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Just wondering at which point people fret.
Here are the scenarios I see:
This is asuming using a method where you finish the neck and body seperately.

1)fret the board before it is glued to the neck.

2)fret the board after it is glued to the neck, but before it is finished.

3)fret the board after it is glued to the neck and after it is finished and attached (bolted or glued dovetail,etc.)-I.E. the guitar is complete except for having the frets installed-sort of the same as a fret job.

In most of my builds I have fretted after the neck was done because I feel I can most accurately true the board before fretting. Of course the downside is that you are working on a completely finished instrument.

Thanks in advance,
Brad

I fret after the neck is boltable to the body, and I can level the board pre finish. The body is all done, again, prefinish.

i too have fretted post finish, but always enede up with a chip or two that required drop filling and rework.

if your levelling is good in the white, then what difference should putting on the finish affect ??? not much IMHO.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I fret last, right before the nut and saddle...........Tony's got a good point though.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

I fret after the neck is boltable to the body, and I can level the board pre finish. The body is all done, again, prefinish.

As Tony has quoted !!

I agree with Tony (as usual)
He know's his stuff!

Mike

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Mike Collins

Same as Tony, here.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Ummm...

when the wolf is at the door?

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Well I have don before gluing up, after gluing up and after the neck is installed.

The first few years of building I kept having the dreaded 14th hump pop up every now and then so for a long time I did not level the fretboard till after the neck was installed then I would fret. This meant I had to take precautions to avoid harming the finish during fretting and fret dressing.

After I eliminated the 14 hump problem I started fretting prior to FB to neck glue up but on many occasions the frets would make FB curl downwards from spreading force caused by the fret tangs.

Now days I fret 1st fret through the neck joint fret via pressing after the neck is finished and the FB is glued up, checked for level on the body. Once the neck/FB assembly is bolted to the finished body I fret the remaining frets, level and dress them.

Same as Tony. I don't do the final fret leveling until the guitar is assembled after finish and the bridge is on.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Brad,

There is a fourth option that I use. I fret after spraying but before leveling and buffing the finish, and of course before bolting the neck on. All of my guitars have bound fingerboards and as long as I do a good job cutting the finish back on the fingerboard edge, I have no problems with chipping. This way I don't have to tuck the masking tape around the frets and do the inevitable cleanup there.

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Randy Muth
RS Muth Guitars Website
RS Muth Guitars Blog
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Here`s another option.I glue the board to the neck.Then pound all the frets in.This keeps the board from bowing,even the extension.Then I cut the ends flush and dress the ends to suit.Then I mask off the board and finish the neck with whatever.Tru-Oil is my favorite.After the guitar is finished,I still like Nitro,and the neck is bolted on and extension glued on I file level and dress.This works for me.The reason I don`t like filing level before the extension is glued on is I don`t trust myself to make sure the extension is tight down on the guitar.I`ve never had a problem dinging up the top filing or recrowning yet.Nock on Guitar wood.But I guess this could happen.As in most things in guitar building,extreme thought and care is the ticket.I also like a bound board.
James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

Same as James here. I make sure there is very little or no falloff sanding the neck straight, rout a small chamfer on the fret slots and glue and pound them in with Titebond. I finish of the ends, but dress them after the instrument is finished.

Yes I should have mentioned, like James I do the final leveling after I attach the neck to the body. Although now I am now doing a lot of floating extensions.

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Randy Muth
RS Muth Guitars Website
RS Muth Guitars Blog
Facebook Fan Page

My n=1 study:

I've only built one guitar but I fretted up to the 12th (12 fret 000) prior to gluing on the FB and it worked perfectly. I took great care in making sure I didn't have a 12th fret hump and was successful.

It's not very difficult to flatten the FB to a reasonable level after fretting.

Just throwing it out there so it's known that even a guitar noob can do it right the first time.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
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I use a "double mortise & tenon" joint, so I can bolt on the neck, screw down the fingerboard extension, & then do the final shaping of the fingerboard. Then it's just a matter of removing the neck to install the frets. Once the frets are in I re-attach the neck & dress the frets. Remove the neck again, crown, shape the fret ends, polish & mask off the fret board for finish. Takes a bit of time, but I've found it the best way for me to get the action I want.

Thanks,everyone for the responses.

It's interesting that fretting the board before installing is not a popular option with this group. I know there are a bunch of "pros" (Hoffman,Proulx,Ryan) doing it this way.
When I make mandolins ,I do it this way,but the board tends to curl up.

I have my "system" down for the archtops-since they have a neck extension I fret before finish.I just haven't settled on a system for the flattops yet.

Don't fret Padma, I'm sure you'll be able to keep the big bad wolf at bay

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

I find the important thing is to carve the neck and level before glueing the fretboard down to keep backbow to a minimum. Then i glue and level the fretboard before pressing the frets.I then put the finish on the neck and body and string it up and then, i level and recrown the frets. This process has always worked for me.