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I have some rough sawn Ebony fretboards.

Is there any tip on flattening them? one of them is thicker in the middle than the ends, and I have a hard time flattening them with the Wagner Safe T Planer... seems when I thought I got them flat all I did was carve them into a barrel shape.

I have a lot of material to go so I still have room to experiment, but I don't have a jointer so how would I go about doing this?

If I had one flat side it would be easier...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Are they flexing or rocking when you try to flatten them? If so, stick them down to a carrier (like plywood) and shim any voids so it won't flex. In your case, the edges are probably rocking on the middle and all any planer will do in that case is give you a thinner piece of wood with the same bow.

Ok, I've stuck the wood to a backer last time, but I did not shim the voids thinking that the "sticking down" would take care of it... now that I think about it, it's highly likely that the wood flexed under the load.

I have stuck the wood down again but have shimmed the void (there are quite a bit more voids than I realize!). I hope I'll have better luck tomorrow.

Buying unsanded fretboard has become a LOT more work than I realize...

Oh and by the way, I really love my new Rexon drill press. Everything works much better than the old beat up drill press I used to have, and the nice thing is, the table is absolutely perpendicular to the spindle, enough that I can simply chuck the Wagner Safe T Planer into it and it will work nicely. On my old drill press I had years ago I had to make a false table and shim the thing quite a bit (like more than 1/8") to get it perfectly perpendicular. That's with the table locked by the way, as the table is never completely perpendicular when the table is not locked (because the thing that grabs the back column will allow the table to fall forward slightly when the locking nut is loose). Another bonus is that the "chuck lock" actually works... which is basically another nut at the depth stop that is below the thing that engages it, so you can lower the quill, raise the nut, and the quill will stay put. Can even turn that nut by hand (which is hard) for added precision.

So it is very important that you LOCK the table if you require absolute precision!

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Didn't you just buy a nice new #5 hand plane? Why not use that....? That's what it's for

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I do have hand planes, but I still can't figure out how to get it flat, because of that big hump in the middle... I had hoped that the Wagner would make things a little easier...

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I guess eventually you will learn. Meanwhile, you might try what I did years ago. Glue very coarse sandpaper (60??) onto a sturdy flat board (thick particle board will do). Slide the fingerboard on this the long way. Alternatively, find a cabinet maker with a thickness sander. Many cabinet makers will sand your wood (backs, sides, tops, also) for a reasonable price. Of course, you will get no practice planing unless you plane.

A plane is much better because you have a solid base (the sole) which is long which will ride a long portion of the wood which will see the high and low spots and only shave off the high spots till you get the board flat.... the plane is what you really want to use, again that's what it's made for..... good time to learn how to use it don't you think? Why did you get it anyway???

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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 got it for edge jointing...

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I am not that familiar with the longer jointer plane, but will it still provide a flat surface when the blade rides off the top (end) of the fretboard ? Or maybe you initially cut the fretboard blank longer than you need then cut off the ends ? My little experience with the jointer plane, jointing a top, tells me that the tool does not at all guarantee a level surface and a good bit of technique is required to get what you want.

So far I have taped sandpaper to the side of a level and that works fine until I get a thickness sander.

+1 hand plane to start from rough cut.

But I have to say, last time I did, I found that when the surface became almost flat (no more saw marks), it became hard to plane it. Maybe it was my blade, too much low angle, or not enough sharpened. A toothed blade would maybe helped me on that. Anyway, I wen it with 60 grit sandpaper (on granite), to finish the job.

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

Those wooden planes which are refered to as garbages in your previous posts many times are actually as capable as a western jack plane of this kind of job. Learn to use a plane or enjoy sanding.

If the workpiece is flexing, a hand plane or sanding bar will screw it up just like any other planing method. It will just take longer to realize it's not working. One way or another, that piece needs to lay flat with no rocking or flexing. A hand plane can be used to knock down some bumps so the piece can be turned over and the other side can ve worked, however at that point it can be passed through any other kind of planer as well, including the SafT planer.

Well, not if used correctly. You just have to analyse the curve/warp/twist in the piece. If you know you have a hump in the middle, don't sand or plane from end to end. Focus on the middle, and check regularly. When the hump is gone, then plane the whole piece. If the middle is concave, plane off both ends before touching the center. If the piece is twisted, begin by the two opposite corner that are high. Etc... Check regularly with a straightedge.

You just have to remove the right wood from the right place.

PS: I like to use white boardchalk when working ebony FB. You can clearly see what you'Re doing.

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

When working down the high center, which you should do first, always put a shim under the hump to keep it from depressing as you pass the plane over the area. Concentrate on the humped area until you have that side level. Then you can flip it, and level the high ends. They'll be flat on the bottom, so they won't tip your work. work each end, then the whole length. At least this is my method.

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Waddy

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You might try anchoring the fretboard blank to a carrier board using several "puddles" of hot glue.
Press the blank down only enough to get some wood to carrier contact on about three points and let the puddles support the rest.

EDIT: This would be in conjunction with using the Safety Planer.

Ok, I realized that the drill press table is still leaning a little forward, so little that I can't see it.

So I have been planing the fretboard into a pentagon cross section without knowing it until I compared it against the plane iron. I think I'll still have to build the table and shim it until the table is completely level.

It's good to realize this while planing a fretboard, it could be worse.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com