Bar fret slot cutting!

[Ted Kritikos]

Hi everybody!

I want to slot a fingerboard for bar frets.  I'm planning on using the LMI 1.5mm bar fret stock.  I'm a card-carrying Luddite and am only using hand tools for this project.  

 

A few questions,

1. Should the bottom of the fret slot be the same radius as the surface of the fingerboard?  Or should I just cut it with a flat bottom and file the matching radius into the top of the fret?

 

2. Should I use a thinner kerf dovetail saw or pull saw and just widen the slot with a nut file, or should I seek out a saw with a wider kerf?

 

Thanks in advance for the help!

TK

[Frank Ford]

No, there;s no need for the slot to have a special contour at the bottom.  Early Martin guitars have bar frets tapped into place until they fit properly, which meant that they were not necessarily all the same depth on a fingerboard.

 

Indeed, the right gauge saw is a big help.  Bar frets are FAR less forgiving of variations in slot width, so hand filing would be about my last resort.

[Jim Bancroft]

I just done exactly what you want to do on a 1927 00-21, that required a new fretboard. I purchased a fretboard blank from StewMac, then I laid out and cut my own fret slots. I used a homemade miter box with a back saw that was purchased from the local hardware store. The back saw kerf was wider than I needed, I needed a .050" slot, so what I did was narrowed the set of the teeth by running a flat file along the teeth until I had it down to .050".

You don't want the frets to fit tight, you just want them snug otherwise it will put a back bow in the neck, I found that out with this job. Good luck

 

Jim