretting Scale Length Template, Using Miter Box

Hi There,

I enjoy woodworking and decided to make a small guitar for my brother. I've got a couple of construction questions and I'd appreciate any help.

1.I just learned that there is a difference between a fretboard and a guitar neck. In professional guitars, it seems the fretboard is used to hide a truss or to show off a nice wood on a budget. It doesn't seem there would be that much tension with the three strings. Is the fretboard necessary?

2. I ordered the "Fretting Scale Length Template" from CBGitty.com. With normal woodworking patterns, you size the patterns to fit the project. However, these templates that I ordered are already to size. Would most people cut the template out, lay it on their guitar neck, mark both sides of the template in pencil, and then cut the frets?

3. CBGitty.com also sells a plywood miter box called a "fret-cutting jig." What is the advantage of this over a traditional miter box and square jig? Will one of these suffice for cutting the fret trenches? Is there something special about a "fret-cutting jig?" (I have seen the very expensive jigs used by the pros and there is no way I'm investing in one of those!)

Thanks for your interest and help.

-Mart

Views: 673

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

The saw I intended to use is .022". It's a real go-to for any general purpose cutting and it is fantastic for dovetails and finger joints too. Japanese saws are very popular right now and I'm all for them!

Good advice on the fretboard. I'm hearing you say something similar to Taffy, which is to be careful with the height of the strings. I like the idea of using a prettier wood like zebra or kingwood, but I also like the idea that these little guitars are mostly functional and made out of necessity.

Thanks again, Oily!

--MB

I had to have I little chuckle reading this thread, been there done that.

Must have been 40 odd years ago, trying to find the best saw for fretting. I posted a few through the ages. Now I use the Stumac circular saw and their fretting pull saw.

Back in the day I tried increasing the set on the saw for a wider slot, or removing the set of the teeth to get a finer slot. Happy days!

Cheers Taff 

There is no way I'm going to start filing down teeth. You're a committed man, Taff, I'll give you that! --MB

HaHa, you don't have to do that now days,the proper tools are easily available.

Cutting the slots for the frets was very easy thanks to everyone's advice. I used a Japanese saw which is always a pleasure to use. To keep it straight, I just put the neck into a traditional miter box (I think a $5 plastic miter box would be fine). For each slot, it took just a few quick pulls of the saw to get sufficient depth. I'm sure all those Spanish guitar makers have a better technique, but this worked very well! Thanks, everyone!

RSS

The Essential Pages

New to Cigar Box Nation? How to Play Cigar Box GuitarsFree Plans & How to Build Cigar Box GuitarsCigar Box Guitar Building Basics

Site Sponsor

Recommended Links & Resources


Forum

Nut

Started by Bill Andy in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Bill Andy 17 hours ago. 5 Replies

crossover guitar.

Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Apr 10. 14 Replies

Tune up songs

Started by Ghostbuttons in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 9. 5 Replies

Duel output jacks

Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 8. 6 Replies

Latest Activity

Profile IconMark Smith and Mick Tickner joined Cigar Box Nation
13 minutes ago
Doug Thorsvik posted a video

On Top of Spaghetti: 3D Printed Cigar Box Guitar

Cigar Box Guitar Slingers - Spokane, 200th Zoom Mtg 04/29/24. Only 1-finger chords, free songbooks here: https://www.cbgslinger.com/download CBG Songbook.pdf...
1 hour ago
Bill Andy posted discussions
17 hours ago
Bill Andy replied to Bill Andy's discussion Nut
17 hours ago
Doug Thorsvik commented on Doug Thorsvik's video
Thumbnail

200th Zoom Meeting and feeling “The Weight”: 3D Printed Cigar Box Guitar

"Thanks Kale! I’m still routinely “surprised” at how many songs just work on only…"
17 hours ago
Keith Rearick liked 3 String Blues's video
20 hours ago
Keith Rearick liked Gary O'slide's video
20 hours ago
Keith Rearick liked AGP #'s photo
20 hours ago
Keith Rearick liked AGP #'s photo
20 hours ago
Keith Rearick liked AGP #'s photo
20 hours ago
Keith Rearick liked AGP #'s photo
20 hours ago
Keith Rearick liked AGP #'s photo
20 hours ago

Music

© 2024   Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

\uastyle>\ud/** Scrollup **/\ud.scrollup {\ud background: url("https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/963882636?profile=original") no-repeat scroll 0 0 transparent;\ud bottom: 25px;\ud display: inline !important;\ud height: 40px;\ud opacity: 0.3 !important;\ud position: fixed;\ud right: 30px;\ud text-indent: -9999px;\ud width: 40px;\ud z-index: 999;\ud}\ud.scrollup:hover {\ud opacity:0.99!important;\ud}\ud \uascript type="text/javascript">\ud x$(document).ready(function(){\ud x$(window).scroll(function(){\ud if (x$(this).scrollTop() > 100) {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeIn();\ud } else {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeOut();\ud }\ud });\ud x$('.scrollup').click(function(){\ud x$("html, body").animate({ scrollTop: 0 }, 600);\ud return false;\ud });\ud });\ud \ua!-- End Scroll Up -->