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Topic: Advice on making fretboard please! |
Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 12 Sep 2003 6:34 pm |
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Some of you "do it yourselfers" out there please give me some advice on how to make a decent looking steel fretboard. I have some sheet aluminum stock and a template for marking off different scales. Any tricks to share??
MANY thanks. |
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 12 Sep 2003 10:37 pm
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If the aluminum is thick enough and you have access to a milling machine; (usually we think of frets as having to stick up from the fret board just like they do on a guitar) however on a couple of aluminum necks on one of my guitars, first I "engine turned"/"pearled" the surfaces then I cut the frets into the neck .045" (across the entire neck) with a .125" cutter. Then I used black pinstriping tape, which is .125" wide in the fret/slots.
Another possibility would be to annodize the plates black before cutting the frets, or tape the fret slots, spray paint the boards with black sandable primer then pull the tape out. |
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Tom Jordan
From:
Wichita, KS
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Posted 12 Sep 2003 11:52 pm
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Bill,
I'm just about finished with my scratch "Deluxe" project and am down to finishing and making the fretboard. I chose to use 1/8 plexiglass. For one, the birds eye is to pretty to cover up and second, I want to make sure that the scale and placement is correct before I do anything that I can't undo. I have a 12"x24" sheet of clear plexiglass and I can get 3 fretboards from it. First. I'll lay out the frets on the protective coating then score the fret board 1/2 way through on the bottom side for each fret. I'm hoping that this will show up well enough...I may have to paint the slots. Once I'm satisfied with the layout then I might do something real gaudy like inlaying abalone frets and markers.
Just another idea for you.
Tom Jordan |
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Mark Durante
From:
St. Pete Beach FL
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Posted 14 Sep 2003 7:57 am
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| Ed Naylor was working on repo aluminum fretboards for Fenders and Ricks, ( I still need two 22and a half inch boards for a mid fifties Rick), any progress to report Ed? |
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Denny Turner
From:
Oahu, Hawaii USA
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Posted 18 Sep 2003 4:58 am
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I think the plexiglas fretboards George Piburn makes for his George Boards are very nice looking, especially for Steels of fine woods to "show off". Plexiglas is rather easy to work with using common tools (George's are cut by a CNC machine), and the design possibilities are "limitless". Frets and designs can be etched into it rather easily and the backs can be painted which affords a nice "finish" on the viewing surface. A printed or drawn fret "board" can also be placed under the plexiglas to try out your designs before final decisions; And template patterns can be followed in a similar fashion. The frets can be etched on the back, filled with paint of color choice and another color overlayed, or the frets can be done on the front with color on the back. You can even shoot an LED, neon or other tiny light into an end and it will light the entire fretboard (although a bit weaker at the far end. Fill bottom etched frets with da-glo paint and use an ultra violet bulb for a stunning lit fretboard. Plexiglas is a great material for fretboards IMHO.
Aloha,
DT~[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 18 September 2003 at 06:00 AM.] |
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Donald Ruetenik
From:
Pleasant Hill, California, USA
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Posted 18 Sep 2003 9:37 am
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Good ideas with the plexiglass. I've used bwb pickguard material from STEWMAC. In a miter-box set up saw down to the white for the frets. Use end mills to cut dots. Very clean looking. That would work with layers of different colored opaque plexiglass.
I use FRET-CALC. |
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George Piburn
From:
The Land of Enchantment New Mexico
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Posted 8 Dec 2003 8:26 am edited
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Hello From GeorgeBoards
June 2012 --- UpDate
I do Sell 22.5" -23-24.5-25-26 scale Peel N Stick Fret Boards
If this helps feel free to contact me :
george@georgeboards.com
Last edited by George Piburn on 7 Jun 2012 8:53 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Larry Phleger
From:
DuBois, PA
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Posted 8 Dec 2003 9:03 am
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| I have used the same technique Tom used using plexiglass. After I sawed in the frets, I sprayed the back side with black paint. Then I drilled position markers part way through, and painted the drill holes. Then I removed the protective coating, and painted the whole thing gold. When it was turned over it looks like the frets and the position markers are standing up inside the plexiglass. I then attached the fret board using small screws. |
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Ed Naylor
From:
portsmouth.ohio usa, R.I.P.
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Posted 8 Dec 2003 1:44 pm
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| Mark- I was at the place today and they are working on the "Fender" type FB. I have been in this business almost 40 years and most players have no idea of what it takes to produce items such as this. Remember- there are many scales, many"width" because of 6st-8st-etc. YOU JUST CAN'T GO IN AND BUY A40 YEAR OLD Part FOR $8.I probably have a wider selection of "OLD" parts than anybody and I still have trouble getting things. Ed Naylor Steel Guitar Works |
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