Sequence of operations in making a fingerboard?

[MaineGeezer]

...so I've got my fingerboard blank, about 3/8" thick, 3" wide, extra-long. What would be the preferred sequence of operations to bring it to final form?

The individual tasks I can think of are:

• Cut to final thickness (1/4"?)
  Cit to final tapered form (1-13/16" at nut end, 2-1/4" at 12th fret?)
  Cut fret slots
  Cut crown curvature
  Install frets

How would you arrange those operations?

[tippie53]

First square the fretboard and thickness
I prefer to radius the fretboard then slot but it really won't matter that much
then once slotted you can taper

important that you square the board first.

[MaineGeezer]

Thanks John. It's squared up now, so I'll cut to final thickness (which should be 1/4", I think???) and slot per the distances from the StewMac fret spacing calculator for a 25.4" scale length.

Then do the taper.

[tippie53]

May I suggest a sacrificial piece first so you can make adjustments for the slot depth. I like them about .035 deeper than the tang. Too deep the board looses strength too shallow and it is a Ahhhhh $#L^ moment.

[MaineGeezer]

An excellent plan....

[Ben-Had]

I square and thickness (slightly more than .250, some comes off during radiusing) the FB, cut the slots (.134" depth, leaves enough depth for slot after radiusing), radius the FB, then taper.

Not sure how my slot depth works out compared to John's slot depth but it works for me.

[sylvan]

I thickness to .270. When I put in the 12 radius it brings the edges down to .230 which is about perfect for my builds.

[MaineGeezer]

I'll thickness to a little over 0.250 then....I can always take off a bit more later.

Thanks folks.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I do it just like Tim, then after I radius I may go back and finesse the depth of the slots as necessary out at the edges.

[MaineGeezer]

It works, though it's definitely a lash-up. The main thing it has going for it is the milling machine's digital readout, good to +/- 0.0002", which leaves no doubt about the distance from a slot to the nut.

The biggest problem is clamping the fingerboard truly flat such that the clamps aren't in the way of the spindle block. Inevitably, clamps need to be moved part way through. Next time I buy a sawblade I'm going to see if I can get one of the proper thickness in a larger diameter so there will be more clearance.

The saw itself is on a spindle I made out of a block of aluminum and a couple of ball bearings that were lying around. And it's driven by my electric drill.