Making a Custom Fret Board

For people who build steel guitars

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Bobby D. Jones
Posts: 2235
Joined: 17 May 2010 9:27 am
Location: West Virginia, USA

Making a Custom Fret Board

Post by Bobby D. Jones »

Fretboards can be made easy if you have a fretboard of proper size for a pattern.

Cut a piece of thin plexiglass to match the neck.

Smooth and polish the sides and changer end edges of the plexiglass.

Lay the plexiglass on top of the fretboard being copied [b]upside down[/b]. And tape fast so it will not move.
Carefully masking tape both sides of each fret, And fill area between each fret. Tape edges carefully with masking tape. If you want fret markers to match frets cut out the pattern you choose.
Spray paint the frets and fret markers with color you choose. When paint is dry remove all tape.
Retape edges and spray background color on fret board. When paint is dry remove tape.

Turn fretboard over and secure to neck with screws or glue.


Image

By doing the painting on the bottom of the fret board the plexiglass protects paint from scratching. These fretboards was made in 1970.
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