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I'm trying out inserting the frets before I attach the fingerboard to the neck. For those of you that
like this, how do you align the board to the neck. I'm thinking of inserting brads through the board
and into the neck (as is usual for fretting after attaching the neck), but cutting the brads off
short and leaving them in the neck- since they will be underneath frets after fingerboard attach.
I didn't drill very far into the neck, so I don't think I'll have any problem with hitting the brads
as I contour the back of the neck.

Or are there better ways to approach this, like brads just to either side, or other external
fixturing?

TIA

_________________
Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

Gene buddy I am still fretting both ways - before installing the board and after.

When I fret after installing the board I insert a steel registration pin in the first fret slot and the second pin in the 11th fret slot depending on the scale length. Both pins are inserted off center to avoid the truss rod slot. After aligning the first slot pin to have the board centered on the neck I mark the exact center of the fret board at the first slot and then again at the 14th or so. I use these alignment marks with a straight edge to also align with the exact center of the lower bout of the guitar at the butt wedge. Of course the neck has already been aligned too using the excellent neck alignment jig from Tracy at Luthier Suppliers (link above). Using the first slot pinned in place and swinging the board left or right I align all three points and then drill for the second steel registration pin through the 11th fret and pin it in place.

If the board is already fretted the process is the same only I use brads or cut off staples under the first fret location and again under the 11th fret location. In this case the board is pressed into place on the pins when all three marks are in alignment. Once glue is applied the indentations on the bottom of the board also help keep it from creeping while I set the clamps and clamping caul.

Gene,
I do something very similar, that'll work just fine. Try to keep near the center line of the neck, just off the truss rod, to make sure there's plenty of meat under there.
I do one at the 1st fret and one at the 13th.

_________________
Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com