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I recently came across the LMI Fingerboard clamping caul and it looks interesting.http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproducts.asp?CategoryName=Clamps+%26+Vises&NameProdHeader=Aluminum+Fingerboard+Caul
I am never totally comfortable with my Fingerboard gluing techniques and am always looking for better ways. Has anyone used this item or maybe use or have made up something similar or even better?

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

I fret before gluing the board on but IMHO the idea that you need to press on the fretboard rather than the frets is flawed.
I just use a board about 2 1/2" wide by 3/4 thick with 1/8 thick strips along the edges so it bears on the edges of the fretted board.
Works fine for radiused or flat boards.

I do much like Jeff, but my clamping cauls are tapered like the FB. Bear in mind that, if you're using epoxy to glue your FB on, you don't need a whole lot of clamping pressure.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

In actual practice, I have not found this to be an issue when gluing pre-fretted FBs on using epoxy. With the two narrow "rails" of the clamping caul sitting on the fret tops out near the edges of the board, I get even glue squeeze-out and have had no issues whatsoever with the glue joint.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

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

When gluing boards I have a fret cawl made of maple with cork . The cork has slots in it for fret clearance. That way I have good wood contact. I also set it up against my granite plate. That way I know I am not putting a twist in it. If I am using a 1 way truss rod I will do things a little different in that I will use a different cawl that allows me to but a .035 forward bend in it . that way I have forward metastability if I need it.
There are many techniques to glue on a fretboard. That would be a great topic to ask people Sat at the open house. I will show you my techniques and you can take it from there.
Have a safe trip down

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

The 45 degree thing is assuming you're clamping a stack of infinitely small incompressible bricks with no cohesion or stiffness. In real materials, compressible and homogeneous with stiffness, the force falls off and spreads in more of a gradient than a solid cone (think lever length). This is certainly true of wood.

If you clamp a piece of wood 0.2" thick and ~1.5" long (the largest fret-fret distance) at both ends, it's going to squeeze out the glue in the middle. It doesn't really matter if the pressure is even, just that it's sufficient in all areas.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Has anyone used those zip-tie looking fretboard clamping thingamajigs that either LMI or Stumac sells (sorry for the poor description, but if you've looked through the catalogs you'll know what I thinking of). Those look like they might do the job nicely.

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Aaron Craig

This is how I do it.

Works a charm, I think.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

I glue my fretboards on after radiusing and fretting. I use a caul made of styrofoam and then a wood block over that. It's worked great for me every time!

Yes. I use the LMI aluminum clamping caul and it works great. It is made to clamp flat or radiused fretboards as well as fretboards with frets already installed...not that there is anything wrong with that kind of thing.

I like the method I learned from one of Dan Erlewine's video. Glue a couple small dowels to a piece of hardwood and fill with Freeman's Tufil. Then embed the the fretboard after covering in plastic wrap. Cut off the dowels and you have a perfect indexed caul that you can clamp easily.

JB

I have and they work ok but they break easily too. The best part about them is that the align the fret board perfectly for any given radius. This why in the future I'd be inclined to use two of them on the outsides but a caul in the center for a fretboard replacement.

I glue my FB's on flat and radious once the neck is set to the body then fret. I'm not sure I like the idea of the LMI caul where it claims it can do radiused or flat boards. I'm sure it's fine and it's just all in my head but still.

In practice the simple caul i described, bearing on the outer edges of the frets, has given me tight joints with epoxy, hide and titebond.

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Very similar to my way, except I use a small cotton rope to wrap with.

James

I made myself a fretboard caul much like the LMI one from hardwood. Using my radius jig, I cut a 12" radius into an unslotted board that was a little wider than a normal fretboard and glued abrasive to the surface. I took a second board around 3/4" thick of good stable hardwood and slotting it using a standard tablesaw blade to give good clearance either side and over the frets. This board was then tapered to be much like a standard f/b and then a 1/4" rebate was cut down the centre out to around 5/8" from each outside edges. These remaining 5/8" 'rails' were then profiled to the desired 12" radius using the first board with the abrasive glued on it.

Cheers

Kim

Straight 2X4 with 1/4" cork strips works for me.