But i think i have screwed up.

We don't allow the term "screwed up" here.  It's called a "learning opportunity".  Just about all of us make sure that every build provides us with at least one learning opportunity!!

The easiest fix is *probably* to fill the existing holes - just temporarily with superglue or similar - so that you can remark the proper centres.

Then mark (with a punch) the exact centres of the holes that you want so that the drill doesn't wander when you start drilling the new holes.  It's a lot easier to check, double-check and then triple check the position of the punch marks, and correct them if necessary, than to check the position of the holes once you've drilled them and realised that they're a bit off-centre.

Find some inlays that you still like, but which are bigger than the existing ones, so that they'll cover up the old holes, which you filled temporarily with the superglue.  

Fit the new inlays, and all the evidence of the old off-centre holes disappears.

And, just to repeat, don't beat yourself up.  We've all done similar, or worse.

(I've done plenty worse!!)

Hi @louis-kerckhove

Sorry I’m late to the discussion.

It’s looking good but sorry to hear you have had a little hiccup. I drilled the side dots and went through the front of the fretboard on one of them on my first build (won’t do that again..!). It got fixed with a little super glue and sawdust from a piece of off cut  of the fretboard. The guy who bought it 4-5 years ago still hasn’t noticed. It came back in a few weeks ago for a set up and I could just about see it 😭 so I re did the fix and all is well.

It’s something we all go through and although gutting at times, sometimes it can be fixed or whether it’s worth fixing and leave as is..call it a quirk of your design? 

If you think it’s worth it you could always put in larger block type inlays or more serious is to take the fretboard off and replace with a fresh one (not for the faint hearted...ask me how I know).

Might be worth pictures on here for the community to comment before you decide what to do..

So i am asking for you advice, redrill the holes and fit some mother of pearl inlays or leave it just be?

@louis-kerckhove I don’t know without seeing some pictures but I would be tempted to just leave it and carry on with the build. Many of us will tell you that all the little imperfections are the character that we build into them, it’s true. Your current build already has lots of quirkiness to it, I wouldn’t want any of the non-essential bits to line up perfectly. Make a feature of it and make a few more things out of line. Just make sure the neck lines up with the bridge and pickups, the scale length is correct and the bridge is fixed in the right place, the nut and tuners also line up. The body shaping/carving etc can be as wonky and/or as asymmetrical as you want, including the inlay dots (just make sure they are on the correct frets, ask me how I know, no don’t 😆). 

Show us some pictures. 

Hey @louis-kerckhove. I'd agree with @tv101. Try inlaying something slightly bigger. 

🙏🎸🎶🙂

just make sure they are on the correct frets, ask me how I know, no don’t 😆). 

How....no sorry @boo I’ll not ask 

Hi, here is the fretboard. It still needs some sanding but i think i will stick with it.

Louis

It still needs some sanding but i think i will stick with it.

@louis-kerckhove I think it looks fine Louis, I definitely wouldn’t worry about it.  The vast majority of people won’t even notice. Once you’ve sanded those pencil marks off, put the frets on and put the strings on, it will not be noticeable at all. Get on with building the rest of it mate. 👍

I think it looks fine Louis, I definitely wouldn’t worry about it.  The vast majority of people won’t even notice. Once you’ve sanded those pencil marks off, put the frets on and put the strings on, it will not be noticeable at all. Get on with building the rest of it mate.

(Yes, that is exactly what @boo wrote, because I agree with him, but didn’t want to admit it!).

I think it looks fine Louis, I definitely wouldn’t worry about it.  The vast majority of people won’t even notice. Once you’ve sanded those pencil marks off, put the frets on and put the strings on, it will not be noticeable at all. Get on with building the rest of it mate.

Oh well said @tv101 😁👍

Hey Louis,

It looks great to me, if it needs sanding then sand it, just make sure you do it evenly over the whole surface of the  fretboard so that you don’t change the radius profile or cause hollows. It already looks pretty smooth so I’d start with nothing coarser that about P150 and move to finer grits just as soon as the previous sanding marks have disappeared.

I don’t know if you watched Mark’s recent video on fitting the frets but, if not, I’d I’d recommend it. Very useful and lots of tips.

Good luck and just remember that you are at least 20-40 years ahead of the game compared to many of us on here so you have got plenty of time to learn and you have loads of support from Mark and the forum members to call on should you need any help or advice.

We may not always know the answers but, because of our experience (so much nicer than saying ‘age’), we are able to be wrong with great confidence!😂😂

Cheers

Darren

@louis-kerckhove As the rest of the guys have said it won’t be noticed by 99% of people, it would be a shake to waste a good fretboard. I think it will suit the quirkiness of the rest of the build. It’s good to be different especially for a thesis so go for it... 

Hi Guys,

I am still looking for fretwire. I currently have a epiphone SG that i play often, it has medium jumbo fretwire. I really like how the fretwire feels, i think i prefer medium-jumbo frets. So i looked around and i found some precut fretwire on this site (i like to buy from this site because i can order my other parts from the same site) here is the link to the fretwire: https://www.bax-shop.be/nl/overige-gitaar-onderdelen/fender-fretdraad-medium-jumbo-standard-24-stuks

The fretwire is prebent and has a 9,5inch radius to it, would this fit in my premade fretboard that i bought from mark that has a 12 inch radius? I don't know where but i heard it but fretwire should be a bit more bent than your fretboard so that it will stick to it better? Please correct me if i am wrong!

Cheers!

Louis

The fretwire is prebent and has a 9,5inch radius to it, would this fit in my premade fretboard that i bought from mark that has a 12 inch radius? I don't know where but i heard it but fretwire should be a bit more bent than your fretboard so that it will stick to it better? Please correct me if i am wrong!

@louis-kerckhove Yeah you can have the fret wire a bit more bent than the fretboard radius but I’m not sure of how much more bent it can be. I have to say that the fret wire you have found is fine but I think it being 9.5” could be a little extreme for your 12” fretboard. I’m just erring on the side of caution. 
Also, Mark did say you can bend each fret by hand using some fret nippers/pliers to carefully bend (without kinking) them to the correct radius. You would be better buying a pre bent coil and cut your own from that. 

@louis-kerckhove Buy two coils of this medium jumbo Louis, it will be enough for the whole guitar. When you are cutting each length, remember each fret is a different length so measure each one on the fretboard before cutting them. 👍 

https://tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/sintoms-18-nickel-silver-frets-2-7mm-2.html  

@Boo

Thanks man!

I will order the rest of my parts from the site u recommended. Thanks for the input, i really apreciate it!

Cheers!

Louis

Thanks man!

I will order the rest of my parts from the site u recommended. Thanks for the input, i really apreciate it!

@louis-kerckhove No probs, it’s a good shop, I get a lot of stuff from there. 👍

@louis-kerckhove

When cutting your frets to length, a good tip is to start at the last fret. That way if you cut one (or three) too short you can still use it. Say you’re on the 19th and you cut it too short, then use it for the 18th or even the 17th. 

Don’t forget to leave them a few mm longer than their final length. Get them in and then trim and file flush.

Have fun!

Don’t forget to leave them a few mm longer than their final length. Get them in and then trim and file flush.

Have fun!

Yep, what he said. 🙄👆

I just did my last exam today, it went well and now i have 3 weeks off. The rest of my parts for the build arrived and i am ready to finally finish this project! More updates coming soon!

Louis