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I'm about ready to take my first crack at cutting fret slots. I'll be doing this by hand and thought I'd check here to make sure I'm thinking this through correctly. Here's what my research tells me:

1) Shape the raw billet so that it is flat, square and the proper thickness.
2) Mark and then cut the slots to a uniform depth of 1/8".
3) Taper the fingerboard to the desired dimensions.

This all makes sense to me, but then I get confused. According to Cumpiano & Natelson, at this point I should:

4) Do a final cut of the slots, keeping the saw square to the top.

I'm not sure what they mean by "square to the top." If I keep the saw square won't I end up with slots deeper in the center than at the edges? (Maybe that's okay. I don't know.) Or do they mean square to the radius, so that I'm only removing material at the edges? That doesn't seem right to me because I don't see how you would do that if you were using a table saw.

Sorry if I'm being dense. :-) Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

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George :-)

George, sometimes we just need to think about the logical steps to get somethings done and not worry about what the book says sometimes the book can be confusing.

So, what I'm saying is, don't worry about what the book says. Your steps are good and will get you there just fine. After the taper I assume you'll be radiusing the board either on the neck (Cumpiano method I think) or off. Just make sure you don't take any thickness off the board at the center and ensure the radius is not heavier on one side of the board versus the other and you'll be fine.

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George-
(It seems to me that..)
The question you are approaching here is: "How much strength does the fingerboard contribute to the neck, and how important is it to minimize the depth of the fret slots?"
Cutting the slots by hand (or with some complicated CNC setup) allows the slot depth to 'follow' the surface of the fingerboard, leaving more 'meat' in the center of the board.
Cutting slots on the tablesaw, typically the slots are cut on the flat fingerboard, deep enough to leave the required depth at the edges, once the fingerboard is radiused. So in this approach, the slot is deeper than 'necessary' in the center of the board.
With modern truss rods, CF inserts, etc I don't think it matters much if the slots are 'too deep' in the center of the board.

Cheers
John

Thanks for your replies. Yes, I left out the step where I would be radiusing the fingerboard after tapering it. Good to know that as long as I get the depth right, I don't have to be too worried about getting the slots to follow the exact surface of the fingerboard. I'm really looking forward to learning how to execute a new step in the guitar building process.

Thanks again for your help,

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George :-)

"Square to the top" sounds to me like a right angle between the saw blade and the fingerboard. An obvious point, but maybe they mean that with all the other things to watch out for you might forget and tilt the saw sideways a little, and then there'll be a tiny gap under one edge of the fret.

I'd think when he says "square to the top", he actually means "square to the longitudinal axis of the fretboard", in other words, cutting straight down into the original slots you cut, but rocking the saw crosswise to the fretboard so the kerf is the same depth all the way across the radiused board. So you'd end up with a curved slot, the same depth along the length, but no wider than the original kerf. I've done this using the SM hand fretsaw with an adjustable depth stop, and it works very nicely to make a slot that's just deep enough for the fret- no nasty looking dark slot down below the bottom of the fret tang.

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

I think square to the top means square to the center line of the union of the 2 halves of the top . that projected line should also be the center line of the fretboard.

One thing to think about is that you may be sanding a little drop off into the fretboard extension when you do your final leveling and that will take a little off the centerline. I've occasionally had to deepen those slots a little as they got too shallow at the edge.
Terry

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

All good points. Thanks all for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate the help. I'm hoping to have time to tackle this task this weekend, but my work schedule has become increasingly busy of late... which, of course, is a welcome problem in the current economy.

Best regards,

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George :-)