Fingerboard Preparation & Gluing

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Four rosewood fingerboard
blanks sanded to correct
thickness


The blanks are roughed
out oversize on the
bandsaw and have a
centreline marked


The blank is
double-side-taped to
the fret slot template,
aligned accurately along
its centreline


The slots are cut to depth
in the cutting jig


The slots all cut


The fingerboard edges are
then routed to correct
shape using the neck
template and routing jig -
seen here after routing


The board is
double-side-taped to a
piece of plate-glass and
radiused with a 12 inch
radius block, taking great
care to keep the radius
even along the whole
length of the board


The radiused fingerboard


Small holes are drilled
through slots 3 and 15 to
allow registering pins
to be tapped through just
into the neck top - the
pins stop the fingerboard
from slipping when it is
glued and clamped - the
neck in the background
has its fingerboard
pinned in situ


The neck top is glued ...


... and the fingerboard
applied and clamped in
a jig - the registering pin
in slot 3 comes up through
a hole in the transparent
clamping piece but is hidden
in this view behind the
second clamp screw


The fingerboard after the
glue has hardened and
the registering pins have
been removed - the excess
glue is a good sign that
there is ample glue within
all parts of the joint

 

 

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