Official Luthiers Forum!

What are you folks doing to locate your fingerboards on the neck when you're gluing them together (so the fingerboard doesn't slip). I saw that LMI had small pins and drills but am wondering if there are any other good options..

Thanks, Peter Z

Here's one of many ways.

1 Make a surrogate fingerboard out of 1/2-3/4" stuff.
2 Insert two 1/8" drill guide bushings in the right spots so they miss any carbon fiber reinforcement.
3 Locate two metal dowel pins in the center line to register in the truss rod slot.
4 Place on neck blank in the correct location and clamp. Drill holes with a stopped drill bit.
5 Clamp fingerboard on the other side registered on the centerline and again drill with stopped bit.
6 Put 1/8" dowels in the holes and you're all set. I've used this system on 39 guitars and there have been no problems.

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

this is perhaps not quite as elegant as a .022" pin that fits through the fret slot, but what i did on my first is cut the ends off of two finish nails. i dont recall the diameter, but they were somewhere around .040" or so. i then carefully drilled two holes the same diameter of the finish nails in the side of the fret board that was to be glued to the neck blank. the holes, of course, stop short of going through the fret board, perhaps .125" deep. i placed the finish nails in the holes and then carefully place the fret board on the neck blank where it belongs and press the nails into the softer mahogany. remove the fretboard, add glue, then put the fret board back where the nails register and there you have it.

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sweat the small stuff.

You can drill a bit larger hole in the fret slot area, and use a small finishing nail as a locating pin. (Once things are clamped up and the glue has 'grabbed', I remove the nail.) You do have to leave a hole/cutout in your clamping caul to get at the nail.The fret will hide the evidence.

Another tactic which I've used once or twice is to shoot a couple of staples partway into the underside of the fingerboard. Snip off the staple to just leave the stubs of the 'legs' in the fingerboard. With a mahogany (soft) neck, you can just squeeze the board and neck together and the staples will 'bite'. I don't like leaving stuff (especially metal) in the neck to cause problems for repair later, so I don't use this idea any more.

Cheers
John

I use 1/16th aluminum welding rod. Just locate and clamp where you want the FB and drill a hole beside the truss rod through the fret slot into the neck a smidge at the first and twelfth fret. Then remove fb and push a piece of rod in hole, clip slightly above the neck surface, and the little spikes will fit the holes in the FB slots.

+1 on the 1/16" aluminum welding rod. I use it for all kinds of locating pins... And it makes great side dots!
If the pins are stuck, I warm them with a match or a lighter & they slip right out.

I use the same method that Todd and Filippo use - complete with false (or real) top Nut.
On some models (dovetail neck) I will tack on a false fretboard and finish shape the back of the Neck and Heel. The small wooden tabs then get glue onto the side of the real Fretboard - the tabs are proud of the underside of the Fretboard and therefore locate to the side of the Neck.