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With all the distractions I think the essence of this thread may have been lost. So I took a few minutes to make a sample pallet/sled -- for photo purposes I actually made a complete usable pallet -- took less then 15 minutes complete -- the point being, this is a real simple fixture/jig to make and worth considering.



You start with your template and a piece of material for the pallet this one is 3" x 3/4 " MDF, could be something much thinner



Drill some counter sunk holes in your template then fasten it to the pallet leaving the notches exposed.







Now you need to make a FB blank master which is simply a fingerboard size piece of material with a center line and holes drilled on each end



Use the master to position the end holes on the center line of the pallet adjust to accommodate your locating pin offset this example is really for a table saw pallet so its upside down



Prepare the finger board blank by drilling holes on the center line at each end using the master.



Screw the FB to the pallet and you are ready to saw away.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Meddling:

Why would a smaller diameter blade make it unusable? Couldn't you just raise it up a bit. The only important part is that it cut the right width slot.

And - after having trouble removing pieces that have been double stick taped I started using much less tape, making it easier to remove.

Ed

It might depend on how much a fully raised 6" blade clears the table, and what type of cutting sled you use. A 6" blade will only clear 1/4" on my saw.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Exactly...

Yikes! I find it hard to find a place to sharpen blades in our area (YVR) but maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but at least wher I have found wile inconvenient has done a good job.. I've Not needed the LMI blade done yest!

Kerry

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My Website http://klw-strings.com
My Luthier's Blog...http://klwstrings.blogspot.com

We had it done at Quality Saw the first time and it was great. I'm pretty sure they contracted out the second time. It took a lot longer and came back the wrong size.

Ken,
Did you make the template?
If you made it, what tool was used to cut the slots?
Benedetto's book shows making a similar sled using an existing fretboard.
I'm thinking a table saw setup may be more economical than buying hand fret saws.
I've been using cheap Zona saws, but they are pretty rough to use and do not last very long
Thanks,
Dan

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Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

Dan -- we make those templates on our CNC machines. A slotted templates seems like it would be easier to index then the fret board slot idea (which is very clever!) I saw where a guy used a Stanley utility blade for the index pin -- apparently they are .023 thick?

_________________
Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/