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I have a slotted, radiused, and inlayed fret board that I need to fret. What prep work needs done to the fret board prior to fretting? Do I make sure the back is flat? Do I need to sand the surface down to a particular grit? (I have the SM block with the correct radius that I could use to sand the board). Actually, the surface of the board is nice and slick so it doesn't appear it needs further sanding. I guess any trimming of the length of the fret board should be done before fretting.

A slightly different subject but a question about the neck. Prior to glueing the fret board on the neck, I assume I should check the surface where the fretboard mounts for flatness. What does one do if there is a slight twist and it doesn't lat perfectly flat? If the twist is very slight, can you just pull the twist out when clamping the glued fretboard and expect it to hold after it dries?

Thanks!

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Well, your description of the FB sounds like it is completed except for any inlay. You may need to check the thickness at the high point at both ends to check for consistency. You do need to know how thick your plan calls for.

You can't fix a twist in a neck with the fretboard-the FB loses the fight. So, you need to have a neutral, flat neck surface to glue onto or know what you are doing as I next point out. The real pros here can guide you through pre- relieving(reliefing?) or initial intended backbow. The stiffness of your neck and design of any adjustable trussrod are the factors there. If your neck has no adjustable TR, or a traditional one-way TR, then planing/ scraping/rasping relief and/or wedging the fretboard back with fret tang fit is something you will have to figure out in advance.

Now that I have given you all of these things to worry about, I'll sit back and learn along with you.

Darryl: Just a few of the things I do making a neck and getting ready to fret. I use 2 CF rods .125x.375,one on either side of the truss rod. These are separated from the rod by wood of about .125 and they are epoxied into place. Makes a very stiff neck with resistance to twisting.I make sure the surface of the neck is flat and straight,same with the bottom of board.Glue the board on,flatten top of board ,radius board,inlay position markers,then surface up to about 400 grit.File the edge of the fret slots with a small 3 corner file just enough to ensure the frets going to full depth.Clean the fret slots of any dust or glue at the sides if using a bound board. Then I take a piece of the fret wire I'm using,about 2.5 inches,at a half inch from one end I file a v notch in the tang to full depth,bend the wire at this point so that it looks like a hockey stick. File the nobs off the half inch tang section so the it will fit easily into the fret slots.Now go ahead and check every slot to ensure that the frets will go to full depth in every one. If all is OK fret away. No doubt others will give you ideas to help. Good luck.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Tom-I'd say you covered it. I have been dressing my barbs a bit(I jury rigged a machinists' vise and files-liked the fine fit of the tangs so much out of my homemade filing setup that I bought the StewMac "Fret Barber.") and using a bit of yellow or white glue as a lube and stickdown insurance. The suggestion to gently "V" the slots is an important factor for me in getting clean fully pressed in frets. On a pre-bound fretboard I use a single groove Dem-Bart Checkering tool to "V" the slots when I forget to "V" before binding.I am trying to keep the FB a constant and counting on neck prep and a 2-way for the rest of the end product. On this 12 string, short scale 12 fret to body I am working on I got the beautiful neck and block from Hanalei-Moon (Chris Steinert) and asked for the newer style "square, semi- enclosed" Martin TR. I was going to do exactly as you suggest with the CF but I am wondering if between 7 laminations and that stout TR, the CF would be a bit too much. I'm taking into consideration the short scale and short neck to body placement, too. I plan to have it be flat on completion. Comments from you or others?

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll sure use the tip on cleaning out the fret slots before I attempt to set the frets. I measuread the thickness at of the wide point on my fretboard and it is about 0.019" thicker on the treble ind of the board so I will work on that as well.

The truss rod is from Allied Luthrie and is a double action truss rod.

Thanks again for the help!

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Darryl, it sounds like you are planning to fret the board before gluing it on - am I right? This method can work successfully, but, unless you've done it this way before and worked out the issues that arise, I would recommend gluing the board on first, then fretting.

Yes, the bottom of the FB should be flat (a slight bow in the board should not be a problem) and freshly scraped or sanded, and the gluing surface of the neck flat (and freshly prepared) as well.

If the neck gluing surface had already been flattened, and a twist has developed, I would have some concern about the stability of the neck wood. If I were convinced that the neck were adequately stable, and it already has a truss rod (and CF rods?) installed, and the twist is very slight, I probably wouldn't worry about removing the twist from the surface before gluing the FB on. The FB will probably conform to the twist, but if the twist is very slight, you'll just sand it off the FB surface as you level the board prior to fretting, without removing much material. Even if a very slight twist remains, as long as you've leveled the board with a long sanding beam, sanding in line with the string path, the twist will not be noticeable or problematic on the completed guitar.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

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