The Steel Guitar Forum

the fret scale for a steel guitar is taken from the nut to the bridge. yes or no? also, where can i find a fret calculator? ,y fret board is 25.5". with 24 frets.

Larry Hillman wrote:the fret scale for a steel guitar is taken from the nut to the bridge. yes or no? ...

Yes

Stewmac has an online calculator here http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Referen ... tcalc.html

Here is an online program that will calculate your fret spacing and create a template that can be printed. You specify the scale length, number of strings, number of frets, and the string spacing at the nut and bridge. The program then creates a printable template.

http://www.ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d/

If you are replacing a fretboard, I have some original Sho-Bud 25 1/2 inch scale eight string fretboards with 24 frets.

17.817 is the constant...

Thanks guys. got my fret spacing. when you live on SS retirement, you don't just go out and buy it. you DIY. now i'll see if I can find the electronics for it.
does anyone know of a web site that shows how to build a volume peddel? i have a reverb. again, thanks all.

I too am on SS retirement and know what you mean. I am in the process of building a D10 non-pedal console. I decided to wind my own pickups. It was a lot of fun. I made my winder out or a discarded sewing machine, and rigged up a counter with an old adding machine I picked up at Goodwill for around 4 dollars. There is a great deal of information on Youtube about building and electronics. Stewart Mac Donald is a good source of supplies, and they have a wealth of information on electronics and other topics related to building and repair. Please post pictures of your finished product.

My last build when it came to the fret board I set my bridge and nut for a 25" scale. Then I used my tuner and found each fret with my bar and marked it with a pen. The 1st string then the 10th string. All the way up the fretboard . You can measure out a fretboard out, but a guitar tuner is on the money.

Jerry, just curious... how did you align the pen mark with the bar position?

Jeff, It is quite easy. You put a sharpie marker mark on the bullet point of the bar and line it up with a set square.

Cool! Thanks.

HEY Jeff I USED A 3/8 SPADE DRILL BIT, i HELD IT'S POINT DOWN AT THE FRETBOARD.
I used the cutting edge on the string

Jeff; Larry here. I picked up a digital caliper from
e-bay to mark the fret spacing then used a sharpi
to pull the lines.

i used my kids 30 year old erector set to build a uickup winder. even had a level winder on it. had to use two motors tho.