After I cut the notches in the template, I used drill bits to check the notch. Once I found a drill bit that fit into the notch, I used a cutoff wheel in my Dremel tool to slice off a piece about 1/2" long from the unfluted end. Use the same bit to drill the hole and press the pin in. You might need to put a drop of super glue in it to make sure it doesn't come out.
good job!! I have a radial arm saw, but I have a sled on my little table saw. Not sure which would cut fret slots best, but the sled seems like it would be perfect for making the Templates!
Thanks! Either will work for cutting the slots. With a radial arm saw to cut the slots, put the pin in the fence and your template will be on the bottom. The main advantage to cutting the slots on a table saw is that once you have your depth set, the thickness of the fretboard doesn't matter. On a RAS, if the boards are different thicknesses, you will need to adjust the depth of cut accordingly. Not a big deal, but I finally got tired of doing that when I was sawing the slots by hand, and went the table saw route.
Hi Barry. Yes. I use an older free program called WFret to print my scale length. Another free program is FretCalc. MGB Guitars sells a great fret template printed on an oversized sheet of paper that has 7 scales ranging from 20" to 25.5". Cost is less than a dollar last time I looked. I was using a CB Gitty template in the video. I don't like the CB Gitty templates as well as printing my own or using the MGB template. The fret lines are thick on the CB Gitty template, but showed up good on camera. The thinner the line on the paper template, the more accurate your polycarbonate template will be. I did the video more for informational purposes, but in reality I used a magnifier headband and take my time to make sure the polycarbonate is exactly on each mark before cutting it. I previously cut fretboards by hand using a jig and hand held saw, which this will work for also, except the polycarbonate template would be on the bottom of the fretboard on a set up like that. I have a Stew Mac template and if made carefully, these polycarbonate templates work as well for a lot less cost. If you are doing hundreds of fretboards, the Stew Mac might hold up better with less wear, but you could always cut another polycarbonate template if you needed to.
@@barrywhaley958 I have not had any issues with any I have printed. To double check your printed template, measure from the nut to the 12th fret, and double it to check the scale length. For example, if the nut to the 12th fret measures 12.75" on your paper template, the scale length would be 25.5". If it doesn't seem to come out right when printed, check your printer to make certain it is printing at 100% scale.
Thank you for making this video! I made multiple scale sizes using the big aluminum rulers from Harbor Freight. 🤘🤘
Thank you! I hope they work well for you.
What are using for the locating pin?
After I cut the notches in the template, I used drill bits to check the notch. Once I found a drill bit that fit into the notch, I used a cutoff wheel in my Dremel tool to slice off a piece about 1/2" long from the unfluted end. Use the same bit to drill the hole and press the pin in. You might need to put a drop of super glue in it to make sure it doesn't come out.
good job!! I have a radial arm saw, but I have a sled on my little table saw. Not sure which would cut fret slots best, but the sled seems like it would be perfect for making the Templates!
Thanks! Either will work for cutting the slots. With a radial arm saw to cut the slots, put the pin in the fence and your template will be on the bottom. The main advantage to cutting the slots on a table saw is that once you have your depth set, the thickness of the fretboard doesn't matter. On a RAS, if the boards are different thicknesses, you will need to adjust the depth of cut accordingly. Not a big deal, but I finally got tired of doing that when I was sawing the slots by hand, and went the table saw route.
Thanks bro I really Need that. Good 💡 💡 very bright
Thanks! The templates work great. I have one I purchased from StewMac a few years ago, but these work just as well.
So you print off your scale length and check for accuracy?
Hi Barry. Yes. I use an older free program called WFret to print my scale length. Another free program is FretCalc. MGB Guitars sells a great fret template printed on an oversized sheet of paper that has 7 scales ranging from 20" to 25.5". Cost is less than a dollar last time I looked. I was using a CB Gitty template in the video. I don't like the CB Gitty templates as well as printing my own or using the MGB template. The fret lines are thick on the CB Gitty template, but showed up good on camera. The thinner the line on the paper template, the more accurate your polycarbonate template will be. I did the video more for informational purposes, but in reality I used a magnifier headband and take my time to make sure the polycarbonate is exactly on each mark before cutting it. I previously cut fretboards by hand using a jig and hand held saw, which this will work for also, except the polycarbonate template would be on the bottom of the fretboard on a set up like that.
I have a Stew Mac template and if made carefully, these polycarbonate templates work as well for a lot less cost. If you are doing hundreds of fretboards, the Stew Mac might hold up better with less wear, but you could always cut another polycarbonate template if you needed to.
@@tramp.art.guitars I’ve seen this other fella on you tube . I just want to make sure the print outs are accurate!!!
@@barrywhaley958 I have not had any issues with any I have printed. To double check your printed template, measure from the nut to the 12th fret, and double it to check the scale length. For example, if the nut to the 12th fret measures 12.75" on your paper template, the scale length would be 25.5". If it doesn't seem to come out right when printed, check your printer to make certain it is printing at 100% scale.
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