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Hi Guys

I have a question, I just recieved from Craig Holden his beautifully made radiusing jig, up until now I have been using a 16" radius on al of my fretboards, but I now have the option to produce compounds.

I've got a couple of question.

What sort of Compounds do you use on an acoustic guitar I mean in terms of radius at various points.

I'm struggling to get my head around the setup, what am I aiming for in terms of clearences at the 12th fret for say a medium action ?

Any help would be much appreciatted.

For anyone who has not seen craigs jig, have a look in is a very clever idea, very well executed.

Many Thanks

Russell

I use 12 at the nut, 24 at the saddle which renders 16 at the 12th fret.

Russell that is a dang good question.
What you are really doing is taking a slice off of the side of a cone. I suppose you could arbitrarily define the diameters of the two ends of the cone to be whatever you want it to be. The nut defines one end of the cone and the saddle defines the other. I would personally go with a 14 inch radius at the nut but have no clue about the saddle. Paul's suggestion sounds good to me.

John

Thanks Paul and John

With you configuration what do you aim for at the bas and treble side of the 12th fret when you set up, maybe I am over thinking this one but because the shape of the radius is conical rather cylindrical does that alter these parameters.

My Head Hurts

It shouldn't. Because the nut and saddle are along the same conical plane (is that a contradiction in terms?) the strings should still fall in a straight line between them.
I aim for 5/64 e and between 6 and 7/64 E.

Thanks Paul

Appreciatte the help.

Russell

older martins ranged from 16" at the nut to about 20" at the end of the fb.

i have seen some older gibsons which were about 12" at the nut to about 18-20" at the end of the fb.

the martins came out of the factory that way, but it seems that the gibsons compounding may have been created by those who refretted them.

action heights should not be affected by the fb radius, but more by playing style.

unless i know that a player's style requires a higher action, i usually aim at around 4-5/64" and 5/128-3/64" on the bass and treble e's respectively at the 12th fret. for heavy strummers, e.g. bluegrass players, i add a couple 64's.

[QUOTE=Pwoolson] I use 12 at the nut, 24 at the saddle which renders 16 at the 12th fret. [/QUOTE]

Hey Russell, in reference to using the jig with the above example, what I would do is place the 12" guides at the nut end of the fingerboard. Measure the distance from the 12th fret to the half way point between the 12th fret and the saddle. Position the 20" guides on the fingerboard system using that measurement, which would put the 20" guides about an 1-1/2" passed the end of the fingerboard (depending on the scale you are using). This should give you a 16" radius at the 12th fret, if that's what you are you looking for. The jig will automatically conform to the changes in radius as you mill down the board.

Oh, and by the way, thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you like the jig, and appreciate your feedback.

Craig

Thanks Everyone

John, just curious why would you go for 14 at the nut ?

Is this what you have found to work best ?

Thank you

Russell

Craig, what's your website address again? You might want to think about optimizing your site for google indexing (or similar), because 'Holden radius jig' or 'radius jig' or 'lutherie radius jig' doesn't find me your website, and it really should (IMO).

Russell I get asked for 12's and 16's at the nut. If no one asks for a specific radius, I just take the average. When I do that I have never had a complaint about it. Shooting from the hip on this one.

You can find me at www.cthluthiery.com. I'll have to look at what I put in for Google and probably update that anyway. Thanks for the suggestion.
Craig

Or you could just skip all the fuss and buy the adwords from google and overture.

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