Fret Board Fall Away

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scamp
Posts: 223
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2022 8:19 pm

Fret Board Fall Away

Post by scamp »

I have heard quite a bit about fret board fall away ( over the body of the guitar) and how it's good to have.
I understand why it's good to have but how to properly build it into your guitar is still a bit of a mystery to me.

Seems like there are three options.

1) Sand the fretboard down so it's thinner in this area
2) Sand down the frets more aggressively in this area
3) Allow for some bend in the fretboard over the guitar body when you glue it down to the body

Seems like option #1 makes the most sense but I haven't seen anyone talking/writing about doing this.
Option #2 seems the least likely but I have read about someone suggesting this.
Option #3 seems like it might make sense since the top of the guitar is domed a bit and it makes sense that it wouldn't naturally sit flat against the top from the front edge of the guitar to the top of hole. Additionally, I have read about some guitar builders have a very slight gap between the fret board and the body near the sound hole and being told to just bend it a bit and glue it down to fix the problem and also create a slight fall away.

So... Does anyone have an answer/opinion for this. It's been bugging me for awhile.

Scamp
tippie53
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Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: Hegins, Pa
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Re: Fret Board Fall Away

Post by tippie53 »

you only need about .020 of an inch so sanding the fretboard or work the frets both are viable
if your RH is 50% you work the frets its to allow the top movement in RH changes
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
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