Ok im sold..
that was the missing link Di, my biggest concern chewing up the wood..
im tipping you could make those with a coke can and a stanley knife or sharp scissors..
That is a good idea - the trial fingerboard method! Maybe if you cut the slots in the trial fingerboard a bit wide, too.
Or you could fake the "ghost fret" look by setting it in in two parts, one the partial fret and butt up against it a ghost fret/tang only. Ghost goes in first I'd imagine.
Do you think that it would damage the barbs on the fret wire too much if you were to set them into a piece of soft wood (like bass or maybe poplar~), shape the inside portion of the cut off frets and then replaced them into the actual fretboard for final shaping.
Or instead of wood try to find 1/8" thick rubber sheeting and set the frets in it for coarse shaping. The rubber sheeting can be bent apart so as not to damage the barbs...
it sure would :)
it would also give the fretwire a much better grip in the wood..
and eliminate the need for exactly lining it up when tapping it in..
it is an idea i have been considering for a few days, although I am certainly not trying to steal Josh's thunder, he came up with it here first..
After wasting half a dozen frets on a blank of pine trying both ways I am still undecided.. Landing the split right where you want it is not so hard, but getting it looking and feeling exactly right on the inside edges is..i do think Josh's suggestion has quite a few merits, but may need making a jig or two etc..If you were to try it, I think you'd want to install only those frets first, in case you need to shoot over with sandpaper or a tiny plane, then fit the whole ones and dress the lot down flush..
Also, because we're looking at different turnigs, Di and I are splitting them slightly differently; in each octave she has a -00 and a 0-- ... in each octave I have a 0-0 and a -0- if you follow, and its the one thats split down the middle which scares me the most, only because i can be something of a perfectionist..
you could grind them down, ideally with the dremel again, but it would take extreme care to get the flat part completely flat without scarring the wood at all...
It could be done, but probably the trickiest solution of all..
Comments
Thanks Randy thats pretty much what i thought
that was the missing link Di, my biggest concern chewing up the wood..
im tipping you could make those with a coke can and a stanley knife or sharp scissors..
Or you could fake the "ghost fret" look by setting it in in two parts, one the partial fret and butt up against it a ghost fret/tang only. Ghost goes in first I'd imagine.
I am not so worried about finishing the partial ends if I use this: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Polishing_and_abrasiv...
Randy Bretz uses a dremel polishing head to finish his fret ends. I'll have to ask him which head it is.
Which I don't yet own.
Or instead of wood try to find 1/8" thick rubber sheeting and set the frets in it for coarse shaping. The rubber sheeting can be bent apart so as not to damage the barbs...
it would also give the fretwire a much better grip in the wood..
and eliminate the need for exactly lining it up when tapping it in..
it is an idea i have been considering for a few days, although I am certainly not trying to steal Josh's thunder, he came up with it here first..
After wasting half a dozen frets on a blank of pine trying both ways I am still undecided.. Landing the split right where you want it is not so hard, but getting it looking and feeling exactly right on the inside edges is..i do think Josh's suggestion has quite a few merits, but may need making a jig or two etc..If you were to try it, I think you'd want to install only those frets first, in case you need to shoot over with sandpaper or a tiny plane, then fit the whole ones and dress the lot down flush..
Also, because we're looking at different turnigs, Di and I are splitting them slightly differently; in each octave she has a -00 and a 0-- ... in each octave I have a 0-0 and a -0- if you follow, and its the one thats split down the middle which scares me the most, only because i can be something of a perfectionist..
It could be done, but probably the trickiest solution of all..
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