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| Fretting question http://mowrystrings.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=14996 |
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| Author: | Philip Perdue [ Sun Dec 16, 2007 7:15 am ] |
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I'm ready to fret my second instrument and have a question. Why don't we fret the entire fret board at one time? To my inexperienced observation it seems like it would be easier to fret the entire board then install on the neck and your ready to go. I used this method with sucess on my first instrument but it was a short scale. Thanks as always Philip |
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| Author: | SteveCourtright [ Sun Dec 16, 2007 7:31 am ] |
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[QUOTE=konacat] Why don't we fret the entire fret board at one time? [/QUOTE] Philip, I think most folks do it all at once! |
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| Author: | David Collins [ Sun Dec 16, 2007 7:44 am ] |
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I do fret the entire board at one time - after everything is finished, buffed, assembled and bridge glued on. If you're jigged to the gills, and have built enough instruments on the same tools and procedures to achieve reliable consistency, you can work out a method of fretting the neck before the instrument is assembled. For small builders I think it is extremely difficult to ensure that the fret board will still be as perfectly level after assembly as it was when you fretted it early. I am a big advocate of fretting being among the very very last things done on an instrument. When the bridge is on and it's ready to put strings on, then is the time to level the board and then fret it. There are so many places and times for minor humps, kinks and irregular curves to occur in a board during assembly. I have seen so so many guitars from small builders in which one of the first things I can say with certainty upon inspection is "oh, they fretted the board before assembly". Often times the builders don't even notice the flaws because they are usually preoccupied with things like plate tuning and clean binding joints. I'm focused on the functional geometry and playability. Some people can fret a board even before attaching it to a neck and get great results, but not many - certainly not many builders using water- based glues. I guess fretting as a last step never seemed an obstacle to me, because that's how I've always done it. In short, leaving the board leveling and fretting to last can help ensure a good level surface, which can be difficult to maintain in pre-fretting. |
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