Cutting Fretboard to Length - Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag
In this episode, luthier Robbie O’Brien offers an easy tip on how to cut your fretboard to the correct length.
Video Transcription
[on-screen text reads: Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag]
Mailbag question: Do you have any tips on how to get the end of the fretboard cut to the right length?
Robert O'Brien: Today's Tips du Jour Mailbag question comes to us from New York. "Robert, I've always struggled with getting the end of the fretboard cut to the right length. Have you got any tips to help make this process easier? Scott from Horseheads, New York." Horseheads, New York, that's what it says.
Scott, I have always struggled with that as well, but I've got a really neat little tip that somebody on my private chat group offered recently. I would like to give them credit, but I can't remember who it was. But let me show you the tip.
How I use to cut fretboards
Here's the way I used to do it and I really struggled with it, kind of like you did. I would get down here and I'd eyeball underneath here where I think I could cut it off at and I would mark it across the top like this. You've got a really small window of opportunity back here. If you're using the traditional herringbone type rosette with the inner and outer ring, you don't want to expose the seams there. You've got very small area there that you can actually cut that off. And if you miss it, technical term for that is bad. Let me show you a real easy way, real easy tip to mark that exactly where it needs to be.
How I cut fretboards to length now
Here's the tip. Take a piece of tape and place it across there exactly where you want the end of that fretboard to come to [Robert places tape on guitar body just above the soundhole]. Now on my guitars, I like them to come just a little bit this side of the soundhole, but not exposing the joint of that inner ring. Now with the fretboard clamped in the correct position, it's centered, it's already been tapered. I can now see exactly on that tape line where the end of that fretboard needs to come to. However, since it's already been tapered, I want to make sure it's square. I take a sliding bevel like this and go ahead and align it with the fret. Then slide it out here to the edge of the tape and mark. That's where the edge of the fretboard needs to come to. You can cut that off of there, glue your fretboard down, and life's good.
Scott, in Horseheads, New York, thank you very much for your question. I would be interested in learning where that name came from. It's not Horsehead. It's Horseheads, plural. Anyway, there's no excuse now for cutting your fretboard off too short or too long. And happy building.
[on-screen text reads: More Luthier Tips and online courses available at www.obrienguitars.com. Private and small group guitar building and finishing instruction available.]
