eGuitar Plan's Daily Diary 12/14/11

Today I sanded the radius onto two fretboards. Then, I glued them into place on their respective necks. One will be for a Highline Envirocaster Single Cut and the other will find a home on a Highline Envirocaster Double Cut. Check out the progress photos:

I used a 12" radius sanding block with 60 grit sandpaper to form the initial radius. Then I switched to 80, 150 and finally 220 grit to get it ready for the frets.

After installing the truss rod (with a bead of bathtub caulk along its length to prevent buzz), I glued on the fretboard.

Notice the glue squeeze out? When it dries, I'll knock off the glue with a chisel. I never wipe off excess glue. That causes the glue to soak into the wood, which prevents the wood from absorbing the finish.

eGuitar Plan's Daily Diary 12/11/11

Spent most of the day watching football (Go Broncos!). During halftime, I cranked out a fretboard. I made this one by first slotting the blank for a 25.5" scale. Then, I added strips of Maple to the sides sort of like binding. This will hide the ends of the frets for a cleaner look and smoother feel.

Binding a Fretboard

Today, I bound a Rosewood fretboard with some white binding. After scrapping off the excess, I  sanded the bottom true so it will sit nice an flat on the neck. Before I install it, I'll add some mother-of-pearl marker dots and the fret wire.

All In A Days Work...

Five necks and two fretboards. Whew!

How to Slot a Fretboard With a Bandsaw

Check out this video on how I slot my fretboards. Just finished slotting 18 boards in less than thirty minutes.

My Latest Electric Guitar Neck

Along with several other electric guitar builds that I have in progress, I'm starting a new one, which will be called the Highline Neolux. I'm almost finished with making the neck and I thought I share some photos of the work up to this point:

The fretboard is Morado and the marker dots are Maple.

I carved the volute as far forward as possible
to keep it from interfering with the fretting hand.

The neck itself is made from Canarywood and will be
a bolt-on design with a minimal heel.

Dig the truss rod adjustment access hole.

I love the color and grain of Canarywood, not to mention
its amazing tonal properties.