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Wow Todd thanks for posting this as I am in the process of making the fingerboard and needed a good way of fret spacing ,Without the expense of buying templates,perfect timing.I find that timing thing alot here on the OLF..
TimTimDet38804.9611226852

Cool! I`ve been kicking this around for a while now. Don`t be surprised if I call on you for questions if I have any. Looks pretty straight forward to me so far.
Coe

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Thank you very much for all this great information Todd, i was also wondering if i was gonna buy me one template or build it myself, your description seems to be feasable within reason and with acceptable acuracy, worth looking into it further!

Very nice Todd, that's what I plan to do but I have access to a 24 vernier caliper so I am going to layout the spacing with it. All in all, a very good and accurate template. Well done and thanks for the tutorial.Rod True38805.08375

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Todd, I was just thinking about this very topic yesterday. I was still in the process of thinking it through and figuring out how to do it using wfret. Now all the thinking has been done for me, thanks dude!

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Todd, can you pop up some pics of the underside of this radiusing tool. Looks like a dish making tool in reverse. Thanks for sharing. The ruler deal is killer. Now you have me waffling on the fretting template order in front of me, I need two with four layouts.   

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Todd, that's very nice! I use WFRET to make templates pretty much like you do, sometimes I use plexglas too. WFRET is a very good program.
If you would be so kind, it would be nice if you took a ride over to the MIMForum and posted this there, too! Mark Swanson38805.4724652778

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Mark Swanson
Swanson Guitars
http://www.MarkSwansonMusic.com

Todd, I'd definately be interested in plans for your fretboard radius jig. Let us know when you have them done.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Yeah, I knew about Craig's jig. Unfortunately I can't swing the cost of that right now.

I also have one in progress that I borrowed from Charles Fox, but haven't had the time to get it finished yet.

Can't have too many options, if you know what I mean.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Todd this is a great idea. I dropped in on my Ace Hardware dealer and they had a six foot 1/8 by 2 inch rule in aluminum for 7.98 and tax. It should make two fret scale slotting guages.

I was wondering why you went to the trouble of printing it out when you knew there were adjustments. Why not just measure and plot them from the getgo? Great idea either way. And thanks for the extras, please let me reimburse your expenses.

Okay Todd, I went and actually tried it, printing it out is the way to go. Very accurate. Now I'm going to do a couple to check my SM fret rulers, Grin.Bruce Dickey38806.3177430556

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Okay, you got me hooked. You should see this six foot ruler. I think I'll buy another just to keep hanging around. It is so cool.

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WFRET.zip location at MIMF

http://www.mimf.com/library/catalog_programs.htm#exe

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I saved the WFRET file to my computer but can't seem to get it runnin', can anyone help please? TIA

Serge

Todd, this sucker is very accurate. With a rule, I could not detect any error in a 34 inch scale for a bass guitar at the 24th Fret. I have that sucker taped in place ready for scoring. Thanks for sharing the methodology, I'm a believer. Now I want to build your killer radiusing jig, that thing is incredible looking.

One more thing. The WFRET software available from MIMF is a fantastic tool. I first printed a 34 inch scale, but the printer was set on portrait. I might add, that for folks to set their printer to landscape, there were only two splices that way rather than three on portrait.

Thanks. By the Way, this is far better than trying to measure accurately each fret location. A third grader can do this.

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Serge, depends on how you downloaded it. Mine saved the program to C:\Program Files\Wfret2

Click there and doubleclick the Setup File and you'll be cooking with gas. It asks you to shut down other programs you have running on the computer, do that. Then, tell it to keep the files which may be older that are currently on your system, don't let it replace any files on your system. Mine worked flawlessly.

Good luck. Hey, Who is that playing your guitar? Garfield?

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Thanks Todd, a timely post.

I was planning on making some fretting templates, I guess all of us who bought the blades have been thinking about it. I was thinking of drilling the alignment holes with a brad point bit, rather than cutting them, you method has me thinking...

I've just installed Wfret and it has an input for a calculation method. Which is better rule of 18ths, 12th root of 2, or custom equal temperament? I suppose this is opening a can of worms

OK, I get it, 12th root of 2 is non-cummulative, rule of 18ths is cummulative. Less errors with a non-cummulative calculation method.

Paul, I found the ReadMe.txt file, which can be found in the root directory where you put the wfret program, very informative.

I think he puts that one first because it is the preferred method.

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Thanks a lot Bruce, i had to go back to MIMF and save it again to WFRET 2, IT WORKED !

The little guy ain't Garfield, it's just a funny guy my wife picked up somewhere on the net ! Cute han?

Thanjks for all of this Todd. I popped over to MIMF and printed off your radiusing jig and will be making one soon. I use wfret also and it will form the basis for the fret slotting sled I am making soon.

Shane

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Canada

WOW! I am glad that the wood is working well for you. I can't wait to see some pics! I think that I can get going on the jig with what you posted but when you do your modifications I would be interested. When I make radius sanding dishes for people I also start with arcs drawn by a friend of mine with AutoCAD. I have AutoCAD Light 97 but the program really becomes quite useful when you have a plotter to print out the BIG pictures. And the program is a huge learning curve for me and I can't find the time, especially when I need to get at processing more tops!

Thanks again Todd, on both accounts!

Shane

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Canada