MIMF

Thanks Bryan and Steve, for the elucidation ...I totally get it now. Just FTR, what was throwing me was the sentence Glue a block the same thickness as the stock on BOTH ends of the stock you're planing, so it is snugly captured. This immediately conjured up a mental image of the blocks being glued ...

Use a sled as is described in many places, such as a length of 3/4" MDF. Glue a block the same thickness as the stock on BOTH ends of the stock you're planing, so it is snugly captured. Now, here is the really ingenious part. Place a business card or playing card, or a piece of veneer etc. bet...

This link gives an overview of their dedicated guitar making products.

Todd, could you clarify what you mean by "ramped" fret ends ?

I associate "ramping" with sanding in a fallaway on the fretboard extension, but that doesn't seem to be what you are referring to ?

Clay Schaeffer wrote:If you use the neck width at the twelvth fret to determine the pin width at the bridge the outside strings will maintain the same distance from the edge of the fretboard as they have at the nut. It is simple geometry.

You might want to revise your geometrical calculations, Clay.

Martin seems to have worked this out over the last 180 or so years - they provide scale length, nut width, 12th fret width, and pin spacing for all of their guitars, which is a pretty broad range...pick a winner and duplicate, and your margins should be adequate because Martin is generally more gen...

A formula which works well is that the string spacing at the bridge should equal the fretboard width at the 12th fret. This determines the taper automatically.

IMO If the string spacing equals the fretboard width at the 11th fret it is even better.

I kind of get the impression that guessing the relief by eye is perceived to be a virtue ... I prefer to measure and know exactly what the relief is. I use a 13" long straightedge which spans the first and fourteenth frets on any scale length and stick feeler gauges underneath to measure the ac...

Bob Hammond wrote: I do think that the hygroscopic nature of the hide glue on one side increases sensitivity.

I would have thought that the opposite would be true, and that the less hygroscopic the glue, the more efficient the hygrometer would be. Polyurethane glue would be my choice here.

Ingenious stuff indeed, Paul. I have however decided to go down the heating blanket route ... LMI sell a tapered blanket which is an exact fit for a standard tapered fretboard, and that will undoubtedly be the best tool for my particular application . It's a bit of a pain having to buy a temperature...

Mark, the cartridge heaters are a great idea, and I can see applications in the future . For fretboard removal however ( and that is entire fretboard removal, not just loosening the tongue) I cannot help thinking that a blanket is probably a more suitable and ergonomic option.

Paul, that sounds like an excellent idea for bridgeplate removal, although it would surely require some contouring to make it effective for bridge removal ? I too have masses of aluminum, up to 1/2" thickness, but could easily rivet two shaped pieces together to make a flat 1" thick heatsi...

I have a few guitars which require to have the fretboards replaced. As I see it there are two options ... either a heating blanket, or a side by side array of infra-red lamps. Purely on a hunch basis, I tend to favor the infra-red set-up as it could be adapted for bridge removal as well, and I just ...

Thanks, Roger.

Looking at the LMII site, which offers drawings of the F-5, I see that the body depth is given as 2.625". Would I be correct in assuming that this is the maximum depth, ie between the arch-most points on the soundboard and the back, and if so, does anybody know what the width (or depth if you p...

*WARNING : PEDANT ALERT* . All my fingerboards are conical and each fret has it's own radius. I start with a 2' dia spool of fretwire and open out one end while I try to tighten the radius on the other. (My first fret is around 7" radius and the 24th is 20" or so.) Dave, I am sure you pro...

My rules of thumb are: Target string height above top of .500" (000/SJ or larger), .525" (00 and 0), and .550" (smaller than 0) Hi Todd, I find it interesting that you advocate a higher string height as the body size decreases. My preconception was that as the soundboard size decreas...

It's of absolutely no importance from a practical point of view, but from a theoretical standpoint you can't specify arbitrarily your nut width + nut radius + fretboard end width + fretboard end radius and end up with a true conic section. One of these four variables has to be determined by the othe...

It's a decent presentation ... IIRC I added a comment a couple of years ago to this video pointing out that he had his Florentines and his Venetians confused ...

Jason, are you referring to the adjustable saddles as patented by Kevin Pederson ? If not, then google "Kevin Pederson adjustable saddles" ... you will find discussions on the AGF about them.