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Power fret slotting jig I built...

  With my Kay Kraft Guitar obsession in full swing, I needed to  start being able to build fretboards from scratch... Here is the Facebook Photoessay... 
Share this album with anyone by sending them this public link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150153548647347.298156....

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Permalink Reply by Ned Knepp on October 4, 2011 at 4:16pm
That's pretty nice Kerry. Can I make a suggestion for your consideration. How about saturating the wood around the pin with super glue to reinforce it. Particle board doesn't always hold up well to repeated impact, even light impact. I think that CA would saturate the structure on the edge enough to help it hold up much longer.
Permalink Reply by Kerry Krishna on October 4, 2011 at 4:56pm

 Two threads, twi excellent suggestions!  Thanks Ned!I will do that... 

 

Permalink Reply by FRANK on October 5, 2011 at 8:57am

s

o Kerry are you shaping the finger board before slotting or no just leaving it Blank when your cutting your fret slots to then shape it up latter ?

Permalink Reply by Kerry Krishna on October 5, 2011 at 2:47pm
Leaving it blank till it's glued on the neck...
Permalink Reply by FRANK on October 6, 2011 at 8:00pm
Kerry I see a potential problem Ive been shape my finger board first then cut slots and then binding, radius and so on .so I am cutting relative too the center line at 90 Degrees to the saw blade .your way can cause slanted fret slots that may be hardly noticeable till you go to intonate the instrument
Permalink Reply by Kerry Krishna on October 6, 2011 at 8:22pm

 Not understanding what you are posting Frank. If the sides of the board  are both at 90', how could the fret slots be at an angle? I am not profiling the board till after the fret slots are cut. That is what you are talking about yes? 

 Ah, I see the problem! You asked about shaping! I thought that you meant radiusing the board. I know that the profiling has to be done afterwards. Thanks for looking out for me buddy... .. 

 

Permalink Reply by FRANK on October 8, 2011 at 11:15pm

no Kerry not what I am saying but if it works out for you then stick with it ive seen fret slots come out looking like parallelograms from when the slots are cut then the tapering of the fingerboard when the center line is off a little so I shape my taper first#1 .draw the center line#2 and cut slots#3 so your my center line is 90 degrees to the saw blade ok so now I am so wanting to share my fret sled but my camera is dead so if I get the chance to get you again I will post a few pics of my fret sled 

 

Permalink Reply by Kerry Krishna on October 9, 2011 at 7:53am

 i have no idea what you figure is wrong with my setup Frank. Maybe a few photos will help me understand... 

 

Permalink Reply by FRANK on October 9, 2011 at 10:38am
yes
Permalink Reply by Ned Knepp on October 9, 2011 at 10:44am

I think maybe FRANK is concerned that the sides will not be parallel when you cut the slots or/and that tapering the board may skew it if you aren't careful to keep the centerline and the slots at 90 degrees to one another. 

It sounds to me like either method should work fine as long as the maker is aware of the pitfalls.  If you ensure that your blanks cut using at least one straight square side and you keep the slots square with the centerline when you taper, you should be OK.

 

Ned

Permalink Reply by Kerry Krishna on October 17, 2011 at 8:42am

Howdy again on this thread folks.  After chucking the KING tabletop saw out into the back lane (just kinda kidding)  I knew I could use an old Delta Beaver from the 60s, that is in the other room, and is used for general construction. I started to check the saw for 'true', and after a few hours, had a great old machine that would work well. The table top is true and flat, the blade angle tested true, and I just had to really clean the 'T' slots.

   I made a throw away fretboard for testing, and started cutting. I noticed right away that there was tiny puffs of smoke when a cut was happening. 

 I checked the leading edge of the sled, against the table's slots, and found it out of true at one end by almost 25/1000ths. I took it apart, and fixed it, expecting the problem to be gone. 

Nope.

 There is no slop in the sled rails, the saw blade is at 90', the sled front is at 90', and still a small puff of smoke is happening. I know something is wrong, and can not figure it out. Any ideas?    

 Ah, just so you know, the blade itself right from Stewmac, had a tooth smacked sideways a bit and was cutting a   42/1000ths slot.  I fixed that pretty easily getting it back to 23/1000ths, and went over the rest of the blade finding nothing.... 

Permalink Reply by Kerry Krishna on October 17, 2011 at 9:43am
One problem solved... The blade was in backwards... That is all taken care of.  Now after several test runs, and getting the feeler gauges out, it turns out that the blade is out of spec. The slot is 28/1000ths.... What a huge drag. I called Stewmac, and they are sending a replacement, and are asking for the original  back ... Meanwhile, I guess it will be a few weeks till the blade gets here.

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