# Fanned Fret Build



## skeels (Oct 1, 2012)

So I'm waiting for some very special things to arrive in the mail or "post" if you will.

My anxiety level is through the roof and the only cure I have for anxiety is of course working on guitars.

So I've been flooded by all kinds of parts and hardware arriving in tiny little boxes (some of them feminine) - and lo and behold, what's this?







Man I've been gassing for a little fanned fret action for a long while now.
I've been doing some experimenting on some odd parts- I have I seem to have a lot of broken guitars... hmm..






I've had this bocote fingerboard blank for too long..






A little fretfind2d and some measuring - thinking 25"-28"...






Got some nice ash from a tree that I personally killed...
Hm. Looks like these pieces might need a little planing...






I'm so impatient and indecisive!






So! I'm about to dive in on my first fingerboard build- fanned frets no less! 
Am I nuts? Yes. Yes I am.
But that's beside the point..

My question to you my fellow 7 stringers is what in the hell am I doing?

Because I know a lot of you guys DO know what you're doing.

Any advice you have for me would be sorely appreciated.
Except perhaps really detailed long winded advice because I have massive ADD and consequently a very short attention span.
BUT If you can phrase your answer in the form of a question I will totally positive rep you!

Thanks guys! You rule.


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## ThePhilosopher (Oct 1, 2012)

Are those the pendulum saddles?


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## skeels (Oct 1, 2012)

ThePhilosopher said:


> Are those the pendulum saddles?



Yup. From rondo- someone had a thread on them- crud, cant remember who- thanks again, whoever you are! - and I ordered seven for this project. Pretty cheap!
Hell, I need fretwire too!
Jumbo? Medium jumbo?

Aaah! I'm a mess!

And while I do appreciate that you did phrase that in the form of a question, it technically really was a question and not advice so I don't think I'll rep you.

Aah, Who am I kidding? I laughed my ass off when I saw that!

Incoming rep!


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## Mike_D (Oct 1, 2012)

I just finished a fanned fret build and I gotta say, it wasn't nearly as difficult as i expected. The only real difference is slotting the fretboard because you cant use a square as a guide for the saw. You just have to take your time with it and be careful. Clamp a straightedge along the fretline to act as a guide for the saw. After that the rest of the build is pretty much the same as building a single-scale instrument. 

-Mike


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## ThePhilosopher (Oct 1, 2012)

Why not go jumbo? I really wish I could be more helpful, but that's all I've got besides a sub to this thread.


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## skeels (Oct 1, 2012)

ThePhilosopher said:


> Why not go jumbo? I really wish I could be more helpful, but that's all I've got besides a sub to this thread.



You're just fishing for rep, aren't you?

No, seriously man, thanks! 

Not sure of I'll use the paduak body, which would this acetate me coming up with another body for an incoming project or if I will carve that ash into a mocking bird shape which would miss acetate me getting a table saw.

Damn. "Necessitate!"

Crummy voice recognition software!


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## elderico (Oct 2, 2012)

Why don´t ou make ajig like that? Is very simple and helps a lot..
















Good luck


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## Berserker (Oct 2, 2012)

Dude, you need to calm down before you touch any sharp tools  I personally like to score my fret slots with an exacto blade before I use my saw, I find it helps me saw straight. Elderico's jig looks pretty good too. Your saw looks a bit flimsy, looks like it bends a lot... I could be wrong, but I wouldn't want to attempt cutting fret slots with it.


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## cooltouch (Oct 2, 2012)

Berserker said:


> Your saw looks a bit flimsy, looks like it bends a lot... I could be wrong, but I wouldn't want to attempt cutting fret slots with it.



The saw in the first set of photos is a Japanese _nokogiri_, which is a special saw that cuts on the pull stroke. When having to hand cut fret slots, it's just about the perfect tool. No binding, no flexing. The saw shown immediately above your comment looks to me like a fret saw, with the reinforced top ridge to insure stiffness. Even most of these are designed to cut on the pull stroke. I have a pull-type fret saw with about a 0.020" kerf that does a fine job.


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## Pikka Bird (Oct 2, 2012)

Japanese saws rule. They're pretty much all I'd ever use. Granted, I only ever tried fretting on scraps so far, but I can't imagine "real" fretting saws doing any better. Tried sawing through some spectacularly hard and dense wood with it and the cut it made was almost glassy smooth.


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## skeels (Oct 2, 2012)

Yeah the saw that I used cuts only on the pull stroke ensuring tension and limited flex. I've been practicing on old fretboards and it seems to work well. I planned on scoring the slots to aid accuracy also. 

Thanks for the tips eveybody!


I'm actually a lot more careful and calm than I seem ...


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## silent_k (Oct 2, 2012)

Definitely make yourself a jig for slotting. Elderico's looks good -- mine is a variation on the same idea but with more magnetic coverage for the saw, as it were:






I'm about 60% of the way through my first fanned build, and I'm not having as easy a time as Mike_D (mine's headless, which is contributing to the challenge). I ruined the first board I tried to slot -- the jig above worked fine, but I made other mistakes, and I would approach the process differently next time. In particular, I flush cut the fingerboard to size BEFORE slotting the frets, unlike the example Elderico has shown, so pasting the Fretfind printout to the surface of the board wasn't as feasible. After working out some details with Fretfind I actually measured out the locations of the frets with a calipers based on StewMac's fret calculator, working from the 8th fret, which was perpendicular to the center line on my design -- a theoretically fine approach that lots of other people have used successfully, but was pretty challenging. We'll see how it turns out when it's done!

So dealing with slotting depends a lot on the rest of your process. Figure that out first, then you'll be able to determine the best course for slotting. I think next time I'll try the pasting-a-fretfind-printout approach. If you decide to mark the slots by hand, something I've learned the hard way (and, embarrassingly, more than once): when you're working with dark woods, especially those that are deeply porous (not sure about the pores on Bocote), it can be difficult to see your pencil markings for your center line and slots. Make sure you have very good light in your workspace, and a very fine pencil. If you're unsure about a line, erase it completely and do it over -- if you leave remnants of earlier, bad markings on your wood then you're sure to mistakenly follow those markings later when it really matters. I know this seems obvious and mundane, but just last weekend I totally fucked something up because my pencil markings were hard to see, too thick, and in very dark, porous wood, so it's kind of top of mind these days. I managed to salvage things, but on a fingerboard, those kinds of mistakes are more costly. Consider practicing on a piece of MDF or something else you don't care about, and slot THE WHOLE BOARD, then double check your measurements.


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## Deadnightshade (Oct 2, 2012)

skeels said:


>



Don't be a pussy make this saw your headstock!


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## BIG ND SWEATY (Oct 2, 2012)

the fret wire i going to come down to what your most comfortable playing on, if i was building this i would go for medium because i really dont like the way jumbos feel.


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## Pikka Bird (Oct 3, 2012)

silent_k said:


> ...when you're working with dark woods...



Also, when you're done drawing it up and you know the line is good, scribe it and rub some chalk into the line.

You know, I really love those magnet jigs. I never thought of something like that, but I'm gonna have to remember to try it out if I ever want to do something with fanned frets.


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## skeels (Oct 7, 2012)

Thanks for the tips guys!

Applied knowledge ahead! But, alas, no magnets. 
















Came out pretty clean. Not on to my home-made radius block!
I wanted about an 18" radius and having no money to buy one, I found this idea on some other forum. Found a board that was already warping and built up the edges with tape! A strip of belt sander paper and I'm happy. Cost= zero. Knowing I wouldn't have to have an infinite radius = priceless.






Not bad. Kept flipping it over just in case my geometry wasn't perfect.











Loving that board!






Some test looking.. 






That's an ESP M107 neck- thanks Orsus Metal! (I got it from him in 2011!)






These grains will go nicely, don't you think?
Also, holy overhangs! Yes, I will burn that bridge when I come to it..






And if my calculations are correct, I used glue.






Stay tuned for some problem solving, nail-biting and cursing!


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## ElRay (Oct 7, 2012)

skeels said:


> Yup. From rondo- someone had a thread on them- crud, cant remember who- thanks again, whoever you are!



Sounds like something I'd do  I'm tempted to buy the eight that are left.

Nice start. I added the "member built" tag. And don't forget to post over here: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/lu...1-guitars-built-members-ss-org-pic-heavy.html when she's done.

Ray


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## Fiction (Oct 7, 2012)

skeels said:


> And if my calculations are correct, I used glue.


 
Did you remember to carry the one?



Looks good so far, that fretboards a beauty!


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## iRaiseTheDead (Oct 8, 2012)

that fretboard man. wow


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## ElRay (Oct 8, 2012)

Another thread had a link to this jig:






I'll likely go this route, or something very similar.

Ray


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## cooltouch (Oct 8, 2012)

ElRay said:


> Another thread had a link to this jig:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Say Ray, would you mind pointing me at that thread please?


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## JStraitiff (Oct 8, 2012)

Dude where did you get those saddles. I've been looking for some for a while now. Please let me know if you remember.

Finally rondo has these things in stock. I already have them in my cart! This build is looking nice too. Good work.


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## ElRay (Oct 8, 2012)

cooltouch said:


> Say Ray, would you mind pointing me at that thread please?


Sure, click this link to this thread: Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum &bull; View topic - Multiscale Fret Slot Jig I thought I included it in this post. Sorry if I didn't. 

Ray


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## JamesM (Oct 8, 2012)

Great work Andy!


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## skeels (Oct 17, 2012)

So.... In between 50 hours a week, 3 kids and 2 ex wives I've made a little progress...

Shaping continues on the back side of the body but I haven't routed anything yet.
I'm trying to figure out a nice reliable way to rig up a template system for my plunge router without any extruded aluminum. 






However the frets went in pretty nicely.
Man my shop is a mess!






For this 1 I'm using a deer antler for a nut. 






After some filing it's coming along nicely ...






Not bad... not great, but not bad...






I think for my next 1 I'm rounding off all the fret ends before installation. 











Thinking veneer and stain to cover up all the maple evidence of the ESP neck..






More to come!


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## Electric Wizard (Oct 17, 2012)

skeels said:


> For this 1 I'm using a deer antler for a nut.


You know you're from Wisconsin when...


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## skeels (Oct 31, 2012)

Ok. So deer antlers are too soft...

Back to the bones!

A few more progress pics then the long boring finishing -myself grain filling, waiting for stuff to dry...
Not picture worthy so the next batch of pictures will be in an NGD!

Woo hoo!

Now I promised myself not to beat myself up over any imperfections considering this is my very first build. I learned a lot and I've been very pleased with the results of my stone age technology.

Lesson number one: don't panic.






Lesson number two: don't give up.






Lesson number three: don't be impatient.






Lesson number four: plan ahead.






Lesson number five: don't be discouraged.






Lesson number six: don't work on your guitars after your ex wife has been calling you a jerk face.






Lesson number seven : have fun!






Lesson number eight: something to do with beer... or something ... I forget ...






Lesson number nine: don't let your ex wife keep your drill press.
You need that.





That's all for now. Next stop- NGD with specs!
Thanks guys!


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## Aevolve (Oct 31, 2012)

Really digging that lower cutaway and the grain on the fretboard. Seems like some quality work as well man, great job.


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## rcsierra13 (Oct 31, 2012)

Loving this build so far! Motivated me to finally get off my ass and give it a go myself.


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## nutsock (Oct 31, 2012)

Looks awesome man! Great work


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## thepylestory (Oct 31, 2012)

Its lookin badass Andy!!


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## ThePhilosopher (Oct 31, 2012)

Man, your progress is impressive.


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## skeels (Oct 31, 2012)

Thanks guys!

I gotta say extra special thanks to Scherzo - I ran across is very first build thread and I looked at the date. When I saw that it was only 2 years ago I was floored!

I thought this dude is only been building guitars for 2 years!?

I mean come on we all know his stuff looks awesome! And is just his Hobby he says!

So I thought if he can do all that with his fancy curling irons and extruded aluminum then I might be able to do something halfway cool ...

You can too- just try you might surprise yourself!


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## BlackMastodon (Nov 1, 2012)

skeels said:


> Thanks guys!
> 
> I gotta say extra special thanks to Scherzo - I ran across is very first build thread and I looked at the date. When I saw that it was only 2 years ago I was floored!
> 
> ...


QFT.


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## Swyse (Nov 1, 2012)

How the fuck did I miss this going down. Excited to see this finished.


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## scherzo1928 (Nov 1, 2012)

Way to pull off such an ambitious first build.


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## Rectionmaarten (May 12, 2013)

The figuring in your fretboard is amazing.


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## Dana (Oct 7, 2014)

where do you get the template for the freeboard? or do you draft it up? if so where can i find the measurements? thanks looks good man


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Oct 7, 2014)

lol radiusing with a warped piece of lumber... 









Nice build though seriously. You got more accomplished than I have lately...

Lesson # 3 is the best one I've learned so far.


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## icos211 (Oct 8, 2014)

Considering this just got necrobumped like hell, did this ever get finished?


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## Necromagnon (Oct 8, 2014)

icos211 said:


> Considering this just got necrobumped like hell, did this ever get finished?


I guess you can see that in the recent topic from Skeels.

For the fretboard, I'm probably it sure it has been given 5446565 +-1 times here: fretfind is your best friend for fb templates.


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## skeels (Oct 8, 2014)

icos211 said:


> Considering this just got necrobumped like hell, did this ever get finished?



Necro update! Yes. Yes, it did. http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/sevenstring-guitars/217716-my-very-first-build.html
Hard to believe it was ayear and a half ago!



DistinguishedPapyrus said:


> lol radiusing with a warped piece of lumber...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I know right! I actually have a couple real radius blocks now!

Also the lesson about the ex wives is super important too. I made a great guitar with side dots on the 4th,8th,10th and ..... *facepalm.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 8, 2014)

Skeels...why did your ex-wife end up with your drill press?!? Fkn ex-wives, man...


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