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Fretboard Radius for Acoustics
http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=15031		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  LuthierSupplier [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:02 am ]
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Hey everyone,
I have a new fretboard radius jig that I'm coming out with very soon, and it works flawlessly with a belt sander. No routers needed for this one. The only problem is that it is not interchangeable with different radius'. We may change this later, but for now, we want to offer one radius size to start with. Which one should it be?
Tracy
Author:  j.Brown [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:22 am ]
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Tracy, do you mean belt sander as in floor/bench model belt/disc sander or a handheld black and decker belt sander?
-j.
Author:  LuthierSupplier [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:50 am ]
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J., I'm talking about something that looks similar to this. I think the only requirement is that it can accept a 3 1/2" thick piece of material, because the jig is 3" tall(plus the fretboard thickness).



I watched a fretboard get radiused in 2 minutes, and it was perfect. If you use 220 grit, then when it comes off the machine, it is ready for fretting, or gluing the fretboard to the neck. This is while the fretboard is in the rectangle state and slots are already cut. But you could cut your taper too and use it just fine. The prototype is completed for a 12" radius, but before I have 20-50 of them made, I need to know what radius people need. I may have 2 different radius' made if there is enough interest in another radius. I was told that Taylor uses 12" radius, and Martin uses 16" radius. So I may just offer these 2 for now.
Tracy
Author:  Michael Dale Payne [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:59 am ]
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16" 20" got pictures of them on you site yet?
Author:  Michael Dale Payne [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:02 am ]
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dang I know the answer Looking forwad to see one
Author:  j.Brown [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:07 am ]
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Cool, so any drum sander will work as long as it fits your jig height plus the FB. I'm pretty sure my 16-32 will do the job. I'm anxious to see this thing tracy.
-j.
Author:  JHerrick [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 7:34 am ]
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I typically use a 16" fretboard radius.


I can't wait to see what you have! Long term though, adjustability would be a key feature for me.


Joe
Author:  Hesh [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 7:55 am ]
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Very cool Tracy and I would be very interested in it too.

I have always been a one trick pony for fret boards with a 16" radius.

Thanks for all the great jigs and tools my friend
Author:  j.Brown [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:34 am ]
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Tracy, according to the manufacturer's specs, the performax 16-32, which I think a LOT of people here on the forum have, will only go up to 3". I'll double check the reality of that at home maybe tonight.
Author:  LuthierSupplier [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:08 am ]
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Thanks for answering this Poll guys. I'm working with a local builder here who designed the jig, and he uses a 12" radius. But I'll see about having parts made for 12/14/16/20 inch radius'. It is only really 4 parts that need to change between each jig. They are all being cut on a CNC machine.

J., your comment "so any drum sander will work as long as it fits your jig height plus the FB." is correct. If you have a wide belt sander with a 4" opening, you will be fine.

Michael, don't have pics yet of the prototype, but I did see the original jig. I heard the guy who cut it on his CNC made some modifications that make it easier to use than the original. So we want to test the prototype to make sure everything is okay before posting pics. This jig could be built by any guitar builder who has about 4 hours to spare, but it is complicated enough to just buy it. It should be priced anywhere from $99-$150 depending on the cost to produce.
Tracy
Author:  LuthierSupplier [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:15 am ]
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J.,
I just looked it up, and your right, the max thickness is 3". Looks like we will need to adjust this jig to accomodate all you performax users!
Tracy
Author:  Ricardo [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:19 am ]
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My Taylor 414 has a compound radius.  Don't most acoustics also?
Author:  LuthierSupplier [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:31 am ]
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Rich,
You are correct, that this is a very common practice. But this jig is not designed to do a compound radius. We have not done enough testing do determine if it can do a compound radius. There may be a way to do it using this jig, but we haven't tested it enough to determine that. But even if it cannot do a compound radius, you can still do a compound radius after using this jig. Just flatten the upper area by hand. This jig will still save you a lot of work.
Tracy
Author:  Ricardo [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:22 am ]
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Tracy, looks promising!
Author:  Hesh [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:47 pm ]
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Thanks Tracy I checked my Performax 10-20 and it has a 3" height limit too.
Author:  j.Brown [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 2:54 pm ]
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To borrow an O'Brien term: The clearance is just a "skoshe" over 3", so if any modification could be made for us performax/jet guys, it would be much appreciated.
-j.
Author:  LuthierSupplier [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 3:01 pm ]
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Looks like the jig can be modified to accomodate about 2.75" clearance w/
the fretboard, so it should work just fine with a belt sander that has a 3"
clearance. Thanks for all the help everyone! Hopefully we will have this
tested and ready sometime in January.
Tracy
Author:  FishtownMike [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 3:03 pm ]
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yeah i have the performax 10/20 to so this wont work for me neither.
Author:  j.Brown [ Tue Dec 18, 2007 3:06 pm ]
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Can't wait to see it, Tracy.
Author:  Mark Tripp [ Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:59 am ]
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I use a compound - 16 / 20

-Mark
Author:  Rod True [ Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:29 pm ]
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I've been using 16" up till the now but I'm going to be going with 14"-20" compound radius with all guitars from here on out.

Sorry I couldn't be of help Tracy. I'm sure what ever you offer will be top drawer, just like the rest of your products.
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