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  #61  
Old 12-14-2016, 07:42 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kwakatak View Post
That's a beautiful fretboard. Is that ziricote? I also love those fretboard markers.
Hi Neil,

Good guess as it bears some resemblance to Zircote but the fret board is actually Madagascar RW. I invested in several of these landscape figured fret boards, bridge blanks, back and side sets from LMI about a 15 years ago when they had that once in a lifetime shipment of MRW. Its sad that 99% of the MRW on the market today is flat to rift sawn, at best.


These are a few quartersawn sets that dreams are made of

























The fret board markers are new-ish for us. We've only done a few in the past. Steve wanted a marker which he could easily see from the side yet still wrapped around to the front of the fret board.They are hard maple and coordinate with other subtle maple accents on the guitar, thanks to Mary's keen eye and loving guidance.
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Last edited by Tim McKnight; 12-19-2016 at 08:38 AM.
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  #62  
Old 12-20-2016, 07:47 AM
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Steve opted for Evo Gold fret wire. This fret wire is gold colored and much harder and more durable or wear resistant than standard 18% nickel / silver fret wire material. Its not as hard or difficult to work with as Stainless Steel wire and is a middle of the road option when considering fret wire. I've yet to replace a worn Evo Gold fret in the 10 years that I've been offering it so its certainly a viable option. The only down side that I've encountered is that it oxidizes and dulls down over time.












The fret ends need notched to allow them to set over the fret board's edge bindings.










The fret notching tool is a great time saver but it still leaves part of the fret tang protruding on the underside of the fret crown. This area requires a small amount of hand filing to ensure the fret seats flat to the fret board surface.





Each fret is cut to length to fit each individual fret slot. After I file each fret I stage them in a holder that corresponds to each fret location.
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  #63  
Old 12-21-2016, 06:13 AM
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So you finalize the fret ends after they are installed on the guitar?
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  #64  
Old 12-21-2016, 09:26 AM
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So you finalize the fret ends after they are installed on the guitar?
Yes.

I'll have him pull out a few pictures from his guitar build stash to show you. If he doesn't have any we can wrangle a few so you can see how he does that.
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  #65  
Old 12-21-2016, 09:51 AM
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Smile Jescar gold EVO frets

I am enjoying this thread! Nice axe!!!

Big fan of EVO frets here. I have enjoyed them on a bunch of guitars. Some have done a LOT of gigs now, one for almost six years, and still no fret wear to tell of.

Thanks, Tim for the cantilevered FB and CF rods concept (and guidance) John K is using on my new build.

A very merry Christmas to all!!!

Cheeers

Paul
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  #66  
Old 12-21-2016, 12:22 PM
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Tim ... this thing looks positively amazing ... love the redwood/walnut combo!
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  #67  
Old 12-22-2016, 11:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Guitars44me View Post
I am enjoying this thread! Nice axe!!!

Big fan of EVO frets here. I have enjoyed them on a bunch of guitars. Some have done a LOT of gigs now, one for almost six years, and still no fret wear to tell of.

Thanks, Tim for the cantilevered FB and CF rods concept (and guidance) John K is using on my new build.

A very merry Christmas to all!!!

Cheeers

Paul
Glad we were able to help in some small way Paul. Thanks and we wish you a very merry and blessed Christmas as well.
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  #68  
Old 12-22-2016, 11:50 AM
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Tim ... this thing looks positively amazing ... love the redwood/walnut combo!
Thanks David. Hope to see you again soon at a show in the future. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
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  #69  
Old 12-22-2016, 11:55 AM
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Originally Posted by cigarfan View Post
So you finalize the fret ends after they are installed on the guitar?
Nahhhh, I just leave them protrude a bit out past the edge of the fret board. The razor sharp fret ends provide excellent grip for those slippery times when your hands perspire.

The only down side is they may leave a few nasty scars or severed digits (sorry, I couldn't resist taking a stab at some fret humor).
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  #70  
Old 12-22-2016, 12:06 PM
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OK, back on topic ...

Now that the fretboard surface and slots are prepared its time to drive the frets home:





The neck is backed up with a 25lb bag of lead shotgun shot...




... Until we get to the body. Then the "Fret Buck" is clamped in place to provide back up support, to the top, while hammering the frets in over the body.





After all the frets have been properly seated and closely inspected we glue the frets in place with super thin CA (Super Glue).






The glue is allowed to dry for a few hours and then we will address Dennis' question about how we treat the ends of the razor sharp frets
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  #71  
Old 12-26-2016, 10:51 AM
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Whilst the CA glue dries around the frets we ream out the finish from the tuner holes in the peghead:





Hand ream each bridge pin hole to fit each indivdual bridge pin:





The bridge pins are numbered to correspond to each pin hole:





Bridge pin holes are slotted and ...:





Filed and .... :





then ramped to accept each size string size:





After final sanding the bridge and fret board are oiled:



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  #72  
Old 12-26-2016, 05:06 PM
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Wow. No detail too small. Awesome!
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  #73  
Old 12-27-2016, 07:51 AM
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Originally Posted by cigarfan View Post
Wow. No detail too small. Awesome!
Aren't Tim and Mary just the best at sharing stuff with us? I feel like I could build a guitar myself after one of their threads. Well okay, not really, but I do love to see details of all the work. Awesome people.
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  #74  
Old 12-27-2016, 07:52 AM
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Yeah, there are a lot of details that go into a build. Mary does a fantastic job documenting our work and all the small details for our customers. Thanks for following along.

Meanwhile as the glue dries ... the saddle has been intonated, sanded and buffed to a gloss:






Moving on to fit the nut blank:
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  #75  
Old 01-03-2017, 08:46 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cigarfan View Post
So you finalize the fret ends after they are installed on the guitar?
Sorry for the delayed response Dennis...

After the CA dries the frets are nipped square with the edge of the fret board:



Since the nipper doesn't get the fret ends perfectly flush the next step is to file the fret ends flush with the FB edge:




Then the fret ends are beveled with a file:





There are still micro sharp edges on the fret ends to deal with. I don't have a picture but the ends are then filed with a specialty safety side, small needle file to remove the burrs left from the bevel filing step. The file only cuts on one side and the file's edges are ground smooth. This prevents any damage to the fret board wood surface, as the file rolls.

The last step is to smooth and polish the fret ends with 1000 grit sandpaper:
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