Walnut Stratocaster - Number 8 - Fretting

Because of the wood binding on the fretboard, I had to take a different approach to fret work. Typically I would just bend the frets to match the radius of the fretboard, cut them slightly wider, then hammer them in.

For this build, I have to trim the fret tang, and then file the underside of the fret flat.

I ran into trouble when I tried to seat the frets.

When hammering the frets, the edges popped up slightly from the fretboard. I was unable to seat the frets without gaps.

I posted a question on the TDPRI Tele Home Depot forum. Between the responses to this query and a brief conversation with someone at Stewart MacDonald I was able to find a solution. It involved using a little glue and a fret press attached to my drill press.

After these results, I will start using the fret press instead of the hammer. I'm really pleased with the outcome. I had purchased the press a few years ago, but I was unhappy with the results. The problem was that the drill press table would give a little when I pressed in the frets. This time at the recommendation of someone from Stewart MacDonald, I secured the drill press table. Now with a firm base, the frets popped securely into place and stayed.

Number 6 - Fret Job

So in adition to having problems with the shellac finish, I also was not happy with the overall string height on Number 6. Unfortunately when I lowered the bridge, I discover that I had fret buzzes on the high E and B strings at the 7th and 8th frets. first I tried dealing with the buzz by going after the culprit - the 9th fret. I lowered, leveled, crowned and polished that fret. This cured the problem with the buzz at the 7th and 8th frets... but created a bus at the 9th fret, caused by the 10th fret... so i corrected that problem and... well, you can guess where this went. I was chasing a fret buzz.

I decided to take a different approach to fixing this problem. Armed with my copy of the Stew Mac 2nd Edition on Fret Work, digital calipers, a fret rocker, a fret dressing stick (sand paper), a fret crowning file, an iPad with Apple Numbers, and a finger-nail buffing block (found at the local drug store), I got to work on Number 6's fretboard.

I removed the strings and then used the digital calipers to take three measurements of each fret, on the high-E string side, one in the middle and one on the low-E string side.

I added all of this information into a spreadsheet on my iPad. I then created a chart showing the largest deviations between frets. This helped me come up with a plan of attach.

After pinpointing the problem frets on the chart, I taped off the fretboard and marked the tops of the frets with a red Sharpie marker. I then use the fret dressing tool to slowly sand the tops of the frets.

After sanding the frets, I check the fret height with the calipers. Then I use the fret rocker to check the height of the filed fret in relation to the fret immediately before and after the filed fret. If the rocker lays flat against all three frets, I mark the completed frets with a green Sharpie marker and move on to the next fret.

Once I've leveled all of the high frets, I use the fret crowning tool to round the top of the frets. I follow that by polishing the frets with the four-sided finger-nail buffing block. After completing all of the frets, I remove the tape, string Number 6 up again and test the frets.

Inlays and radius

Fret Position Markers

So, I started drilling the holes for the 1/4 position inlays on the Firebird and headless necks yesterday. I first marked the position for each hole in pencil, the lined up the brad drill bit points on the drill press with the intersection of the points. The holes are drilled less than 2mm deep to accommodate the inlay dots. (Window light is the best for photos.)

I've chosen a black abalone dot for the maple fret board on the purple heart Firebird neck and white for the Pau Ferro fretboard of the headless neck. And, yes, I did offset the dots to the bass side of the neck. No real reason for doing this, it's just a personal preference. I superglue the dots in place, leaving a slight bit of the dots elevated over the fret board. This will be sanded down when I radius the fret board.

Fret Board Radius

Both of the fret boards will be sanded to a radius of 16 inches. This will look like a slight arch in the fret board when viewing it long ways. I first clamped down two pieces of wood about the distance apart of the radius block. The neck is then positioned with a piece of wood on either side to hold it steady. (I picked this technique from a Telecaster forum on tdpri.com.) This helps insure that I get an even sand on both sides.

Because of the arch of the radius block more wood gets sanded away on the sides than in the center. The pencil line that I put down the center of the neck for measuring the placement of the dots comes in especially handy here. I'll know that I've sanded down far enough once that line starts to fade and disappear.

This is a fairly labor intensive workout and I need to be careful not to rush the job. I first start with 80 grit sand and use that to take off most of the wood. Once the center line starts to disappear, I slowly move up in grit - 120, 220 and finally 320.

In the bottom three photos, I've cleaned the fret board with mineral spirits to remove the dust and help make the grain jump out.

Next up for these two neck will be to drill the holes for the side dots. Then I'll be ready to start shaping the profile.

Before I get to that I will run the one-piece neck through this same process above. But I'll need to acquire some new white abalone dots first.

One-Piece Neck Progress

Fret Slots

Today's progress: cutting fret slots and gluing the truss-rod in place. First I very slowly and carefully cut 22 fret slots on the face of the neck. Remember there is no fretboard here. Since the truss-rod is sitting about 6mm behind the face of the neck, I had to be careful not to cut the slots too deep. I marked both sides of the neck at approximately 3.5mm. And as I cut the slots I checked both sides trying to insure that I did not cut too deep. I also used two clamps and a block of wood along with my fret miter box to keep the angle of my cuts straight.

Before I seat the frets I will radius the neck to 16 inches using sand paper and a radius block.

Skunk Stripe

After I slotted the frets, I ran a thin line of regular household caulk down the truss-rod channel, before setting it in place. The truss-rod that I am using on this neck is a double action rod that I purchased from LMI.

I then prepped my skunk stripe - a 1/4 inch strip of maple 17 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch deep. I rounded the edges using my table router. I roughed  up the sides with 120 grit sand paper, and then covered it with Titebond wood glue.

I then very slowly pushed it into the truss-rod channel. Covering it with wax paper before applying the clamps. I let this sit for about 30 minutes.

 

After the glue dried, I used the scraper to take off the excess glue and wood. The final shaping of the neck will smooth the back out further. I'll get to that in a couple of weeks.

Next up, I will drill the holes for the face position markers and side dots. I'm also eyeing another piece of maple as another potential one-piece neck. This was a very satisfying process for me - very little frustration on this neck.

The neglected Firebird project

Back to work on the Firebird. This last week I worked on the third neck for this guitar, cutting the headstock, drilling the truss rod hole, and drilling the tuning peg holes. Today, I slotted the fingerboard - a nice piece of curly maple.

Next up will be gluing the fret board to the neck, sanding the heel to 320 grit and re-routing the neck pocket on the body to fit this slightly wider neck.

The curly maple wings have not been glued to the center body piece. I have been holding off until I finished the neck since the location of the bridge will ultimately depend on where the zero fret ends up.

I also slotted a Pau Fero fretboard today for the Steinberger copy's neck. I'll have detail photos of both projects either tomorrow or later in the week.

New Neck Blanks

Today, I continued working on the three neck blanks that I started on late last week. The neck on top is the one-piece Bloodwood. I routed the truss rod channel to slightly more than 3/4 of an inch deep. The truss rod channels on the two Purple Heart blanks was closer to 1/2 inch deep. I made several passes with the router, taking off about 1/16 inch each time. I still need to route a hole on the opposite side of the Bloodwood neck where the truss adjusting nut will stick out on the headstock.

I also used a neck jig cut the sides straight on the table router for the Bloodwood neck and the top Purple Heart. I still have to work out some of the dimensions on the bottom Purple Heart, since that neck blank will likely end up on the Firebird project.

I will be installing three different types of truss rods in these necks. The Bloodwood neck on the right will be taking a small double action rod. The Purple Heart on the left will be using a slightly larger double action rod. While the purple heart in the middle will be taking a single action rod. The double action truss rods will adjust for both upbow and backbow. On the two Purple Heart necks the rods will be covered by fret-boards. The Bloodwood neck will have a maple plug (or skunk stripe down the center.

My next step will be to cut the thickness of the headstocks down to about 5/8 of an inch. Later, I will sand them down to about a 1/2 inch. I also will drill the tuner holes at that time.

In addition to these three necks I have another piece of Purple Heart that will yield two more blanks and a piece of Padauk and a couple if pieces of Maple, that I'd like to start working on for more necks. Given the number of mistakes that I have made on neck construction over the past two years, it's not a bad idea to have several neck projects going at the same time. Expect more neck updates in the coming weeks.

One Piece Neck Project

Thanks to the cold and dreary weather here in Ohio, I've had to lay off of the clear coating for the last couple of weeks. I have still been able to apply shellac to the Red Special body and neck. Largely because I have either been brushing it on the body or French polishing the fret-board. I have had to refrain from spraying the Strat and Tele bodies, since the smell is just too strong for indoors.

Instead, I've turned my attention to constructing the necks for the next few builds that I am planning for 2012. The photo above is of a bloodwood blank that I cut today. The photo does not do the figuring on this piece of wood justice. This will be my first attempt at a one-piece neck. It is about 1 1/8 inch thick - which will be perfect this project. I've cut out the basic shape and will route the truss rod channel soon. (I know, I probably should have routed the truss rod channel first - a mistake on my part? Perhaps, it certainly would have been easier that way.)

I also had enough Bloodwood left over that I should be able to use it ti make an interesting pick guard.

For those not familiar with the one piece necks, the fret-board and the neck are just that - one piece. While the truss rod channel is routed through the back of the neck and plugged with a contrasting wood. In this case I will probably opt for maple. This plug is often referred to as a skunk stripe. You can see this on the back of many Fender maple necks.

By the way, the Purple Heart that the neck blank is laying on will be two more necks. One of them will eventually end up on the Firebird project that I have been neglecting these last few months - my third attempt.