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My fretboard is approx .270 thick in the middle. When I was shaping the nut tonight it looks like it won't be tall enough. When I put the StewMac straight edge on the dressed frets it just kisses the top of the nut.

I got the board pre-radiused from LMI and didn't know I had to thickness it. You think I should unglue the FB and shave it down a few thou?

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Chuck, just use a taller nut. Much easier.

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lol....I actually thought of that but didn't know if you could buy taller stock nuts. Guess I need to call LMI or StewMac. I feel silly

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Go out in the back yard and steal a bone from the dog...... Same stuff, easily worked, nearly free. Mikey

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The Biggest Little City, Nevada
www.hammondguitars.com
I love building guitars!

I had the same problem with my first guitar, built from an LMI kit. I used a plane to bring down the fretboard. Worked fine.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

.270" is OK. You got the wrong nut blank is all.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Typically I start with 3/8" stock and plane down to about .255 and then radius it and get it to about .25" in the center or a little less.

As I'm in a silly mood please refer to the sarcastic remarks I thought off when I was reading this post.

1. Despite what people tell you they just don't make taller nuts.

2. Getting a taller nut does, at first, seem like the ideal answer, but you're a luthier it's much more fitting of the trade to do what you said originally. Steam off the fingerboard, shave it down with the smallest ibex fingerplane and you'll be fine.

That fretboard does look a bit on the thick side. The options are a higher nut or a thinner fretboard. Id whack the fretboard off and run a plane (something bigger than an Ibex) over the underside of same but Im absolutely an*l about such things and dont always go for the most cost effective option (in terms of time and money).

Cheers Martin

I know it's a bit of a bodge, but if you don't fancy getting a new nut blank you could shim that one up a little with a hardwood offcut...

...or you can glue another piece of bone to the bottom of the one you have. The glue line will be invisible.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Is there not a slot that the nut will fit into ??? Looks in the pic like its sitting on top of the headplate ??? That nut blank is pretty much useless IMO, cause if there was a nut slot, it would disappear into it, not even being close in height. I use .250 or so thick FB's, and always have to trim some off the top of the nut blanks that I use (Toronto - Heinl's, they are about 3/8 tall). As well, it looks like the radius is pretty flat, more so than a 15 or 16 inch FB - what was it you ordered - you may have sanded it flatter than you think ...

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I'd just call one of the suppliers, tell them your problem, and order a few blanks of appropriate height. Like Arnt said, if they can't get you one high enough just super glue a strip of bone to the bottom of the nut, sand it flush, and no one will ever know. Use a narrower fretboard on your next instrument.
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.

FWIW (,and, since the title of this topic is "Help! How thick are your fretboards?"), mine usually end up just under 6 mm in the middle, or about .24".

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I would call LMI and see if they'll send you a taller nut. They state their radiused board will be 1/4" at the center of the board and you paid $9 for that service. I would think they owe you something if it doesn't meet the stated spec. I got one like that from them and was a lot thicker. I called and Chris sent me a new one.

Someone mentioned taking a bone from the dog and cutting your own. That's fine, but two things.
1: Make sure the dog is occupied on something else.
2: I've read that grease can leach out of bone for years after and contaminate glue joints. Sean Barry documented a process to use to degrease bone and it worked for me;
http://www.bearmeadow.com/build/materia ... clean.html

Kent Fishburn

IMO removing a fretted board from a shaped neck in order to plane .020" from it is silly. I think if Rick Turner were here he could be counted on to put it less politely.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Here's my super-quick fretboard thickness survey:

Old-schoolers often like thin boards, down to 3/16" (0.1875"). Mario (sometimes?) uses a thinner board, IIRC.
Selmer style guitars have crazy thick boards, those are at 5/16" (0.3125"). Michael Collins can talk about that.
My average customer uses a 0.25" board...because that's what I cut them at standard.
A really skilled acoustic builder, of my clients, uses a 0.230" board. My largest client, an electric guitar company, uses a 0.215" board

On my own instruments, board thickness is mainly determined by where I want to put the carbon fiber

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

[quote="Cartierusm"]1. Despite what people tell you they just don't make taller nuts.
quote]

Not really true !!!!!
I have bone knife handel blanks 1 1/2" wide x 3/8" thick that I cut nut blanks from. A typicall commerical lutherie supply house's nut blank is 7/16" tall from the looks of the picture Chuck is using a flush with neck mount or very shallow nut slot so a 7/16" tall nut blank should be plenty tall .438 tall nut-.27 FB-.04 fret crown still leaves .127" of nut height for nut slot and sting adjustment. should be plenty. The nut Chuck has odviously is not 7/16" tall. So yes most do offer taller nuts blanks.

Ontopic, if you really have to thin a little of the board, you should rather pull the frets instead of ungleuing the board..makes no sense.

The first fret looks like it was heavily filed, why so much?

There won't be a problem getting a tall new nut. At least the ones I get for classical are huge.

Offtopic but related, world would be a much better place if you guys would start using millimeters

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Build log

For you.

Fist the European Crowns imposes the imperial measurement system on the colonies. Next because we become very good at using it you now want us to change[headinwall]

I mean really!!!! we have to convert Metric to imperial every day in and day out to make thing easy on you guys. You don't hear us complain. So what’s the deal with you guys? Have you forgotten how to use the system of measure you invented and forced on the new world 2 centries ago???laughing6-hehe just poking fun

I like Alex use Metric.
It's much easier than the Imperial!

Try dividing 26 23/32 in half!
Or 12 57/64"
Or 5 103/128th
1 mm - to 1000m is easily devided !

This is a learning place !

MIke

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Mike Collins

well, at least it makes you good at math

(( we are rly hijacking ))

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Build log

I work in metric too. Much easier. Even easier to covert " to metric than use inches.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Out of these there was on one I had to calculate. as the others are easily divided x2 but then again I work with 16ths though 128ths daily

MDP
Let me know when you find a ruler with those measuremants on them -PLEASE

Really that was a great post-reply!
You have a special talent!!

That's what this place is all about!
Learning!!
Mike

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Mike Collins

Yep, learning is great!

348.455 mm

163.71 mm

73.72 mm

Respectively.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars