sparkspin

In a well-equipped workshop (such as I used to run), one of the most versatile machine tools is the flatbed linisher. This makes short work of achieving a perfectly shaped fretboard surface, be it flat or cambered. This is also the ideal tool for shaping a Fender® -style maple neck headstock.

In the absence of such a machine, I have opted to make a traditional 3-a-side sloped-back headstock and will be using a long hand-sanding block to cut the shape of the fretboard camber...

The fretboard playing surface needs to be cut very accurately. This simple tool will do the job.

The early Fender camber proportions were not geared towards the styles of playing that evolved throughout the 1960's and '70's and with a lowered string action, bending above the 12th fret could result in choking out of notes. Most manufacturers (including Fender) started to produce necks with a flatter camber (more like the Gibson type) to counter this problem.

Surprise number one...

Those embarking on the new adventure of their first guitar build will be doubtless tempted to start carving the neck at this stage. Wrong! Put the frets in before shaping begins! Think about it. Attempting to put frets in a piece of wood with a curved back is a bit like standing up in a hammock (especially for a novice builder). The assumption is made here that the frets will be hammered in; prolific builders often use some kind of press jig.

under the hammer...

Fretwire comes packaged in a variety of ways, on the reel or by pre-cut short or long lengths. Whichever way it comes, it will have to be cut to just over-size (length) for the slot into which it is to be fitted. The general procedure is to pre-bend each piece to a greater curve than that of the camber of the fretboard before fitting. This is so that the natural springiness of the metal is overcome and the fret can lay snug down against the fretboard equally all along its length.

the ends go in first...

The ends are tapped into the pre-cut slots first. Work the hammer-blows towards the middle.

The natural springiness of the metal is overcome. As the fret gradually straightens out into the slot, the ends spread out a little forming a tight bond with the wood. A drop of superglue doesn't go amiss here, either (use a low viscosity type).

Fret profiling:-

Avoid the temptation to round over the ends of the frets or the edge of the fretboard. About 60° angle is best. For now, leave a well-defined cut angle on the metal and a sharp 90° on the wood.

	In a perfect world, the frets would go in maintaining their as-new profile and could be left just as is. But these are essentially long nails that will have received some deformation under the hammer blows.
	Consequently, the fret tops will need to be dressed level for accuracy. A new oil stone, well lubricated with white spirit will achieve this first height adjustment cut.

The next job is to trim off the sharp shoulders formed by the oil stone. This can be done with a dedicated tool called a fret file. My favoured method is with a triangular file and some form of mask to protect the wood.

This is the method that I have used for 30 years. For a mask I used an old cut-throat razor made by Harding and Son. It has survived many thousands of fret profiling jobs because it was made from proper sword steel but any thin steel blade will do for one or two sets of frets.

This is the really subtle final cut that makes all of the difference to the finished feel of the profiling job. Just remove the very sharp filed edge burrs. Don't do the comfort thing as shown below. It prevents top string pull-off. A rounded-over fret end is a disaster. You have been warned.

If you wanted to take a little more trouble and time to get a really neat result on your fret job, you could cut back the end of each tang at an angle (shown red at left) before hammering home. When finishing, the gap left (shown below in blue) can be filled to match the wood.

Now the whole fret board surface (wood and metal) is ready for polishing. File marks on the frets can be smoothed out with 400 and 600 grade wet & dry abrasive paper.

Buff polish the fret metal to a shiny finish by hand or cloth wheel. If using a buffing cloth wheel - wear goggles!

Cutting a bone nut...

This kind of sterilised cow bone is readily available from pet stores. It is easily sawn and sanded to shape. A piece like this will make several bridge saddles and top nut blanks. A luthiers' license to print money, I can assure you but the most important cuts you will ever make on any guitar, anywhere, are the slots in the nut that the strings rest in. Note the following well...

This is because music strings like to rock and roll; careful carving of the "leading edge" of these slots into flared profiles results in a properly tempered speaking length.

You can make every other adjustment correctly on a guitar but if you leave the nut slots as just knife-edged grooves, you'll have dissonance in great measure and untuneable chords, particularly. Ignore at peril...

Strings swing!!!