Fingerboard radiusing router bits? - Guitar Building Tricks and Tips

RE: Fingerboard radiusing router bits?

Rathius — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 15:59:27 +0000

Looks like that worked really well @rathius. From what I can see on the pics, it looks like it left a nice smooth finish that'll tidy up quickly and easily.

👍

Yes it did. I’m very pleased with the results. Definitely a smart purchase. Now to collect a few. 😂

RE: Fingerboard radiusing router bits?

tv1 — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 20:13:26 +0000

Looks like that worked really well @rathius. From what I can see on the pics, it looks like it left a nice smooth finish that'll tidy up quickly and easily.

👍

RE: Fingerboard radiusing router bits?

Rathius — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 19:00:43 +0000

Ok so I just finished using the 12” radius bit and I have to say I love it. Yep. No more pre-radiused fretboards for me although I will still buy them pre-slotted. Just not ready to tackle that job just yet. 😁

I did leave a very slim bit of wood at the centerline but that’s ok. I’ll use the 12” radiused side of my aluminum radiused sanding block. It’s 16” radius on one side, 12” radius on the other. Here’s pictures.

9474 9475

Notice I haven’t profiled the fretboard yet. From here though, I’ll pull the fretboard off and carpet tape it to my neck profile pattern. I think y’all know the rest from there.

I highly recommend these bits. Makes it much easier & quicker. The block of mahogany the fretboard is attached to is a neck blank I had ordered last year from Stemac. Since I had never used it yet AND it’s planed on 3 sides 😁 I figured it was a very good candidate for the job of holding the fretboards to do this. It worked really well so it gets to stay just like it is. Shew, ends up being an expensive jig but, I’m ok with it. It works, don’t fix it. 🤣😁

RE: Fingerboard radiusing router bits?

tv1 — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 20:44:20 +0000

I built a little jig/sled and attach the fretboard with masking tape and superglue.

"masking tape and supeglue" ????

What trickery is this?

;)

RE: Fingerboard radiusing router bits?

swepri — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 19:49:22 +0000

@koendb I have a couple of these, a 12" and a 9.5" router bit. Works good if you are careful. It is important to get the fretboard centerline exactly parallel to the router table surface.

I built a little jig/sled and attach the fretboard with masking tape and superglue. (I make the fretboard taper first, before radius routing and before gluing it to the neck.)

The result does not exactly match any of the radius blocks I have, but the radius blocks are all a little different anyway.

RE: Fingerboard radiusing router bits?

Anonymous 37153 — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 13:01:40 +0000

Wow Really Great ..

RE: Fingerboard radiusing router bits?

Anonymous 46807 — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 05:37:56 +0000

That's great if you have decided to buy that and at the same time I'm curious how good this would work in practice, do let us know. Thank You!

RE: Fingerboard radiusing router bits?

Rathius — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 12:05:55 +0000

@koendb

from the product description on Amazon for the 14” radius but

9438

RE: Fingerboard radiusing router bits?

Rathius — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 23:36:54 +0000

@koendb the guy was doing it on his router table before profiling the neck. Lay it on its side with fretboard facing the bit and zip. Turned it over and ran the other side, second zip. And that’s his method. I’m thinking it’s worth a try.

RE: Fingerboard radiusing router bits?

tv1 — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 19:32:17 +0000

I bought something similar, many (10+) years ago.

I found mine being made and sold by someone out in Asia somewhere, maybe Vietnam or somewhere in that area.

It works. I made up a little jig to use with a friend’s bench router. Still needed to finish the fretboard by hand, but it removed a lot of the waste.