Congratulations to those who fretted their own guitars...

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

3D printers, offer all sorts of possibilities for manufacturing. It'll be interesting to see how that technology makes its way into guitar making. For example, need a new bridge? Download a design you like and print it. Need a new nut? Design what you need and print it. That isn't about speed or reproducibility.

Let's not get carried away , Charles.

A 3-D printer may well be able to print a protoype of a bridge or a nut, but it will still require old fashioned subtractive technology, albeit CNC, to actually manufacture the bridge or nut which is going to go onto the guitar. Maybe the router could use the printed artefact as a template, but it would probably be more effective to simply program the router right from the gitgo and bypass the printing.

3 D printing is undoubtedly going to be revolutionary in many, many ways, but no printer is ever going to be able to print ebony, or bone, and guitarists are never going to want bridges or nuts made from the materials which they can print.

I can, however, visualise a burgeoning market for custom designed titanium tailpieces for archtop guitars ...

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by murrmac123

3 D printing is undoubtedly going to be revolutionary in many, many ways, but no printer is ever going to be able to print ebony, or bone, and guitarists are never going to want bridges or nuts made from the materials which they can print.

A friend of mine dedicated his Master's thesis related to energy policy to the 1903 World Book Encylopedia that defined uranium as, "...a worthless yellow substance". Just sayin'....sometimes foresight is a beautiful thing.

[Ned Milburn]

Originally Posted by murrmac123

Let's not get carried away , Charles.

A 3-D printer may well be able to print a protoype of a bridge or a nut, but it will still require old fashioned subtractive technology, albeit CNC, to actually manufacture the bridge or nut which is going to go onto the guitar. Maybe the router could use the printed artefact as a template, but it would probably be more effective to simply program the router right from the gitgo and bypass the printing.

3 D printing is undoubtedly going to be revolutionary in many, many ways, but no printer is ever going to be able to print ebony, or bone, and guitarists are never going to want bridges or nuts made from the materials which they can print.

I can, however, visualise a burgeoning market for custom designed titanium tailpieces for archtop guitars ...

Once 3D printing becomes closer to mainstream, the printing media are sure to grow as well. Recently I even saw a program where presently someone is using 3d printing for edible food creations. It would not surprise me if in my life time people have begun 3d printing bridges, tuners, and/or other guitar parts with some sort of synthetic material.

[jeff crisp]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1...3d-printed-gun

[redir]

I've already seen 3D printed electric guitars, really cool stuff.

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

A friend of mine dedicated his Master's thesis related to energy policy to the 1903 World Book Encylopedia that defined uranium as, "...a worthless yellow substance". Just sayin'....sometimes foresight is a beautiful thing.

Absolutely, Charles ...the history of technology is strewn with the the rash statements of men who should have known better ...didn't the president of IBM back in the day say that he couldn't see any reason why anybody would want a personal computer ?

3D printing will undoubtedly have a major impact on our futures, and personal 3D desktop printers will probably become as common as personal computers are at present. As soon as printers which can print metal artefacts which have strength as opposed to mere decorative value become affordable, I certainly want one.

My forecast, FWIW (which isn't much) is that there will be two distinct areas in 3D printing.

Industrially, I don't think that the printing process will be used so much for actual repetitive manufacture, but it will certainly be used for prototypes, and also for creating primary moulds and dies etc.(quickly and cheaply) from which mass produced articles can be made using traditional methods.

There will also be a "personal " sector, catering to artists and craftspeople of all persuasions, who will be able to produce custom one-offs, at affordable prices.

But ...what do I know ? Back in 1979 when I bought my first personal computer and learned to program in BASIC, did I foresee the existence of the internet 30 years later ?

No , I did not ...

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by murrmac123

Industrially, I don't think that the printing process will be used so much for actual repetitive manufacture...

It's been used for actual repetitive manufacture for some time now - a few decades, then known as sterolithography (SLA) . Yes, it is also often used for rapid prototyping.

It is even being used (or proposed for use) in "extruding" concrete to build buildings, one layer at a time. Thus it has "macro" and "micro" applications built upon the same technology.

Spend a few minutes on Youtube and you'll see the very wide applications to which it can be - or will be - put to use. Staggering.

I'm a "late adopter" of CNC milling, but I intend to be an "early adopter" of 3D printing.

[Jackknifegypsy]

Just on the offchance that there might be more than just chip outs from the dried out fret slots (the chips were so large when I removed the frets, which were badly worn down and pictured in an earlier thread, ---that a new fretboard was necessary, I laid the calipers on the first fret and it was perfect.

However, every succeeding fret slot is moving further and further away from the nut in thousandths (from the second fret slot) and up to nearly 1/8" at the last one according to the, "Tundra Man Workshop", website. He has prepared a Fretboard Calculator that I would like to submit to this board to see if his calculations, and the table he prepared, can be confirmed.

I had intended to use, as a template for a new fret board, the original one. However....

I went to a calculator for the old fret slots because the fret template I was going to order from Stew-Mac is not available in a 609.6 mm scale (24").

Finally, does anyone know of an available for sale Fret slot template for 609.8 mm scale?

[Bugeyed]

Originally Posted by Jackknifegypsy

Just on the offchance that there might be more than just chip outs from the dried out fret slots (the chips were so large when I removed the frets, which were badly worn down and pictured in an earlier thread, ---that a new fretboard was necessary, I laid the calipers on the first fret and it was perfect.

However, every succeeding fret slot is moving further and further away from the nut in thousandths (from the second fret slot) and up to nearly 1/8" at the last one according to the, "Tundra Man Workshop", website. He has prepared a Fretboard Calculator that I would like to submit to this board to see if his calculations, and the table he prepared, can be confirmed.

I had intended to use, as a template for a new fret board, the original one. However....

I went to a calculator for the old fret slots because the fret template I was going to order from Stew-Mac is not available in a 609.6 mm scale (24").

Well, I wonder why you choose the Tundra man to get your information. His calculations don't match the Stewmac calculator & he even says that it is not spot on! Sure, he says that most can't cut a fret slot accurately enough for his calculated error to matter, but why would you even consider starting with the wrong measurement. I'd be inclined to trust the Stewmac calculator!!! You may have to make your own template & build a jig.
Cheers,
kev

[Jackknifegypsy]

I'm running, to the Stew-Mac.

Thx

[Bugeyed]

Originally Posted by Jackknifegypsy

I'm running, to the Stew-Mac.

Thx

Smart man! Building a jig by hand promises to be a very tedious & possibly frustrating job, but many do it, so it's possible. Maybe Charles T. can provide some tips.

kev

[Jackknifegypsy]

as a template; the Stew-Mac calculator moves the fret slot even further from the nut. A further distance of .045 at first to .268 at #22.

I wonder if this guitar ever played in tune with this kind of fret placement. When I got it in, I immediately removed the old rusty strings, the neck from the body, and the frets from the neck.

A Template for a 24" (609.8) scale seems like it should be available but as you say if I have to make one.......

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by Bugeyed

Well, I wonder why you choose the Tundra man to get your information....he even says that it is not spot on!

Fret placement calculations aren't rocket science.

If you are making a one-off fingerboard, there is little point in making a template to cut the slots - it's more work to make the template than it is to cut the fingerboard slots directly. It can be done adequately with a calculator, ruler, knife, appropriately kerfed backsaw and a square. It's easier if you have a fancy miter box, such as LMII or stewmac sell, but it is still possible.

"Traditionalists" have even slotted fingerboards using a sliding T bevel and backsaw AFTER the fingerboard is already on the guitar. See Sloane et al. Not something I'd prefer, but people have done it.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by Jackknifegypsy

as a template; the Stew-Mac calculator moves the fret slot even further from the nut. A further distance of .045 at first to .268 at #22.

I don't know what you are measuring, or how, but it seems very likely that whatever you are using as a scale length isn't correct since the calculated locations don't match the actual ones. "Nobody" makes a guitar with a fret more than a 1/4" out of position. Either the guitar is wrong, or what you are using as a scale length is.

An application of the Theory of Thales provides a very quick geometric way of laying out fret placements of nearly any scale length. Any geometric layout method is prone to some errors in transferring, but it is an interesting way to understand the geometric progression of the frets. I've tired, unsuccessfully, to put that principle into practice to make a jig that will cut any chosen scale length just by adjusting a few screws. It's due for another kick at the cat.

[Jackknifegypsy]

Don't know if it makes any difference, but I am working exclusively with Parlor guitars. I have a half dozen and they all have a 24" scale including my new Alvarez 70.

12'' is the exact measure from front edge of the nut to the center 12th fret. Double that, and it's 24" (609.8mm) for Scale. e.g. using digital caliper, checked to exact measure:

2nd fret, from the nut: Stew-Mac: 66.530 mm May Bell Fretboard: 66.32 mm = .210 mm difference (longer)
3rd fret """ 97.021 mm 96.61 = .411 mm
5th 152.966 mm 151.91 = 1.056 mm

and so on.



Doesn't get any simpler.

The Stew-Mac fret scale says that the existing frets are placed wrong, by .021 at the second fret slot, progressing to nearly an 1/8" at 22nd fretslot.

What's wrong is the original fret slots were either calculated in error, or the guitar neck shrunk, or the body lengthened, or vice versa.

In any event, coupled with the earlier discussion of making fret slots dead on, the table saw template or bandsaw one is what I am going to use. I tried it by hand and you know the results from the above thread since you thought I was making a mistake by ordering and cancelling the template when I got a dozen fret slots exact, using a coping saw. Turns out when I went to re-order the template I learned that it didn't match my 24" scale. I know you think I can't yet measure the scale accurately but I have.

So now I will need to either find a 24" (609.8mm) template or make one, which I'm leaning towards, as I am finding none available as of today. I have two other May Bells on bid, and they may be 24" as well.

I guess as an alternative I could just take another parlor guitar neck with a scale that matches Stew-Mac, and attach it to the body, which, since the bridge has been removed, should present no problem (other than accurate saddle placement). Have to check my inventory of necks, and see if I can do that, or find one on the 'net.