# Veneer on fretboard?



## Brohoodofsteel75 (Jan 23, 2012)

I have an ugly old rosewood strat neck that i want to be flamed maple. I was just wondering can i just snatch the frets off, sand the fretboard down, clean it, glue on some veneer, stain it, put a coat of clear over it and reglue the old frets?


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## idunno (Jan 23, 2012)

Go for it. youll have to bend it to fit and clamp it with rope/surgical tubing. I sugesst wetting it and clamping it to the FB to get the shape. Once its dry pop it off and glue it on!
Ive veneered the back of a neck like that once, came out badass.


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## Brohoodofsteel75 (Jan 23, 2012)

idunno said:


> Go for it. youll have to bend it to fit and clamp it with rope/surgical tubing. I sugesst wetting it and clamping it to the FB to get the shape. Once its dry pop it off and glue it on!
> Ive veneered the back of a neck like that once, came out badass.



I would've never thought of that, thats so smart thanks!


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## theo (Jan 23, 2012)

Can I see some pics idunno? that sounds sweet


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## vansinn (Jan 24, 2012)

idunno said:


> Go for it. youll have to bend it to fit and clamp it with rope/surgical tubing. I sugesst wetting it and clamping it to the FB to get the shape. Once its dry pop it off and glue it on!
> Ive veneered the back of a neck like that once, came out badass.



I would suggest only lightly moisturizing it, maybe lightly heat it with a clothing iron, and bend it not on the actual fretboard, but over another surface, being slightly more radiused the actual fretboard.

This will prevent the fretboard sucking moisture from the wet venieer, and alow the the venieer better retaining a matching radius as it tends to open a Bit when removed after drying.

Do note that adding the venieer will require raisiing your action on both nut and bridge - unless first trimming the original fretboard down by the same amount as the venieer thickness.

I haven't done this myself, but might speculate that you might run into trouble obtaining a fully level new fretboard, epsecially if using a fairly thin venieer.
As such, I would expect the need for some sanding on the attached venieer, for which reason you may not want it too thin - which could raise the action even more..

Also note that if you do not trim the original fully down to remove the original fret grooves, the grooves in the venieer will be right over the remnants of the original grooves, and you might end up with fret that won't bind well enough, or other artefacts like loss of tone/sustain.
Whether or ot to reuse the original frets I would say depends on how much they're already worn, and how much the fangs are bend in, possibly reducing how well they'll bite to make sure the frets will be properly seated.


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## JaeSwift (Jan 24, 2012)

Easier way: Iron it on.


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## demonx (Jan 25, 2012)

When I think about all the trouble it'd take to get a veneer in between all the frets etc etc etc shaping, gluing and so forth...

It's be so much quicker/easier to make a new board out of the real timber!


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## JaeSwift (Jan 25, 2012)

demonx said:


> When I think about all the trouble it'd take to get a veneer in between all the frets etc etc etc shaping, gluing and so forth...
> 
> It's be so much quicker/easier to make a new board out of the real timber!



You would have to take the frets out before even attempting this of course. Making a new board is fine and possible but at the same time you need a lot more tools (Fret saw, radius sanding block, planer, belt sander, glue, clamps etc.) next to all the fretting tools. 

If you were to veneer a board you'de have to take the frets off, get a really long piece of veneer (and that would be the hardest part, really), iron it on with a no-steam setting and no water in the ironing board, cut off the edges and cut/clean the fret sawed fret channels, then re-fret.


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## demonx (Jan 25, 2012)

JaeSwift said:


> You would have to take the frets out before even attempting this of course. Making a new board is fine and possible but at the same time you need a lot more tools (Fret saw, radius sanding block, planer, belt sander, glue, clamps etc.) next to all the fretting tools.
> 
> If you were to veneer a board you'de have to take the frets off, get a really long piece of veneer (and that would be the hardest part, really), iron it on with a no-steam setting and no water in the ironing board, cut off the edges and cut/clean the fret sawed fret channels, then re-fret.



Don't forget that you'd also have to sand the board back the same thickness of the veneer that your adding so it ends out the exact same thickness of the original board - otherwise you're screwing up all the nut and bridge hight etc and it'd change the neck angle drop if you have a guitar with neck angle.

You'd also have to re radius the veneered board to make sure its perfect otherwise it'll be shit level wise, in doing so hope you dont sand through it cause that'll look even more shit.

If you remove these two steps it'll still play but you cannot expect it to be great


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## JaeSwift (Jan 25, 2012)

demonx said:


> Don't forget that you'd also have to sand the board back the same thickness of the veneer that your adding so it ends out the exact same thickness of the original board - otherwise you're screwing up all the nut and bridge hight etc and it'd change the neck angle drop if you have a guitar with neck angle.
> 
> You'd also have to re radius the veneered board to make sure its perfect otherwise it'll be shit level wise, in doing so hope you dont sand through it cause that'll look even more shit.
> 
> If you remove these two steps it'll still play but you cannot expect it to be great



I think re-radiusing with the veneer is both impossible (you would sand through it before it's radiused) and unnecassary. If you iron it on it will conform EXACTLY to the radius already present on the board. I do agree with sanding the board a bit but even if you wouldn't you could raise the nut and the bridge a bit, provided you don't have an angled neck.

That said, I'de still HIGHLY advise against doing this if you have never done at least fretwork before.

EDIT: In saying this I'm assuming you would use a piece of veneer that is cut from the original wood instead of sawn, meaning it would be around 0.6mm thick and you would be using large frets.


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## themike (Jan 25, 2012)

Ever consider just using Ebonizing dye? Turns rosewood and maple into ebony.


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## AwakenNoMore (Jan 26, 2012)

What you should do is replace the board or neck/guitar. Veneer doesn't sound like the best idea to be honest.


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## Jontain (Jan 26, 2012)

Interesting idea OP although I have not seen it done before, could get some interesting results though, and if it is a neck without binding it would look sweet on the edge when finished up.


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## Brohoodofsteel75 (Jan 26, 2012)

I think I'm just going to try it soon. The neck isnt important to me. It was my first guitar until I took it apart and lost alot of the peices. I thought of ebonizine dye, but I wanted it to have no inlays. And look different. Like quilted or flamed maple but with a different look and no inlays since the strats gold.


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## idunno (Jan 27, 2012)

theo said:


> Can I see some pics idunno? that sounds sweet



This is before I sanded it all the way. ended up a nice smooth curve at the ends.






And yes dont put wet wood directly on the board. I bagged the whole neck before I did this to keep it dry. then when the veneer was shaped and dry I glued it on. Like this...






finished guitar is in my sig, first link.


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## Brohoodofsteel75 (Jan 29, 2012)

idunno said:


> This is before I sanded it all the way. ended up a nice smooth curve at the ends.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Wow, that looks alot easier than i pictured it! Did you use the same frets you originally had, or did you need a refret?


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## Berserker (Jan 29, 2012)

He veneered the back of the neck, not the fretboard. I would just replace the fretboard, if you veneer it the side of the fretboard will still be rosewood and will look odd.


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## idunno (Jan 29, 2012)

Brohoodofsteel75 said:


> Wow, that looks alot easier than i pictured it! Did you use the same frets you originally had, or did you need a refret?




Sorry dude, I did the back of the neck not the front. I just wanted to show you how I did it. Id imagine it would work for the front too. Take out the frets and sand the board down, then follow through! You might not get away with the same frets unless your super careful takin them out. If you really want to do it, I say go for it! let me know if you have more questions


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