Build Muscle, Lose Weight, and more with Stewmac fret jig

[ColestineGuitar]

Wow, thanks Ken!

There is no direction that this saw can move without binding. My saw, purchased from Stewmac quite recently, looks similar to yours. I have said it has no set, but using a micrometer I see that the teeth, at 0.025, are a little wider than the flat of the saw. It is, indeed, a pull saw.

The miter box worked great, but if I can't pull a saw through the wood without becoming a french luthier five times over I need to look for a better method. I will get my saw sharpened, for sure, but I don't care to make another fretboard in this manner.

[tippie53]

I have the no set saw from stew mac and it cuts in the pull stroke. It also has a depth stop on it . I only use it now to clear fret slots when I glue in pearl or plane a board for a refret . I much prefer the power blade. A good set up is worth the effort . The results you get will only be as good as your setup.
There is a difference is saw quality and I agree a saw should have a set , and if you do use a saw with a set tooth you need a jig to locate the saw very precisely so as not to widen the fret slot. Most fret wire today from Martin is .0205.
While this is important , it is not as critical as when you used the tang for neck relief adjustment on compression fretted necks. When starting to learn how to do this ,it may be worth a time investment to experiment with the set up so you can get a good working understanding on how to make these fine adjustments.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I've shown this before, but it is a very inexpensive way to do what those expensive jigs can do.
The plastic mitre box is screwed down to the bench, the fretboard is double sided taped to the fretting template, and the the template is wedged tight inside, just enough room to slide it to the next position. I used a piece of drill rod in the the appropriate place to index the template. Cost.....$4.00 for the mitre box, saw was about $25 I think,plus the template from LMI, which in my case I got for free but they run about $35.
Keep it all steady as Ken has said, and it works great.....saw is from LMI too.

Kevin

[tippie53]

this is a good example of controlling the variables. thanks for posting

[ColestineGuitar]

Thank you all for your insights. I think I now understand how it should/could work, and will be thinking about how the next guitar will be done. Kevin, you setup looks pretty good! You achieved the same thing as I did, but you didn't pay as much for your box.

I'm going to think about a saw that doesn't bind so badly (which it does with or without the miter box).