How do you measure a decimal on a ruler. For example how do you measure 1.431 inches?
Also for fret marking is measuring to the 1/100 place okay or do you have to mark it to
1/1000 place? Thanks.
Pat
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Replies
Multiply the portion to the right of the decimal by 32. You probably can't resolve finer than 1/32 of an inch.
For example: .431 X 32 = 13.792. Round to nearest whole number, which gives you 14.
14/32 = 7/16
Or use metric.
Either way, make all measurements from the nut to avoid compounding errors...
Thank you Jim for your help. Where at the nut do you take the measurement? Do you install
the nut and then measure from the middle of it or the top (at headstock) or bottom of
the nut. Regards.
Pat
You need to measure from what you're calling the bottom of the nut. That's the edge on the fret board side. Ideally the nut should have a downward slant in the direction of the head so the strings only contact that edge that you measure from. I almost always use a zero fret nowadays but zero frets are a whole 'nuther discussion. Good luck with it all! I'm thinking about doing a short tutorial on this soon since I've seen some questions about it.
What he said!
This is the reason I switched to metric for fret measuring. The StewMac fret calculator allows for millimeters and they are way easier to measure with a metric yardstick than trying to convert fractions to 1/1000 of an inch. Measuring to 1/1000 of an inch is unrealistic anyway and with mm I usually round up or down to the nearest half mm and it works pretty well. The other shortcut I've used is to purchase some pre slotted fret boards in the scale I want and use them to mark the slots. That's way easier than measuring.
You can use this chart. http://durexindustries.com/upload/Fraction_Conversion_Chart.pdf
You'll probably find that you aren't going to be able to cut fret slots to the 1/1,000 of an inch anyway unless you are using a computer controlled saw. My theory is if I really wanted frets I would buy a pre-cut neck. Prefer slide anyway so I don't fret my builds.