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I just bought the LMI slotting system. How do you guys and gals slot your fretboards?

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Table saw, cross cut sled (dedicated to cutting fret slots) and the 6" dia x 0.0245" kerf table saw blade from Shane at High Mountain with 5" blade stiffeners. I also had some acrylic fret slot templates CNC'd for me which I use.

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Did the first 10 by hand, but then got a table saw, so had to lash out on the Stew Mac table saw blade and their Fret scale template, used with a home made sled. After cutting a couple of fret boards this way, I'll never go back.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

Same as Rod and Allen.

I cut my first fretboard using the Manual Slotting system and then purchased the Power Slotting System from LMI for #2.

I have to say it makes cutting the fret slots a whole lot more enjoyable.

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

A question from someone with no experience.

If you use a table saw to cut the fret slots, I assume you cut the slots prior to radiusing teh fret board so it's easier to hold the fret board level. After teh radius is added, the slot is deeper in the middle than on the edges of the fret board. Does this cause any problems?

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Same as Rod. Newly made sled. I put a removable fence on it since it seems there is no standard size for registration pin sizes. Used a High Mountain blade on a test piece and it worked sweet. The first time I used one was at a friends place. I had to knock his guru status down a notch after seeing how fast and simple it is. Very simple and the only way to go Chuck, if you have a table saw.

Good Luck,
Danny

I also use the StewMac blade and template with a table saw sled.

When I first got going, I used a standard miter box saw from Lee Valley to just mark the cut (very lightly as the blade is wider than .023). Then I would finish the cut with LMI's hand saw. The results were good, but it took quite a bit of time. I didn't use templates either so I had to mark everything by hand.

Then I bought a table saw blade from LMI. I still had to mark them on the reverse side by hand since I didn't own a template, but I built a carrier sled in which I took a pass with a regular table saw blade (but just shy of a finger board thickness) and then I took an extra cut, this time higher, with the .023 blade. It was then easy work to just align the mark on the fb to the narrow kerf in the sled, one pass back and forth and voila, I shaved a considerable amount of time from this tedious process.

After that, I bought a beautiful aluminium template from Stew-Mac and I just added a registration pin (1/16) in where the narrow kerf was and I shaved even more time off the process. I went from 1hour+ (being conservative here) to about 5 minutes...

Darryl, when you're cutting the fingerboard, just take into consideration that your radius will take away some depth to the cut. For a 12ft radius, you'll take off about 3/16. Just go a bit deeper, however, the fret tang is not that deep, so you don't need to go overboard.

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

I use the same table saw rig also.
It is way worth your time to make up a dedicated, double runner sled to make the cuts.

Darryl, The fact that a fret slot cut is deeper in the center doesn’t affect much. In fact, if you have cut a bit too deep, it’s not too much a big deal either. If you plan on binding your fret board anyway, it’s even less a problem. It is best to get it close however, especially if you don’t have a lot of extra thickness to work with.
With unbound fret boards, I have cut a bit shallow sometimes. This is when a .023” hand saw comes in handy. Just hand cut the slots deeper that need to be and you are good to go. You could even get more picky and finish-cut the slots fallowing the radius contour.

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Wade
Nashua, NH
http://www.wadefx.com

Table saw, sled and acrylic templates with a .027 blade (for ebony boards). Takes about two minutes to do a board. Slickest thing since sliced cheese.

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Hank Mauel

Hank, where'd you get that .027 blade?

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

Oh, I knew somebody would ask me that after I posted it!
I'm going to have to go dig up some old paperwork in the shop...or maybe the manufacturer's name still shows on the blade.
I'll get back to you...

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Hank Mauel

I outsource my fretboard slotting to LMI. When buying the kit it's only 3 bucks for the service and it's really not worth buying a table saw (which I have no space for) or spending hours hand slotting. I can radius the fretboard with the radius block but I prefer not doing that because it's tedious.

Unless I get a steal on a huge stash of fingerboard wood and are doing full on production, or building an instruments with a VERY odd scale (which means I need to move to a real shop space with dust collection and stuff) it's just not worth the trouble to equip myself with the ability to slot/radius fretboards.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Digging out some old catalogs, it came from Thurston in Rhode Island about ten years ago and was a special order. There is a phone number 401-232-9100 or fax 401-232-9101. Give them a call and see what they say. They also have a web site at http://www.thurstonmfg.com. It has a 5/8" arbor hole for a table saw and has about 10 teeth to the inch. Less teeth per inch will give a larger gullet and carry away more sawdust and probably work just as well. May be cheaper, too
LMI has a .025 now, but I still find the .027 works better in ebony boards by allowing a skosh more room for the fret tang and limiting blowout of ebony along the slot cut edge. If Thurston doesn't work out, give Chris a call at LMI and see what they can do.

Use stabilizers and DriCote on the blade for better performance.

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Hank Mauel

I have High Mountains blade along with Lmiis & Stew Mac.
Shanes extra width is the winner .
Especially in Ebony !
I use a dedicated sled on an old Sears 9" saw(yes 9")
Cutting the slots it's such an improvement over hand slicing them!

I have seen hand cut Spanish & German (famous makers) from the 20's to the 60's -the slots were not always where they should have been !
I've personally have cut 100 + fingerboards (with a back saw & guide) and let me tell ya-your hand-wrist area gets tired fast!
Which can mess up your accuracy !

Mike

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Mike Collins

Hey Mike,

I'd like to support Shane anyway, but out of curiosity why not Stew Mac? I like the "no stabilizer" idea...but if you resign yourself to using the stabilizers, Shane's beats LMI?

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

Shanes blade width is perfect.0245 .
.023 is to small !
IMO
Mike

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Mike Collins