Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello All,
Has anyone here tried fretting the fingerboard prior to gluing the fingerboard onto the neck on a flamenco or classical build? I have my doubts that he fingerboard would remain straight and flat. Thanks for the help.

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John Nowicki

I fret my boards before gluing.

You need a good hardwood caul that is matched to the radius of your fretboard in order to glue the board on after fretting. Since many classicals have no radius, it is even easier - just a good straight flat board.

Check it before glue-up, and run it over the jointer if it develops any sort of non-flatness.

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The member formerly known as erikbojerik....

I just use a straight 2X4 with some cork on it running at a taper for the board caul and have no problems. I don't put glue or epoxi over the truss rod.

We're talking classic guitar, right?
Used to do it that way all the time, I think it is easier to fret the board if it is off the neck.
Depending on the glue used to glue the fretboard down, you can induce a little back bow into the neck, so be careful, and keep that in mind by maybe putting a little concave into the neck, long ways.
Titebond is known for inducing back bow, LMI is better, and epoxy is best (or so I've heard).

I now do the fretting after glue-down, but lots do it both ways.

Now, put your pants back on and get out to the shop!

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https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008907949110

Dude...

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George :-)

I have tried a few methods & I am currently fretting the fingerboard before gluing to the neck blank. I must admit none of my guitars have been Classicals or Flamenco's but I imagine the system I use could carry over onto these guitars.
I decided to go the press in route after years of hammering in electric guitar frets and my first archtop. Hammering in on the cantilever area resulted in a dip of the fingerboard at the body join (even with 5/8" Maple backing piece!) so I thought I'd go the press in route. I thought about it and decided that pressing in over the body of an archtop wasn't going to be particularly easy, if not darn near impossible! So that's what led me to fret off the neck (By the way I use a table saw to cut my slots- 0.023"). Even after pressing in frets I still found the fingerboard back bowed somewhat (but did straighten after gluing on....phew!)
So now I'm at where I'm at currently, I still press in,fingerboard off neck, but I use the StewMac fret barber to narrow down the barbs usually to 0.025" .I use ebony boards alot which doesn't have much "give" so I only want enough interference to hold the tang not force the wood apart! I imagine you could go wider on say EIR & use a little more interference incase you are concerned with frets loosening? Although I have only ever had 1 fret loosen on me to date. 22 frets later and the board has a slight backbow to it but glues on straight and doesn't impart any pressure to the cantilever or soundboard (when I glue direct to it on my Selmers).
Just my experience of it & it works for me, may not for others....vive la difference!

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Nick Oliver

http://www.oliver-guitars.com

For safety reasons, I do fret work with my shirt on.

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Tom Krebs

I think it's a good idea to weigh the board down after pressing the frets and let the wood relax some and it will usually straighten back out unless the slots are undersized. I believe that's what Mario Proulx does. I believe he also uses hide glue to glue his frets and it also helps lube the frets for pressing. He has a press that uses toggle clamps for the presses that allow for the press caul to be locked down which gives the wood a chance to relax around the barb seatting the fret and allowing the glue to dry some what. He uses 2 of the presses so he can press another fret while the other is drying.
Here is my version of his press. His is less complicated to build and far more stiff. Mine works but if I were to build another I probably would hold truer to his design. And I need to make another press caul from a piece of a radius sanding block.

Nick you can work that back-bow out of the neck after fretting - by just flexing the board and letting the tang barbs bite into the walls of the slots. You can get it just about all out before gluing to the neck.

If you bind the fretboard (and undercut the tangs) it will bow back even less.

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The member formerly known as erikbojerik....

Nice system there Chris,I likeee & you can never have too many jigs! & I can't see anything 'complicated' in yours
Thanks Erik,I'll try your advice on my next one although the amount I'm talking about when I say slight is probably 1/16th - 3/32nds over the length so it doesn't impart any force to the neck blank and glues down nice and flat with the overhang continuing in a straight plane too. The beauty of the fret barber is that you can whittle down the barbs so they still bite but aren't trying to force the slot apart, I'm liking it so far! As I say I'm doing all my fingerboards with Ebony at the moment so I only have a couple of thou interference between barb & slot, I could probably increase it with the softer rosewoods.

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Nick Oliver

http://www.oliver-guitars.com

Thanks for all of the replies. I put my shirt back on. It has been very warm in Wisconsin. I was soiling my guitar. With regards to the fretting before gluing, I am going to give it a try using epoxy, and two stainless guide pins at the 1st and 12th fret centers.

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John Nowicki

Thanks again, quite easily done. Not much bow with 16 of 19 frets done.

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John Nowicki

Not to be redundant, but thanks for giving me the motivation to try something new. One of the hardest things about building an instrument for me, is trying a new technique, doing something new. You only have 1 chance to get it right. Sometimes following the "approved method" is the way to go..Sometimes not....

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John Nowicki

I don't know about that. If you only had once chance to get it right there wouldn't be many guitars being built.
Actually that's why you use certain glues for certain jobs so that some things can be corrected.