Anyone built up a fretboard to compensate for bowing?

[harpon]

a hypothetical, but common situation,
an older classical guitar with no truss rod

the neck has been bowing over time and the bridge bone filed down several times to compensate, maybe the saddle top too-

What's left?

removing frets and shaving the neck?
neck replacement?

say it's not that valuable of a guitar
and you just want to get some lower action feel again
for a bit more time of use

So I started thinking- Can you BUILD UP the fretboard?
I've played fretless, and actually like it,

but if you start selectively filling by degree around frets with clearcoat or some other material,

Do the frets become any sort of problem otherwise?

Has anyone tried this solution?

whaddya think?

thank you.

Duplicate post.

If bowing is truly the only problem, then compression fretting would be a much better solution. Building up between the frets wouldn't accomplish anything since string contact is at the crown.

[harpon]

then what is "compression fretting"?

Simply put, compression fretting is using frets with wider tangs to wedge the neck into a straighter position. It's the way to correct excessive relief on steel string guitars built without adjustable truss rods. Old Martins are the most obvious example.

[Tony Done]

Heat treat and straighten the neck. It worked for me on an old National style O, maple neck, no truss rod.

[John Arnold]

Jusr removing and regluing the fingerboard will straighten the neck. That is more permanent than heat pressing the neck. If you want to 'build up' the fingerboard, you can install a shim underrneath it. A tapered shim (thick at the body end of the fingerboard) will allow you to use a taller saddle.

[harpon]

OK- thanks for the answers- I'm learning stuff here-

but a couple questions for points of clarification:

First, just how difficult is it to remove a fretboard? I'm assuming they're glued down- are there things to know about getting one off, and how easily do they break?

It sounds definitely like the way to go if feasible-
yes- a shim or buildup under the fret board.


then second- what exactly is heat treating the neck otherwise?
Is this done wioth hot water or other?


The only real experaience I have with this kind of thing was a few years back-
though I lived in a flood zone, the worst usual fllood was 18 inches, and it happened only once in the 3 years I lived there- the 3 feet foundation absorbed it -

But then 7 feet of water came unexpectedly and wiped the whole area out-
Almost all of my guitars were in the house, and spent several hours floating around inside-

the next day when I finally got inside through the debrris I got to all the guitars and let all the tension off and let them dry- there was no damage to any beyond some water stain on my classical-

except for two guitars- a Rogue 5 string bass I hadn't had more than a few months- I'd left up on the kitchen table when I left and the water was just coming over the floor- early morning darkness with lightning all night pouring rain and water to my armpits walking away- I figured there might be 6 inches more at most inside- but four feet then actually
The Rogue Bass got washed onto the floor, where the refrigerator fell on it-
a total ruin-

and then also a Fender strat-acoustic that was in a back room with debris washed in front of the door- I didn't get it out for several days-

and without the tension let off- the neck warped badly-


anyway a year later I figured I had nothing to lose with the warped neck off, and I soaked it in the tub for some time, and tried to straighten it-

It did straighten quite a bit- but not enough, and I thought about trying it some more but never did- can't recall if I had the tub hot though.

so how's this heat thing work?


and by the way- the padded gig bags seemed to provide the best protection in a severe flood-
I think the axes just floated around and weren't covered in mortar-like slimey mud like almost everything else then.

[John Arnold]

The most common heat press is an aluminum bar that has electric heating elements attached. It is clamped to the fingerboard, and heats the fingerboard while it is being held straight or bowed backwards slightly. After cooling, the apparatus is removed and the neck is checked for straightness. The process can be repeated if needed.
Removing a fingerboard is similar. Heat is applied (usually with a heat blanket or heat lamp) and a thin spatula is worked under the fingerboard to remove it.
Heat pressing or removing a fingerboard with heat assumes that the glue used is 'normal' wood glue....meaning hot hide glue, Titebond, or white glue. Epoxied fingerboards can also be removed, but they require hotter temperatures that are more likely to damage the finish or the inlays.

[Ned Milburn]

Originally Posted by harpon

a hypothetical, but common situation,
an older classical guitar with no truss rod

the neck has been bowing over time and the bridge bone filed down several times to compensate, maybe the saddle top too-

What's left?

removing frets and shaving the neck?

Removing the frets and planing the fingerboard is an easy and functional option. It allows to correct (to an extent) for any potential neck alignment issues, as well. Removing and replacing the fingerboard is a bigger job, and requires great skill and effort to do so the new seam is clean.

[printer2]

Originally Posted by John Arnold

The most common heat press is an aluminum bar that has electric heating elements attached. It is clamped to the fingerboard, and heats the fingerboard while it is being held straight or bowed backwards slightly. After cooling, the apparatus is removed and the neck is checked for straightness. The process can be repeated if needed.
Removing a fingerboard is similar. Heat is applied (usually with a heat blanket or heat lamp) and a thin spatula is worked under the fingerboard to remove it.
Heat pressing or removing a fingerboard with heat assumes that the glue used is 'normal' wood glue....meaning hot hide glue, Titebond, or white glue. Epoxied fingerboards can also be removed, but they require hotter temperatures that are more likely to damage the finish or the inlays.

What temperature would you shoot for with white glue?