Forums

Side Dot Markers

Posted by Hal Robertson on November 17, 2016 at 11:26am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Maybe this has been posted before or it's just common knowledge and I'm a doofus. Regardless...

I've been using airsoft pellets for fretboard dots for a while. Minimal hassle, cheap and fairly consistent results. But the side dots are my nemesis. I know I could just buy the material and be done with it, but I'm either too cheap or just too hardcore DIY or... something. Mental block on these.

The other day, I spotted a CBG with screwheads woodburned into the fretboard. Thought that was pretty neat so I tried it last night. Didn't get the results I was looking for, but the light bulb went on. Why couldn't I just bolt a nail into my soldering iron and burn side dots.

Well, you can! It's not a proper woodburning set, but I cut the head off a nail, ground it flat and screwed it into my HF 30w soldering iron. Results! Also made some nice test dots with the actual nail head too. This may be my new go-to for dark markers.

Now, if you could only burn white...

You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!

Join Cigar Box Nation

Email me when people reply –

Replies

Rob Todd November 21, 2016 at 11:31am

When I have used rivets to feed the strings through I save the pins that the rivets were on. These have nice round heads. I trim them off at about 1/4" and nail them into the side of the neck as markers.
- Fomhorach > Rob Todd November 22, 2016 at 12:32am
  
  Nice idea. I do something similar with tiny little nails. Same size as the nails used with corner protectors. For fret markers I've been using the rivet heads.
John Sawyer November 21, 2016 at 12:32am

Looks great. I've used a round-tip wood burner, 1/16" ABS rod, even 12ga copper.

The copper starts out being cool, but you can't see it. The white ABS is very visible. I did some pinkish purple, 1.75mm ABS for a 3-d printer, used a #'d drill set to find one close enough...

There are lots of 3d printer sample packs that get you 20' of different colors if you wanted some variety.
Shawn November 20, 2016 at 9:35pm

I use 1/8 brass rod from Ace for mine
image.jpeg
Kigar November 19, 2016 at 9:37am

Great idea! Another free marker and dot method is to make an impression into the side of the neck. I chucked a straight screwdriver bit into the drill press (don't turn it on!) and make dents for fretmarkers. A small rod or upside down drill bit makes dots. Dab paint into the dents and lightly sand the neck to clean it up.
Derek Rose November 18, 2016 at 9:49pm

Good idea. Looks great!
Tom T November 18, 2016 at 4:46pm

I picked up about three feet of 12 gauge solid core copper wire at HD. I found a drill bit slightly smaller than the wire . I then sharpen the end of wire and cut a 1/4" piece that I can tap into my holes. This seats them in the hole. A couple of passes with a flat file and they are flush and shiny red copper fret marker. I think the three feet of wire will last the rest of my days.
darryl kernaghan November 17, 2016 at 6:03pm

That worked well, another simple idea for fret dots is knitting needles, all different sizes and colours, just drill,tap the needle in, cut off and sand, very simple.
- Timothy Hunter > darryl kernaghan November 19, 2016 at 8:44am
  
  good idea daryl, might just pinch that.. op shops are full of old knitting needles..
Shawn November 17, 2016 at 5:43pm

Great tip pun intended. To fill that space under the fret's with a mixture of some sawdust of whatever the fretboard is made out of and 10 min epoxy and press it into the gap then wipe clean with some clean rag to get rid of excess mixture. I saw them doing this at the Gibson build line when I toured the plant a few years ago.