Official Luthiers Forum!

Gentlemen and fair ladies:

I glued some fretboard side dots into a tapered and glued fretboard last night that weren't quite at the perfect depth. Some sit proud .020-.030". I want to level them, obviously, but I'm not sure what the best means might be. Going at it with a palm sander gives me concerns about making unwanted dips along the edge of the fretboard. Could approach them with a model maker's plane, but I don't know if MOP planes.

Thoughts?

use a file; the MOP will probably chip and nick a blade, and the MOP will chip and nick as well

I'd do it differently. You can use a file (or a flat stick) but wrap it tightly with fine sandpaper--220 or finer. Then patiently stroke along the dots until you bring them into a flush fit. Don't be aggressive. You don't want to sand in a hard-edged flat on the neck. Go slowly, gently, patiently. And feel the surface often with your hand in the playing position.

Patrick

I don't suppose you have an edge sander?

Side dots are probably small enough that sanding as Patrick describes should be quick and safe enough. But for larger inlays, a scraper and chisel are my tools of choice if I need to take down a high spot. Mainly because you can see what you're doing, unlike with a sanding block. Also doesn't fluff shell dust into the air. But you still need to finish with a sanding block to get things perfectly flat.

I suppose that if you have to ask this question you really are a rookie. 80 grit on a flat block will take them down in seconds without hurting anything else. Always finish with blocks as you work down through the grits as you sand your neck, the shell is harder than wood and will leave high spots if you just sand with your fingers. I can't imagine attacking shell with metal tools. Use the largest sanding block that doesn't get in the way, otherwise you might sand away more wood than shell and leave a scalloped effect. Be brave in the rough stages and use more finesse as you close in on the finished work. If your fingerboard is still free of the neck I'd just touch it to the belt sander to take down the dots and be done. Don't attack your work like a crazy man, but don't use your beginner status as an excuse to be timid, either.

Thanks, John! Yes, this is my first kit!

Flat sanding stick.............!!!
Tom

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

File, 220 grit followed by 320 grit with a hard block.

Congratulations! You probably can't imagine the agony and joy that lie ahead of you. Best of luck to you.

I was teasing It's my sixth, but the first time doing position markers OR working with shell, so it is a rookie thing in every sense

Thanks for all the tips, guys!

I like a file because it's fairly fast & the feel & sound of filing the shell is very different from wood so there's feedback to help you know when to stop.

Kevin Looker

_________________
I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

That's what I found.

The only time I've ever touched a file to shell is when I'm using a small needle file to clean up after cutting a shape from a shell blank. It was my thought that it was too easy to pull a hunk out of the inlay but I guess I was wrong again.
Tom

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

That was kind of rude for a guy who's only been here a couple weeks......Even if you are a professional.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I used to be the most sensitive guy on the planet. I got over it. No rudeness was intended, but I was surprised by the basic nature of the question. And with some of the other answers. Its very likely that I can no longer remember the anxieties I went through as a beginner, but some things just seem obvious to me, and did forty years ago. Problem solving is key to our pursuit, and it shouldn't take a handful of online allies to tackle such a minor irritant. Having multiple answers handy at the click of a mouse is a sad substitute for thinking something out and just giving it a try. Building guitars is nothing compared to building your own character.

On the development of character:



Picking the fights that are worth it.

Wouldn't the derivations of energy, momentum, and continuity equations from first principles as applied to fluid dynamics actually describe how a douche moves?

_________________
Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Forget edge tools and files... there is no better tool for leveling MOP than sandpaper. Just wear a respirator to keep the dust out of your lungs.

I previously commented, but I just wanted to add that Kevin made an interesting point about the sound and feel of shell as it's being filed (or sanded). James made a VERY important point about wearing a respirator mask. I'm still in the camp that recommends a fairly long sanding block and a sequence of fine abrasives. I would work parallel to the edge of the fingerboard, rather than going at the dots in a perpendicular way. Block doesn't necessarily need to be full length, but the longer it is, the less chance you have of accidentally sanding a curve where you don't want one. It'll go pretty quickly for you.
Patrick

Long sanding block with 220 or 320 glued to it. Nothing else needed for this. I do use a file when leveling inlay on a headplate though if it is sticking out a good bit.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

"Building guitars is nothing compared to building your own character."
Yes, you are right, be it good or bad!
It's nice to see how different people approach the same problem. I have found better ways to do things by reading how others do them. I might be able to think of a way, but not necessarily the best way to do things.

I generally grab a fine file to level shell side marker dots before doing the final sanding on the neck, but an emory board or a hard backed sanding block will work too. I don't like setting the dots below the level of the wood and filling over them, but some have good success with that method.

When I wasn't sure how to adhere the 220 to the stick of maple I used, I almost started a thread. But then I though, "Nah. I'll just use my Super 77," and it worked like a charm.

<That was meant in fun>

The sanding block worked perfectly. And yes, a little embarrassed that I didn't think of it immediately, but not that I started a thread on a luthiers forum to get a quick and effective solution to a problem.

Indeed. Even just to answer the question for someone else as well....