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Fretting about Frets, are they square?

I see most of the CBGs have straight necks, so squaring up the frets shouldnt be a big deal. What about if you are making more of a Uke-type neck where one end is wider than the other? How do you get those squared up? Do you mark the frets before cutting the width, while the wood is still square?
I have built 2 ukuleles so far and I purchased both fretboards already fretted so I never had to worry about that before. I love to customize everything and knowing how it's all done will help me to be a better builder.

Thanks for hints, tips, and tricks! Once I learn the basics of fretting I should be well on my way to the Fun Part, building!

I love this place!

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on February 6, 2017 at 5:26am

Yep. Square em up and mark em before you taper the neck.

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on February 6, 2017 at 5:54am

Only confirming Ron's post, mark them, cut them, prior to tapering, it is difficult to set up later, not impossible, but much easier

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Permalink Reply by Gary Stenzel on February 6, 2017 at 12:24pm

Thanks guys! You kinda confirmed what I already expected. I appreciate the replies!

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Permalink Reply by Timothy Hunter on February 7, 2017 at 1:38am

use a bevel gauge. if you have already cut the neck taper you can use a bevel gauge to set the angle between the neck and the nut. slide the guage down the neck and the lines will still be square to the nut.

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Permalink Reply by Gary Stenzel on February 7, 2017 at 4:50am

That's a great idea! Would definitely help if I got ahead of myself. I do that sometimes. LOL

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Permalink Reply by Don Barnhill on February 7, 2017 at 6:17am

I use the Stew Mac fretting jig that utilizes machined templates with accurate scale lengths and cut my fret slots prior to tapering the neck.
Best of luck!

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Permalink Reply by Gary Stenzel on February 7, 2017 at 11:51am

I love the champagne lifestyle, but I'm on a beer budget. LOL

I still have to do the math.

Thanks Don!

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Permalink Reply by Timothy Hunter on February 8, 2017 at 12:43am

you can make a bevel gauge out of 2 bits of straight wood and a bolt.... im on a beer once a month budget...lol

i use the online fret calculators and recently on of our members posted a spread sheet you can download. all you have to do is input the scale length and it auto calculates the rest..http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/here-is-an-excellsheet-i...

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Permalink Reply by Gary Stenzel on February 8, 2017 at 3:04am

Thanks Tim! That's more my style. LOL

That spreadsheet will make life a lot easier!

Thank you sir!

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Permalink Reply by JL on February 8, 2017 at 3:21am

I built my own spreadsheet, much like that one, it gives me the freedom to design to what materials I have in front of me, and go outside the box (pun intended), or reverse engineer a what if scenario...

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Permalink Reply by Gary Stenzel on February 8, 2017 at 3:25am

I wish I was better with Excel. Sure is a handy tool.

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Permalink Reply by Lane Martin on February 8, 2017 at 6:02am

I use FretFind2d online. I feed it the scale length, etc., and it will create a pdf layout of the frets. I print that, adhere it to the fretboard with a little spray adhesive and saw on the lines. The paper peels off easily and a little light sanding gets rid of any adhesive left over.