Questions on flattening fingerboard

[DDW]

I've got a carbon guitar with a 16" radius fretboard. Fretboard is some kind of synthetic. I would like it flattened to - well, flat.

I'd assume remove the frets, sand, plane or machine flat, then reinstall or re-fret. Would the fret grooves likely have been cut to a constant depth from the original radius (i.e, curved) or would they be straight (i.e. flat bottomed)? Obviously the nut and bridge would need to be changed.

Is this insane to contemplate?

[koolimy]

I think the fret grooves would be straight. But I also think it's pretty insane to contemplate doing something like this on a finished guitar, that's carbon and w/ a synthetic fretboard nonetheless!

Would the synthetic fretboard's dust not be toxic? I think you should look into that a bit more before you attempt to do this. I also worry about the difficulty of actually planing or sanding the fretboard, since it's not wood.

But if it looks okay to do it, then why not? It's your guitar and you have the skills to do this job, so nobody to stop you from doing it!

[redir]

You won't know until you pull the frets or if perhaps you can contact the company that makes the guitar and ask. I gut fret slots on a flat board so the end up deeper in the middle then on the edges. But after it's radiused I cut the slots to full depth so they match the curve.

Nonetheless if you are going to flatten out a 16in radius board chances are you will need to deepen the slots.

[DDW]

The fretboard is micarta, don't know how toxic that is. I'd probably first ask the guitar maker to do this, but want to be educated when/if I do. Sounds like the fret slots may or may not be curved. The guitar is too expensive to experiment on, but if this can be done without risk, I might opt for it.

[Fathand]

I dont use synthetic fretboards but my slots follow the radius. Less wood removed that way. If someone is slotting with a table saw, they will be straight. A hand saw with a depth gauge can follow the radius.

[phavriluk]

OP does understand that doing this reduced the guitar's value to someone else to zero, right? Planning on spending money on doing a several-hundred-dollar task that will trash the instrument's resale/trade-in value? Double whammy.

[DDW]

May reduce the value to some, may increase it to others? But that isn't really the issue, the issue is how pleasing is it to me to play. An (almost) classical guitar with a radiused fingerboard is actually the odd duck.

[redir]

Originally Posted by DDW

May reduce the value to some, may increase it to others? But that isn't really the issue, the issue is how pleasing is it to me to play. An (almost) classical guitar with a radiused fingerboard is actually the odd duck.

Is it a hybrid guitar? 16" is a lot for a classical. One of my classical guitars has a 20" radius and sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't. But yeah most classical guitars are flat.

[John Arnold]

Micarta contains phenolic resin, which is not totally benign. Normal dust protection should be sufficient.
Whether or not the slots have a curved bottom should not complicate the job that much. Anyone competent at refrets will have the ability to deepen the slots.