I got this idea looking at Dr. Bytes blog on making a cheap fret scale template. I cut a aluminum yardstick in half ........clamped the two halfs together......used the yardstick to mark my scale.... and cut notches in the two halfs of the yardstick ,where every fret goes, with my Harbor freight "fret saw" !! I then mounted the two halfs on a board the width of my neck, with a stop on the end for the fret board and to act as a stop for my yardstick halfs. Wow!! This works great for me. I was having a REALLY HARD time cutting frets. This makes it easy ! Thanks , Nation !!!!!!!
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How did you make sure your saw slot was perpendicular to the plane of the miter box?
Sharecropper > Bill HarbourFebruary 2, 2012 at 2:05pm
The cuts are made when the two halfs of yardstick are flush at the uncut ends and clamped to EACH OTHER . So cuts are made on both halfs at the same time .
I used the Harbor Freight japanese flush cut saw , the same saw many use to cut their fret slots . Better get two the one you use on this project won't be good for cutting fret slots with any more !
I betcha he set the depth when he cut the slots ,, bottoms out on his "yardsticks" hope he done it this way as i am a gonna make one just like !!!!!!!!!!!!! I eye balled the depth and then set it by cutting a fretboard in it . Take care cutting" straight" down from your mark. The bottom of the cut is what your scale will be! My cuts in the yardstick are about a 1/4 inch deep. Don't count on the yardstick as a stop. It's way to easy to cut through!! I expect this jig will wear out over time and get less accurate. But I think I'll get a lot of fretboards out of it before that !!!!!!
I betcha he set the depth when he cut the slots ,, bottoms out on his "yardsticks" hope he done it this way as i am a gonna make one just like !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Replies
How did you make sure your saw slot was perpendicular to the plane of the miter box?
The cuts are made when the two halfs of yardstick are flush at the uncut ends and clamped to EACH OTHER . So cuts are made on both halfs at the same time .
I used the Harbor Freight japanese flush cut saw , the same saw many use to cut their fret slots . Better get two the one you use on this project won't be good for cutting fret slots with any more !
Richard G Caudill said:
NICE idea! I see you have the Japanese flush cut saw from Harbor, so they also sell cheap yardsticks. VERY interesting.
-WY