Fingerboard gluing process evolution

[vandenboom]

I just glued the fingerboards to dreadnoughts 6 & 7 and used a different process again, which might be of interest to someone as I haven't seen it elsewhere. But for a laugh, here is a summary of my evolution on this front over the last 4 years.
Dread #1 - freehand gluing to pencil lines - say no more
Dreads 2 to 5 - two brads in fret slots - much better but still got more movement than I wanted, and had to line up the holes in the caul with the brads etc. etc. i.e. still not satisfied.
Dreads 6 & 7 - the pictures tell the story. The white plastic blocks were spacers that came with some window locks I fitted at home. They have enlarged screw holes to allow rough placement & then pull them in real tight against the fingerboard. Worked like a charm on both guitars. I'm sure others do it something like this, but I just hadn't come across it. Nice and simple. The kerfing I used is also 3/16" so makes a good nut spacer.



Like many of you, I also saw the new commercial jig that was announced recently via OLF which involves putting a dowel in the underside of the fingerboard...yet another way. I forget the suppliers name.

Frank

[Kim]

Hey Frank,

I've done similar but remove a little more waste from the shaft at each transition so the excess wood on either side of the shaft is only around 200mm long or less. I then position the fretboard and glue small blocks of wood to the waste either side to hold it in position. When these are dry, I then glue the FB and later carve away the positioning blocks and waste from the shaft in one go.

Some folks say that you need to remove all the waste wood you can before gluing the FB so the neck does not move as tension is released as you calve it away later. I think that if you are careful in selecting the right wood to begin with and then remove all but what is necessary to line up the FB, it just does not matter that much.

Cheers

Kim

[Tom West]

Frank: Every guitar I've made I used the brads in the fret slots. Two in the second slot and two in the twelveth. I nip the heads off the brads put them in the hand drill chuck and drill thier own hole. Solid as a rock. You have to clean up the back of the fret board where the brads com through. I have a caul made up with holes for the brads. Works like a dream.

[kiwigeo]

I do it just as Tom describes and have never had any problems.

[jeffhigh]

Me too but instead of brads i use plastic rod ( the same one I use for side of fingerboard markers)
I cut it off so there is only 2.5mm protruding fom the neck surface and leave it in place so no need for holes in the caul.