Gluing on the fretboard

[Mitch]

The stew-mac instructions say to put a slight bow in the neck before gluing on the fretboard. Supposedly, the bow in the neck counter-acts the bow in the fretted fretboard. The idea sounds plausible, but the fretboard is so much thinner, that the force to make it flat is way way less than the force to flex the neck enough to get a 0.010" gap under a straightedge.

Is pre-bowing the neck a good idea?

Thanks,

Mitch

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I now install the frets after the fretboard is glued to the neck, but on my first couple of guitars I fretted first, then glued.
I never did this technique that Stewmac suggests. As you said the fretboard will flatten out pretty easily, however it still could induce some upward bow to the neck shaft. The moisture from the glue can also add to this happening. Do a dry run, clamping it all up without glue and check it..see what you have. Your truss rod can also help you straighten things out if need be, if you are using a 2 way rod.

Kevin

[tippie53]

not a fan of the stew mac method. I like to true fretboard to the guitar before I fret them.

[Mitch]

> I like to true fretboard to the guitar before I fret them.

John, I'm a little confused. I've watched your video where you install frets on the fretboard first. Are you referring to the video where you use a sanding stick to match the neck (without fretboard) to the sound board?

It's moot for me since I've already installed the frets. But I'm curious nonetheless.

Mitch

[tippie53]

I showed a video on how to fret but how you want to make a guitar is when you decide to fret. I no long pre fret the board. When I build I will get the box closed then pre set the neck without the fret board. Yes , prep that fret board so the plane is as true as possible.
I go one step farther and now fret the board one I know that fret board plane is true. I also make sure the the top is trued so the fretboard is dead flat. Then I glue the board on the neck. Clamp the neck into the body and check again that all is good adjust if needed , then fret.
I also glue the fretboard to the neck on my granite surface plate. I want that neck dead flat. This helps avoid twists. On ebony I also damped the fret side as ebony can cup and adding a little dampness helps avoid that. The better you watch the details on the neck prep the better the end result . I also threw away my stew mac strap clamps. I had neck twist , they were the culprit. Water can make wood do funny things and clamping the neck on a true surface helps to keep it flat and true.