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Albert's TRB-6P: Cutting Fret Slots
Now that the ebony fretboard has been leveled, it's time to remove the existing fret lines and re-cut the fret slots. The tools and materials I'll be using for this job include a Luthiers Mercantile Fret Saw [no longer available],
StewMac Fret Slot Depth Gauge and Dunlop 6T2/6000 Accu-Fret® fretwire.
Before proceeding any further, fret tang height needs to be measured. Here's where the StewMac Fret Slot Depth Gauge comes in handy. With the fretwire held against the "Flat" side of the gauge, I see that the fret tang extends from the edge of the gauge to the second line. This tells me the height of the fret tang, and how deep the fret slots need to be cut.
While cutting a fret slot, I periodically check the depth of the slot with the "Flat" side of the gauge and continue sawing as necessary. As soon as the second line of the gauge is barely visible, I'll know the slot is deep enough.
As I'm cutting the fourth fret slot, I notice that chips have developed along both walls. To my dismay, the same thing has happened to the first three slots. Wish I'd caught this earlier. It's only going to get worse further down the line, so the best thing to do is to stop sawing and fill those chips.
Ah, chip filling. It's tedious work, but really unavoidable under current circumstances. What I'll use for this repair is sharp scissors, a
StewMac Teflon Fret Dam sheet, ebony dust and super glue. First, I cut four strips off the teflon sheet and insert them into fret slots 1 to 4. Then, really carefully, super glue is applied to a chip with the help of
StewMac Whip Tips. These tips are really useful for applying glue "exactly where you want it."
As soon as glue has been applied, a tiny amount of ebony dust is packed into the chip. After that, we move on to the next chip. One chip at a time, folks. This process is repeated ad infinitum until all chips have been filled, right up to the 24th fret line. Now we let the ebony dust/super glue filler cure and harden overnight.
It's a new day, and I've done another course of marking the fretboard, sanding through the grits, checking for flatness, rinse and repeat; you know the drill. At the time of writing, the first nine fret slots have been cut to the required depth. Nine down, fifteen more to go!
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| Dunlop 6T2/6000 Accu-Fret® Fretwire |
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| Tools Used |
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| StewMac Fret Slot Depth Gauge |
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| Measuring Fret Tang Height |
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| Cutting the First Slot |
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| Fret Slot Not Deep Enough |
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| Correct Fret Slot Depth |
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| StewMac Teflon Fret Dam, Ebony Dust and Super Glue |
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| StewMac Whip Tip |
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| Teflon Fret Dams/Filled Chips |
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| Sanding Off Excess Filler |
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| First Nine Fret Slots Done |
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