Tuesday 3 December 2013

Telecaster III - 15 - Cutting The Fret Slots And Fret Markers

It took a couple of days and some new sand paper but I'm now happy with the neck profile.  My block and jig worked a treat and I have a nice radius on the neck now.

The next step is to mark up for the fret slots.  I have another neck so i will transfer the measurements directly from that neck to this one.


With everything marked up I drew a line along each side of the neck 2mm from the face, I can cut the slots all to an even depth then knowing there slot will be deep enough for the frets.


I have a set of pre-cut frets and the tang has already been trimmed at each end so I will fill the ends and want them to be nice and even.


I use my mitre box and wedges to line up the neck for each fret and start each cut and then take the neck out of the box and finish the cut on the bench.  I can control the depth perfectly then.


Once all the frets are cut I mark up for the fret markers. I have been using black epoxy for the markers.  I like the look but the hole has to be perfect otherwise the edges can be a little fuzzy so I found some brass tube in the garage and cut 10 pieces out and inserted them in the holes.  These should give a nice clean line and a little bit of a shine!


Tomorrow I will sand the epoxy smooth once it has had chance to thoroughly set.  there is a chip that needs filling under the last fret as well and plenty more sanding to do, but I'm excited about this neck now and cant wait to finish it off.


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