how I do fret slotting

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jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005

how I do fret slotting

Here are some pictures of my fret sawing setup. I hope this provides some useful ideas for the novices.

I use a slotting saw blade (sometimes called a slitting blade) used in machine shops. These blades are readily available on the internet and very inexpensive ($5-6). They come in increments of thousandths of an inch and are made of high speed steel so if used for fret slotting will last pretty much forever. The blade pictured is .028" and works perfectly for frets with a tang width of .055". I have several different sizes for various sized fret tangs. These blades come with a 1" arbor hole so one needs to get the neighborhood machinist to make a sleeve like the one pictured so it fits on your table saw arbor. This sleeve cost me about $20.

The zero clearance insert is just 1/4" plexiglas with spacers glued on the back to elevate it to be flush with the table top.

All you need to do is get one straight side on the fingerboard and square the nut end to it. The fretting template is 1/4" plexiglas with the fret location scribed. It's easy to make if you have good eyes and a rule. It's attached with double stick tape.

It took me about 2-3 minutes to saw all the fret slots in this fingerboard. The slots are perfectly square and have flat bottoms. This is an incredible time saver and increases accuracy.

The sawing guide is made with two working sides. One for frets and the other for tentallones. I use the same blades for tentallones since the tiny kerf saves on waste and it's really easy cut enough tentallones for a guitar in a few minutes.

I hope someone finds this useful.

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John Shelton - www.sheltonfarrettaguitars.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 23 2013 23:45:37

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: how I do fret slotting (in reply to jshelton5040)

I find it to be interesting, but I dont really understand. I think it would help if I could see the pictures while reading the text.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 24 2013 7:23:12

krichards

Posts: 597
Joined: Jan. 14 2007
From: York, England

RE: how I do fret slotting (in reply to jshelton5040)

quote:

It took me about 2-3 minutes to saw all the fret slots in this fingerboard. The slots are perfectly square and have flat bottoms. This is an incredible time saver and increases accuracy.

I've tried using a bench saw etc for this but hated it. Too noisy and not accurate enough for me.

I now do fret slots by hand, one slot per day, because its boring. Takes me about three weeks for each fret board! But its a quiet, calm process and very accurate.

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Kevin Richards

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 24 2013 7:52:16

Jeff Highland

Posts: 401
Joined: Mar. 5 2010
From: Caves Beach Australia

RE: how I do fret slotting (in reply to krichards)

quote:

ORIGINAL: krichards

quote:

It took me about 2-3 minutes to saw all the fret slots in this fingerboard. The slots are perfectly square and have flat bottoms. This is an incredible time saver and increases accuracy.

I've tried using a bench saw etc for this but hated it. Too noisy and not accurate enough for me.

I now do fret slots by hand, one slot per day, because its boring. Takes me about three weeks for each fret board! But its a quiet, calm process and very accurate.

I hope you are joking!!
It's an easy 10 minute job for me now with template, Stewmac mitre box and Japanese saw.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 24 2013 8:45:28

krichards

Posts: 597
Joined: Jan. 14 2007
From: York, England

RE: how I do fret slotting (in reply to Jeff Highland)

quote:

I hope you are joking!!
It's an easy 10 minute job for me now with template, Stewmac mitre box and Japanese saw.

No joke.
I use the same method as you and it probably takes me about 20 minutes in total. But its very boring so I do one slot a day ok?

As they say here in Yorkshire; 'There's nowt as queer as folk'

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Kevin Richards

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 24 2013 9:10:40

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: how I do fret slotting (in reply to krichards)

quote:

I now do fret slots by hand, one slot per day, because its boring. Takes me about three weeks for each fret board! But its a quiet, calm process and very accurate.

When you use the word boring, it makes your image plain and normal (we are all bored sometimes). If you instead wrote that you did one slot a day because you you need to get in contact with your inner self, yor zen, then your image would be mystical and holistic. Maybe this could mean some extra orders

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 24 2013 12:07:58

jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005

RE: how I do fret slotting (in reply to Anders Eliasson)

Anders,

I embedded the pictures. The sleeve is the round piece of metal to the right of the blade, it allows one to put a blade with a 1" hole on a 5/8" arbor. The zero clearance insert makes it easy to set the blade height and makes the vacuum system work better. The plexiglas template eliminates measuring the fret positions so it prevents the inevitable error caused by old eyes, the one in the picture is for 655mm and I have two others for 650 and 660 mm. The guide is made to run in both miter guide slots to assure it stays square to the blade. I reverse sides by simply flipping it around to saw tentallones.

This operation is so quiet that I don't even use ear protection and the fret slots turn out absolutely uniform and perpendicular to the surface. I've always disliked cutting fret slots but since I switched to this method I can slot all the fingerboards for a batch of guitars in a few minutes and know they will be uniform and accurate.

I apologize for the lousy pictures, I've never been a good photographer.

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John Shelton - www.sheltonfarrettaguitars.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 24 2013 14:17:17

constructordeguitarras

Posts: 1677
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

RE: how I do fret slotting (in reply to jshelton5040)

I do it similarly, but I use a crosscut carriage, or sleigh, with a front and a back fence. I use the kerf in the fence on my side to align with the pencil mark on the back of the fingerboard. I make the marks using a template that I made from a $2 aluminum yard stick. Hey, you made me realize that I should just stick my template to the back of the fingerboard with double stick tape instead of making pencil marks. Thanks!

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Ethan Deutsch
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 26 2013 5:13:56

krichards

Posts: 597
Joined: Jan. 14 2007
From: York, England

RE: how I do fret slotting (in reply to Anders Eliasson)

quote:

it makes your image plain and normal

Could be worse!

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Kevin Richards

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 26 2013 8:04:51

jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005

RE: how I do fret slotting (in reply to constructordeguitarras)

quote:

ORIGINAL: constructordeguitarras
Hey, you made me realize that I should just stick my template to the back of the fingerboard with double stick tape instead of making pencil marks. Thanks!

You're more than welcome Ethan. The only reason I posted this was to show that one could put together this fret slotting setup without spending the ridiculous amounts that vendors charge for miter boxes, back saws and milled blades. I like your sled, while looking at it it occured to me that one could set the guide at an angle and saw slots parallel with the nut on a pre-tapered fingerboard. This could require some more thought

.

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John Shelton - www.sheltonfarrettaguitars.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 26 2013 15:05:19

johnguitar

Posts: 208
Joined: Jan. 10 2006

RE: how I do fret slotting (in reply to jshelton5040)

John, I use something with physical notches for each fret position that looks a lot like your setup but my teacher ended up using a sleigh like Ethan and the "bed" had tapered sides to fit a pre-tapered fretboard. Then of course the cuts are perpendicular to the centreline. He too used the notches to situate each cut perfectly every time.

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John Ray
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 26 2013 15:27:30