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Hey gang -

In the middle of my first build here, was looking for suggestions on hiding the fret slots on a non-bound rosewood fretboard.  Was pretty proud of myself for tapering my first fretboard, routing the truss rod slot in my first laminated neck, then glueing the fretboard on and shaping it perfectly....then I realized I forgot to allow for the binding.

Arrgh!

So.....melt in some black lacquer after fretting and THINK BEFORE CUTTING next time?  Does anyone intentionally NOT bind the fretboard these days?

I don't bind fretboards - binding is my friggin' nemesis. I trim the tangs
of the frets before installing them into the fretboard, and then you can fill
the slots with filler made from wood dust and glue. I prefer ebony
fingerboards, so this is probably less visible than it would be on a
rosewood fingerboard.

well, you could get some practise at fretboard removal, something you will have to do at some stage. then you could re-taper the board and bind it.

alternatively, when you prepare your frets nip the ends of the tang, and after installing the frets fill the end of the slots. this also removes the risk of marking up the edges of the board with the file when dressing the frets.

Lots of guitars don't have bound fingerboards, though some folks around here (not me) set pretty high standards.
I was playing an Ibanez electric (budget) the other day and I noticed that they'd cut the fret tangs short and filled the slot ends in the RW fingerboard with black epoxy?.
I've had the guitar for a few years and it seems to work.
BTW, lacquer burn-in stick would work as well though epoxy might be quicker.
The traditional alternative is to just file (or sand) the fret tangs flush and touch them up if the fingerboard shrinks later.


Sounds like you are doing well with your first build- you can save the FB binding and some of the other stuff for #2,#3,#4 etc!
Don't sweat the small stuff- just keep pushin' on!

Cheers
John

Excellent....so I didn't mess things up!  Binding the fretboard sure looks sharp...guess I'll save that for #2.  Thanks to all for the advice!

Jon

Having frets with a full length tang makes for a much superior fret job.,,,,,,,,,IMHO.

How many times do we hear of frets lifting at their ends ?

How many beautiful old classical guitars have nipped tangs ?

Does it make sense to cut a piece of tang off each end of the fret ,thereby giving the fret much less of a hold on the fretboard ?

Providing the fretboard is seasoned well before installation and the frets filed flush when the neck/fretboard is stable ( and correct humidity ) ,fret ends should never be a problem .

After playing classical for so many years , I really don't enjoy playing a bound neck . A completley different feel    Bound fretboards feel 'cheap' and plastic to me . Give me a beautifully hand built instrument with proper full length frets any day .

There,,,I've got that off my chest ( it's a pet hate of mine ) . I shall duck for cover now , as I realize it's the majority that bind . ....... Hey guys , please take no offence, it's just my personal take on the subject.

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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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[QUOTE=Hesh1956] Good stuff here.

The problem with not binding a fretboard and filling the fret ends is that if the guitar does not get to live it's life in perfect RH and dries out at some point the neck will shrink and the frets won't. The tangs will punch through that nice filling job that you did right out and into or through the finish. Of course this requires the guitar to have a considerable and prolonged dry out. But how many builders have clients who have let a guitar dry out.......


[/QUOTE]

Hi Hesh , If a guitar dries out to that degree, The fretends would be the least of his/her problems

Make sure the fretboard is very dry before filing the fretends flush . I have instruments that have experienced huge humidity changes over the years,,, no fret end problems, and of course , no lifting fretends . Guitars that have suffered protruding fret ends are usually those that have had fingerboards not seasoned ( or installed ) correctly.A problem overcome by factories binding their necks.

_________________
CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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[QUOTE=crazymanmichael]

alternatively, when you prepare your frets nip the ends of the tang, and after installing the frets fill the end of the slots. this also removes the risk of marking up the edges of the board with the file when dressing the frets. [/QUOTE]
This is one of the things I did badly on my latest OM.
I'm binding my fretboards from now on!

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

binding the board is not a panacea. if humidity control is not exercised, the board drying out casn cause the fret tang to push the binding out, bulge it or even crack it. cutting back the tang too far can result in lifting fret ends.

and whilst craig is correct that the board has to be dry, if it is too dry, i.e., much drier than the neck, when the humidity equalizes it can swell and bulge over the neck edge.

i don't think there is a perfect, one size fits all solution. personal taste and quality of workmanship will determine what is best for eash user.

On my classicals I don't bind the fret board but I do nip (slightly) the tang and fill the slot with white glue and wood dust. It gives a nice clean look. If you don't nip too much and install the frets correctly you can have minimum chance of the fret ends lifting.

Wow Ron--that's just about invisible!

Michael M. has a good point about the tang pushing on the binding, but in practice it doesn't seem to happen much IMHO, especially with wood bindings because the wood will compress under the pressure. Binding or not, I think it boils down to the initial workmanship. After all, even with a bound 'board the fret ends can still stick out when the wood shrinks.

In the real world, guitars will live in environments that vary from 90% RH down to 20% RH. Case and soundhole humidifiers don't seem to help the neck much, either, though they're definitely good for the body. It's not that much of a problem, though. The first time the humidity gets to it's (likely) lowest point, just touch up those fret ends. You'll probably have to do it just once over the life of the frets. If the instrument is no longer near its builder, any competent shop can do it in five minutes for cheap. It seems to me that people worry too much about finish damage on the side of the fingerboard. I've had to do it on every non-bound guitar I've owned, and the procedure just doesn't show except under intentional examination. Just don't leave scratch marks--burnish the edges of the 'board up through the finest Micro-Mesh sheets or 3M abrasive pads. Sometimes it feels better than new on factory guitars.

I've started binding my fretboards after they're on the neck. I use the
router table. Of course they're not raduised yet, so I have a nice flat
surface to work with, but they are already tapered, slotted and attached
with epoxy. I also like to leave 1/32" or so of the fretboard intact, so it
looks like a purfling line. Just an idea. I think an unbound board can
look nice too.

_________________
Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

I've started binding my fretboards after they're on the neck. I use the
router table. Of course they're not raduised yet, so I have a nice flat
surface to work with, but they are already tapered, slotted and attached
with epoxy. I also like to leave 1/32" or so of the fretboard intact, so it
looks like a purfling line. Just an idea. I think an unbound board can
look nice too.

_________________
Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Oops. Sorry for the double post. Not sure how that happened?

_________________
Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger