Before kickoff!

Going to get some fret work in before watching football today.
I think I am going to start fretting the boards before gluing them to the neck. It is too much work making them perfectly flat on a shaped neck. I have always done it this way because I learned to fret doing refrets. I have also always worried about introducing water when gluing and the neck moving as it is shaped. However my laminated neck blanks have proven very stable and I think this is the way I will be going in the future.


No frets and done.



I have changed the angle of my fret bevel (to 25 degrees) again. For a while I was running it at about 10 degrees (very steep) and doing hemispherical fret ends. That has been met with mixed reviews and it is a lot of work. I am moving back to a more traditional bevel but still more vertical than the 35 degree standard. Here are some shots of my bevel block... nice chunk of padauk. It still does vertical by moving the file to the other side (for hemispherical ends).




Tuner holes drilled. You have to be very careful with padauk as it is prone to tear-out while drilling. I did fine on the first holes (use a sharp 5/16" brad point and nice block of wood behind) but when I used the mill to create the step it tore out a little. I still have some sanding to do so I will fill them and sand the flat (all is under the tuner). I know you are thinking why do all that if they are hidden? Contact area is important for tone. Never leave voids under metal parts if you can help it.



Knots are filed now.


And a little tape and the neck glued in.