Anyone doing this? I just got some plexi to make a bunch of jigs and want to make one to slot fretboards on my bandsaw. Biggest problem I have is kerf slot - my blades cut a .025 slot which is just a bit too wide to hold the frets secure. Anyone know of a source for thin kerf 62" blades, or is there a safe way to thin the kerf cut on an existing blade? I thought about holding a file against the running blade to reduce the tooth set, but don't know if that would work. I do know it would ruin the blade for any other work. (I'm okay with making it a dedicated blade for slotting)
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I bought the stew mac blade for my radial arm saw. I do a test on a piece of wood like the fretboard is made of until I get the depth set and then start sawing. It is very fast and slick. Yes the blade is expensive
Hal,
You can pick up a scroll saw on Craigs List for less than $50 almost any day. I've seen them go for $25. Less than the price of a band saw blade for a dedicated fret cutter.
I can't help you with the wife issue, but I do long distance counselling... :-)
the best,
Sam
LOL! I will check out CL locally, but I went and ran a file against the blade and trimmed the tooth set down to where the fret wire holds tight. I think I'm good to go, and will not have to incur the wrath of the boss!
I'll put up some pics of my jig in a couple of days. It should work on a scroll saw too if there is a miter slot on the table. I also built a jig to rout saddle blanks at an angle, and a string spacing jig. Next will be some headstock templates and other scale length templates.
I suppose you can guess that I got an incredible buy on some Plexiglas!
You're right, bandsaw blades are too thick. Scroll Saws are the ticket. uniform depth and perfectly square. Darren Duke did a youtube on the subject.
This looks worth a try. I've been needing to upgrade from my Stewmac back saw. I know the table saw blade is nice but expensive, so this looks reasonable for those of us with a scroll saw handy.
Yep, that's nice, but a scroll saw's not in the budget right now. That, plus the wife would kill me if I brought home another power tool! Guess I'll have to learn to glue the frets in.