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Comment by colin mcgrath on February 4, 2011 at 7:41am

I thought I remember seeing something like that. Cool, you used bolted on blocks as a guide right? Yup, just looked, is it a good thickness of blade for the spools of fret wire? Or do you use something different for the frets?

Comment by Jon Pruett on February 4, 2011 at 7:20am

Cheap and good working fret saw  ($14) -  http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/inexpesive-fret-saw-and-...

With a few quick modifications to install a wood rail depth guide I've been very happy with it.

Comment by colin mcgrath on February 4, 2011 at 7:14am

And wes, I seem to have hands that attract razor blades myself. They make a nice clean cut though 8v#

Comment by colin mcgrath on February 4, 2011 at 7:13am

Mama, he thought the hand planer would be better suited for this application. I think they were using the large planer and he did not want to mess with adjusting the height. I have hesitation on buying a fret saw, if I could find one with the guide for around $20 I'd buy it. I am genetically disposed to penny pinching, lol.

Josh, I do have a 2" wide hand planer that I recently got a new iron for, and practiced my strokes for the first time. It was hard getting a smooth pass on some 100 yr old cedar I was working on. The wood that got electric planed was African Blackwood. It seems to be fairly dense wood. I might have to look into building my own D.T. Sander. They seem pretty costly.

Comment by Mama Mojo on February 4, 2011 at 7:03am

Great! Thanks, Josh! I think some of hte woods that I have are far too soft and would need a drum thickness sander. I've got some maple that looks almost spalted and frankly, I am not sure how well it would work as a fretboard but it sure is beautiful. I will probably do some test runs with different woods to test them out.... anyway thanks a bunch!

Comment by Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) on February 4, 2011 at 6:58am

If you have a bench plane then you should have no trouble at all.  They're easy as hell to work with and shouldn't leave any burrs.  You will note, however, that certain woods will tear under the blade (even the sharpest of blades).  Woods like Ebony are especially notorious for this.  For those types of woods, it's helpful to use a drum thickness sander if you can find it.

Comment by Mama Mojo on February 4, 2011 at 6:46am

Thanks, Fellas! This isn't a hand electric planer - it's one that you run the board through.... I figure some amount of fear is healthy - gives me respect for the tools and makes me slow down and think. I can recall when I first got my drill press and my 14" band saw - I was afraid of them, too. But after my neighbor did a demo for me and then had me try it using them myself I was ok. But I still try to be as careful as possible. I've cut myself so many times on hand tools that I am surprised that I still have all of my digits. My biggest boo-boo was accidentally kicking a metal A-frame guitar stand with no shoes on while I was rushing to get a 4-stringer done. I busted my toe in 2 places. It hurt like hell.... and I had to stay off it for 4 weeks because the bone had to be set and needed time to fuse. Stupid human trick.... So I don't even need tools to bang myself up in my workshop! I manage just fine without them!

Colin, I'll look out for those burs - I'd still need to sand after planing anyway, but they are good to know about. And fretting isn't all that bad once you have the hang of it and you have the right tools. I really recommend the StewMac fret cutters - they work like butter, and there are a variety of techniques for cutting the frets to the proper width. StewMac's saw works great, and does Darren's (Big Daddy's) scroll saw technique. I have found that clamps are one of the most important tools if I am hand cutting them using the saw - keeping the board in one place makes a huge difference.

Comment by colin mcgrath on February 4, 2011 at 6:37am

So my doh! moment was on my last build. First when I glued the fingerboard down and went to clamp it I did not notice that the wood moved, so when I removed all the clamps I saw that my fingerboard was askew by around 1/8" or so. I drilled the hole for my tuner peg slightly off (it's one of those 3in1 deals). And I have the thick head also so I chiseled away a groove before the peg to have room for the string to sit. The neck is unfinished so I can go back and repair any fuckups I can.

Comment by colin mcgrath on February 4, 2011 at 6:24am

I just had my cousin use an electric planer on a fingerboard recently. He is a pro carpenter and so I trust his hand more than mine. The thing about that planer was that it left "burs" on the wood, looked like little waves on the surface. Anyway he suggested using a scraper, kinda looks like a thin metal credit card. However I would have to order one and they cost a little under $20. So, I hand sanded up moving up to 400grit. Smooth as a baby bottom. I don't even want to mess with frets (this was going to be my first attempt at burning them on).

Comment by Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) on February 4, 2011 at 6:23am

Wes, I said that exact same thing to myself regarding a kitchen knife right before going to the hospital to get stitches in my hand.

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