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Measuring Frets the Easy Way - WFret to the Rescue!

Posted by Doug Thorsvik on January 10, 2009 at 10:00pm
wfret.zip I just thought I would use the blog feature to pass on some of what I have learned building cigar box guitars. If you are still using a ruler to measure where to cut the frets on your fretboard or neck you are working way too hard! I measured and marked (guesstimated really since my ruler lacked the precision required for the job) the fret lines for cutting on my first cigar box guitar. I found it challenging to say the least and hoped I was accurate enough. I discovered the WFret program (see link above) for Windows by Jonathan D. Whitney on the web and gave it a try. I will never measure by hand again. I have used it for 24", 24.8", 25", 27", and 30" scale length fretboards. You can pick a popular scale length from a list or be adventurous and enter a custom scale length in inches or millimeters and you can print a template. I tape the template to the fretboard and just cut on the lines; it couldn’t be easier. Have fun Doug
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Comments

  • Doug Thorsvik January 21, 2017 at 4:12pm
    I just cut the strips out then angle cut the ends of one side so I can line up the overlapping fret lines and then tape the strips together.

    Working on moving beyond the StewMac miter box for cutting the slots to a custom sled on Harbor Freight's 4" Mighty Mite table saw! It should be more versatile technique.
  • Murray January 21, 2017 at 12:11pm

    Question on use.

    I just installed Wfret on a laptop with Windows 10. No printer connected at the moment so I print as pdf file then can carry the laptop to a printer later.

    The PDF file basically looked like two lengths of fretboard laid side by side.

    Obviously, most fretboards will be longer than letter-size 8.5"x11" (or metric A4?) paper, so this is probably normal...

    Just cut the sections out and line them in-line?

    Thank you

  • Murray January 21, 2017 at 12:01pm

    Thank you.

  • Burt Philbrick February 26, 2016 at 3:08am

    This is excellent! Thanks for sharing. I built one fretless cigar box guitar and was looking into what I need for the next build to be a fretted model.

  • blharmon January 16, 2016 at 7:56pm

    Wfret installs and runs using the WINE windows emulator on a linux machine.

  • Greg Shipley December 8, 2013 at 11:42am

    Thanks Dan That is a great download.

  • Dan Sleep December 7, 2013 at 2:38pm

    Greg, just pick a big number like 22 or 23 and print it out. Mark the frets up until you run out of fretboard.

  • Greg Shipley December 7, 2013 at 2:33pm

    I am new to fretting and guitar building that said i have a 3 string guitar with a fret board 17" in length and i assume the scale length is the distance from the nut to the bridge so if i am right so far and this software asks how many frets what is the answer?

  • Mike Strehlow November 15, 2013 at 2:32am

    I've used this before but never tried to enter a fractional scale length that is not on the preloaded list.  I am trying to enter 12 7/8 (It's a long story) but I keep getting an error message saying the scale length is 0.  Any suggestions?

  • Kenny Hay November 3, 2012 at 11:48pm

    Fantastic toll many thanks for sharing it.

    Opens up a whole new world of options.

    Kenny

This reply was deleted.