Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi everyone,

I'm doing a fret-> fretless conversion on an electric bass.  Now I'm fretting over the leveling of the fingerboard (pun intended).  I've used maple strips to fill the slots and it looks quite nice.  I've got that fingerboard level to the point where a straight edge doesn't show any light under it.  But I've got some buzzy spots on the fingerboard.  Any advice on how to get these out?  I've been messing around with bits of sandpaper and 0000 grade steel wool trying to get the high spots down.  So far just seem to be making things worse.

btw.  my string height is .040 inches around the 14th fret.  I've got a little relief in the neck. The buzzes seem to be mainly in the higher frets (12+) 

Any help much appreciated.

Stefan

you need a long sanding block, preferably curved to match your fingerboard profile, though flat will do.

LONG sweeps from end to end.

localised rubbing will just dig holes.

_________________
My soundclick xx luthier blog xx luthier soundclick

Try adjusting the neck angle slightly if it is a bolt on.

Al

Stefan, There could be a neck angle issue as Al mentioned that is being exaggerated by very low action. The string height you listed (0.040")is extremely low. I would expect a low action measurement to be between 0.060 and 0.070" at the mentioned fret. Try raising the saddles a little and see if it clears up. If you still have a lot of buzzing the you can adjust the neck angle by shimming the front edge of the neck pocket.