Fretboard Radius Jig

[Dewesq55]

Well, it works! It needs some fine tuning but here are some close ups and a test cut I did in some soft pine to test it out:

This is a close up of the 2 way crank. When you turn it the threaded rod spins and drives the router base sled down the length of the jig and the crank connects to the pendulum handle and rocks it back and forth like a piston:


This shows the other side of the router sled and the spring loaded metal lever which engages the threads to drive sled. To move the sles nack to tje starting end you just lift up on the levwr and slide the base:


This is a test fretboard blank clamped to the pendulum top. I modified the clamping blocks after this pic was taken because the sled wasn't able to pass over them:


Here you can see that the test board is a flat board with no radius:


Here is the result of a partial test run. It looks like boards will still need to be cleaned up with radius sanding blocks, but it works. This is a 9.5" radius which I will use for my tele neck rebuild:

 

[smitty_p]

Really cool!

Are there any videos of this in action?

 

[Dewesq55]

Not yet. After I get the kinks worked out I will shoot some video and post it. I am having issues with the crank handle but I will get it worked out.

 

[JohnnyGoo]

brilliant

 

[Dewesq55]

brilliant

Thanks. To be clear, it's somebody else's basic design. I bought the plans. But the double action drive mechanism is my own modification. And other than the threaded rod and corresponding nuts, everything else used in the construction I had on hand, so it was unbelievably cheap. Next to free.

 

[RVA]

That is quite awesome. Should only be a few more months until you are taking orders, right?!

 

[Dewesq55]

Ha! Right.

 

[Dewesq55]

Thanks. To be clear, it's somebody else's basic design. I bought the plans. But the double action drive mechanism is my own modification. And other than the threaded rod and corresponding nuts, everything else used in the construction I had on hand, so it was unbelievably cheap. Next to free.

And another thing, the router I am using was my father's. It has been sitting in my successive shops for nearly 20 years unused. Since he helped me build my first home made guitar, there is a certain satisfying symmetry (alliteration!) about using one of his tools in a luthiery machine.

 

[RVA]

And another thing, the router I am using was my father's. It has been sitting in my successive shops for nearly 20 years unused. Since he helped me build my first home made guitar, the is a certain satisfying symmetry (alliteration!) about using one of his tools in a luthiery machine.

That is really, really cool!

 

[Dewesq55]

That is really, really cool!

Thanks. I think so too.

 

[Dewesq55]

That is quite awesome. Should only be a few more months until you are taking orders, right?!

RVA, I think you know, or can discern, that I like building even more than playing. But dont tell anybody.

 

[RVA]

RVA, I think you know, or can discern, that I like building even more than playing. But dont tell anybody.

This will work out fine. I will play what you build!

 

[Dewesq55]

This will work out fine. I will play what you build!

Works for me. I've got a diaper load of maple. We've got to come up with things to make with it. Presumably I will have to bite the bullet eventually and build a strat. I also need to find a current source for mahogany. I really love building with mahogany.

 

[RVA]

Works for me. I've got a diaper load of maple. We've got to come up with things to make with it. Presumably I will have to bite the bullet eventually and build a strat. I also need to find a current source for mahogany. I really love building with mahogany.

OK, the hog is on me!!! Not to mention I have a warehouse of hardware!

 

[smitty_p]

I've got a diaper load of maple...

Eeew!

 

[DonP]

That's excellent. Put different length swing arms at the two ends and you can make a compound radius too. I like it.

 

[SG Lou]

Sweet ! I have a few ideas for different kind of jigs to make my life easier but my only problem is I'm so limited for shop space that as of right now I'm packed to the gills so to speak. I need a nice 4 car climate controlled garage...........LOL

 

[Dewesq55]

That's excellent. Put different length swing arms at the two ends and you can make a compound radius too. I like it.

You can already make some variety of compound radius by choosing a different pivot point on each side.

 

[Dewesq55]

Wow! This jig took some tweaking and adjusting, but today I radiused my first actual blank. It is the maple one for my telestyle neck rebuild i did a 7¼" radius like a vintage Fender. It took about 5 minutes once it was set up and installed on the jig. I actually did 2 very shallow passes to minimize tearout. I got 19½" of radiused fretboard from a 20" blank:



The dark area on the 2 ends if the radius gauge are nit gaps. They are just places where the white finish on the hardboard came off when I tuched to the belt sander to take the "hairs" off after routing the gauges.

I made 3 radius gauges while I was at it:

 

[Dewesq55]

I finally got around to shooting some video of the fretboard radius jig in action. It's only a test piece that I was using to check something out before putting some cocobolo in it for real but you can get the idea.