Official Luthiers Forum!

I ordered three slotted fingerboard from LMI...When I went to use one I was amazed at how much the slotting was off the correct measurements....I have paper templates, made with Autocad, that I temporarily glue to the top of the fingerboard which gives me my exact profile , slot positions and dot markers. Right from the first fret the measurement is of the width of a pencil line or about 20 Thou....Has anyone experienced this?....I really don't feel like using these...When I cut my own fingerboards by hand they are closer then that....Not impressed LMI..Larry

I think you need to start measuring from 0.25mm behind the leading edge, that would be half of the saw kerf.

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Build log

Have you checked the accuracy of your Autocad or how that then was processed by what ever printer you used? I would have thought that LMI stuff would be CNC, not much room for error there, but certainly not out of the question either.

Cheers

Kim

Before besmirching LMI's good name, please confirm your measurements with a steel rule. And if you have a problem with a vendor's quality take it up with them directly. If they made an error, I'm sure the'd appreciate the chance to make it good. If they blow you off, then it's acceptable to let others know here.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

I am not trying to besmirching anybodys good name ...I deal with LMI and have been very pleased with their service and products...Just asked a simple question....Has anyone had a similar experience?....

I line up two boards and placed an axe saw blade in three of the frets making all the frets square to each other....The second fret slot is off by over a full saw cut.....something is not right..

I have run into this too, and I think I have tracked down the problem

If you buy a 25.4" board from some places (Stewmac?) it is actually a 25.34" scale (which they actually point out on their web site). The LMI boards are 25.4" Small differences, but differences none-the-less. Neither are wrong, but you have to know what you are working with.

The same goes with the slotting templates.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Yep what Brock said, I ran into this several years ago and caught it by reading that they use 25.4 on their web site.

Everything that I have ever received from LMI has been the finest quality available and the service has been even better than that.

I have only ordered slotted (bass) fingerboards once from LMI and have to say that I found them to be slightly inaccurate. (I checked them against a CNC-cut lexan template). Also the depths of the saw cuts were irregular, some being much deeper than necessary. I believe, at the time, that LMI cut them using a hand saw and the same slotting jig and template that they sell.

Having said that, I did receive a printed sheet asking me to inspect them immediately and, if there was a problem, to send them back. I decided that the inaccuracy was probably not enough to make much difference on a bass (which proved to be the case) and that, coupled with the hassle of sending stuff back from France persuaded me to keep them. I do agree that you should first address your complaint to LMI.

Autocad is 100% accurate. Printers are not. I used Autocad professionally for years and still use it at home to design instruments. Even with the A3 size professional printer at work, if I checked the dimensions on the printed sheet, they were often accurate in the width and inaccurate in the length. Printing out a guitar full-size at home using an A4 printer, the 'tiles' never line up exactly.

Lastly, paper isn't the ideal material to use as a template. It stretches or shrinks with changes in humidity. (It's made from wood y'know )

I used to get boards from LMI and noticed the same thing. No big deal though. You just need to make sure you locate the saddle correctly according to the scale length. A true Martin "25.4" scale is actually 25.34375". LMI's scale length is a true 25.4".

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Don Sharp
Got Brazilian?
http://www.sharpguitars.com

If you lined up two boards and most of the fret slots match and some don't, they cut them wrong. Its pretty straight foward. If none of the slots match, it could be a slight difference in scales. Gibson was notorious for calling everything 24.75' scale even though for a while it was 24.6" and a few stops in between.

If some of the slots are off, I'd call them and let them know.

Joe

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Joe

Over a period of years, I've bought four slotted boards from LMII, and they have all been excellent. But note: All came pre-slotted for a zero fret, which I didn't want to use, so I cut the board at the zero fret position and butted that cut to my string nut. Based on my experience, I'd say your board's first cut is a zero fret slot. Make sure you're measuring from the #1 slot--not the zero fret slot. Next, I will say that my boards have arrived with a printed memo advising me to measure them immediately, and to notify the company if anything is amiss. You will find their customer service to be excellent in any event. But I should stress that I've never needed to call them, except to order more stuff. My most recent project is an archtop with a 25.5 inch scale, which is very well intonated throughout the entire range of the fretboard. In my experience, these guys sell good stuff.

Patrick

The plotter you used to reproduce your template can throw off the template. Laser printers and plaotters are natorious for this. i hav used LMI slotted boards in the past with no issue so first I would check to see if your templeate is 100% to scale. Drawing it in autocad insures the autocad file is correct but the plotter/printer output can be subject to issues.