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Fretting about Frets, are they square?

Posted by Gary Stenzel on February 6, 2017 at 11:17am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

I see most of the CBGs have straight necks, so squaring up the frets shouldnt be a big deal. What about if you are making more of a Uke-type neck where one end is wider than the other? How do you get those squared up? Do you mark the frets before cutting the width, while the wood is still square?
I have built 2 ukuleles so far and I purchased both fretboards already fretted so I never had to worry about that before. I love to customize everything and knowing how it's all done will help me to be a better builder.

Thanks for hints, tips, and tricks! Once I learn the basics of fretting I should be well on my way to the Fun Part, building!

I love this place!

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fret, frets, fretting, miter, squaring

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Replies

Don Barnhill February 7, 2017 at 12:17pm

I use the Stew Mac fretting jig that utilizes machined templates with accurate scale lengths and cut my fret slots prior to tapering the neck.
Best of luck!
- Gary Stenzel > Don Barnhill February 7, 2017 at 5:51pm
  
  I love the champagne lifestyle, but I'm on a beer budget. LOL
  
  I still have to do the math.
  
  Thanks Don!
  - Lane Martin > Gary Stenzel February 8, 2017 at 12:02pm
    
    I use FretFind2d online. I feed it the scale length, etc., and it will create a pdf layout of the frets. I print that, adhere it to the fretboard with a little spray adhesive and saw on the lines. The paper peels off easily and a little light sanding gets rid of any adhesive left over.
    - Gary Stenzel > Lane Martin February 8, 2017 at 12:10pm
      
      Oh wow. That sounds pretty simple too.
      
      Thanks Lane!
      - Gary Stenzel > Gary Stenzel February 8, 2017 at 12:14pm
        
        Quite nice!
        
        http://www.ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d/
        
        Timothy Hunter > Gary Stenzel February 9, 2017 at 7:57am
        
        print a few test necks first. then measure them against what the program says the measurements should be. I found my laser printer was not 100% i had to print at 102% to get correct measurements.
        
        Frank Larkin > Timothy Hunter February 9, 2017 at 4:47pm
        
        Went to the page and put info in and saw the scale numbers and the graphic of the neck but how do you print it out? No submit or print button...
        
        Gary Stenzel > Frank Larkin February 9, 2017 at 4:57pm
        
        You would save it (As PDF) to your computer first. When you open it locally with Adobe Reader you will have your print options.
        
        Gary Stenzel > Timothy Hunter February 9, 2017 at 10:04am
        
        Good advice. Thanks!
  - Timothy Hunter > Gary Stenzel February 8, 2017 at 6:43am
    
    you can make a bevel gauge out of 2 bits of straight wood and a bolt.... im on a beer once a month budget...lol
    
    i use the online fret calculators and recently on of our members posted a spread sheet you can download. all you have to do is input the scale length and it auto calculates the rest..http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/here-is-an-excellsheet-i...