If you remember, after all of this time, we cut the fret slots and profiled the fingerboard back in Step 5. Well, now it's time to finish that baby and get it ready to be attached to the neck.
I chose to inlay 1/4" mother of pearl dots at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12th frets, with two dots side by side in this last position. This is a pretty common pattern, although many guitars skip the dot on the 3rd. Personally, I like all of the reference points that I can get. I used a 1/4" brad-point bit to cuts these inlay positions in the rosewood.
After marking the center of the
space between the frets, I measured the height of the dots and
placed a piece of tape on the bit to indicate when I had reached
that depth. The brad point is great for centering the bit on my
mark before drilling. I drilled the holes just shy of the dot's
depth so that I could sand them flush later.
The dots are then glued into place and sanded flush. Mother of Pearl sands very easily, but the dust is nasty, so use caution. I used a long sanding block and 150-grit no-fill paper to level the dots.
So now we come to another of those watershed moments in our build: fretting. Cutting the slots was a nerve-wracking experience for me and I was equally nervous about installing the frets. I chose nickle silver mandolin frets from Stewart-MacDonald as being closest to my needs - there is no actual ukulele fretwire available to my knowlege. The tang must be matched to the width of your slot within a hundredth or two, and my fret saw, with its .024 kerf, matched this wire exactly.
There are a number of methods for installing the frets in the slot, but I chose the most traditional: the hammer. Now there are some very fine dedicated fret hammers available from the lutherie supply houses, but I found a wonderful little 8-ounce "dead blow" hammer at WoodCraft that suits me just fine. It is made of a tough nylon-plastic and the head contains lead shot that prevents the head from bouncing on impact. So, not only does the plastic head not mar the fret, it lands a very steady, decisive blow.
The
other tool that I found it neccesary to purchase was a flush-cutting
end nipper for trimming the frets ends after installation. Now,
end nippers are available everywhere that sells tools, but the
problem is that the cutting edges are hollow ground - that is,
they are not flush with the top of the tool. If you cut the end
of the fret with the tool held against the edge of the fingerboard,
there would be about 1/8" or so left sticking out, and that
would have to be filed off - very time consuming. These flush-cutting
nippers are modified so that the cutting edge is flush with the
top of the tool and cuts the fret to the quick. These are available
from both Stew-Mac and LMI, and I highly recommend them.
Now, let me say right up front that there is no rule that says you have to attach the fingerboard to the neck before you install the frets, and there is no rule to the contrary. Never let anyone tell you that there is only one way to do something. Call me a rebel, call me what you will...but I say that whatever works for you is the right way. The same goes for every step in this project. If my way or anyone else's doesn't suit you, then you go with what does!
I chose to fret the fingerboard before gluing it to the neck because it just seemed easier to manage. we'll see!
I
placed my fingerboard on a concrete brick for a good solid backing
surface, and set to my task. Surprisingly, it was easy! I left
the wire long, rather than cutting it into pieces as some do,
because I felt that it was easier to hold and align with the slot
that way. Experimenting with different sequences, I found that
starting with a blow to the center of the slot and working my
way outward on either side worked best for me. Care must be taken
when driving the "long" end so that the other end doesn't
lift back out of the slot. Gentle but firm blows will seat the
wire smartly. When you are satisfied that the fret is secure,
nip it off flush on both ends and move on.
When all of the frets are in and trimmed, it's time to dress them. This is a critical step for a couple of reasons: 1) It contributes significantly to the "feel" of the instrument - you don't want your hand to snag on a fret end while you're playing, and 2) People notice frets!. Yep, one of the first things that knowlegable luthier and guitar afficianados notice about an instrument is the state of your frets. They need to be neatly beveled, with the ends smooth and consistantly polished. Take your time here and do the very best that you can.
There are innumerable tools available for achieving this purpose, but I went with a couple of very simple tools that I had on hand and got good results. Again, experiment and find what works for you. I slotted and fretted the cut-off piece from the end of my fingerboard and practiced on that.
The
first step is to file the ends of the frets until they're flush
with the edge of the fingerboard. For this, I placed the board
in my small bench vise and ran a medium mill bastard file back
and forth until I got the gentle swish, swish sound that indicated
that I was down to wood.
I followed that with a long sanding block wrapped with 150-grit no-fill paper. This gave a very smooth edge.
I
then created the initial bevel by holding the sanding block at
approximately 35-40 degrees and moving back and forth. I was amazed
at how quickly and neatly the paper cut the soft fretwire.
Not
a great pic, but it was taken through a magnifying glass! You
can see (I hope) that the sandpaper beveld the fret ends very
nicely.
After
experimenting with various files, I hit the ideal tool for rounding
and smoothing the fret ends: my old pal the emory board! I kid
you not, the coarse side does a great job of rounding out the
edges of the initial bevel and the fine side really smooths out
the scratches left from filing and sanding. I tapered the emory
board end to about 1/8" or so with my nippers, allowing me
to get at the fret without gouging the fingerboard. I then used
a piece of 4000 grit MicroMesh to polish each fret to a high gloss.
This is a specialty product available from the lutherie houses
and also WoodCraft. It is a cloth-backed "sandpaper"
that goes from 1500 to 12,000 grit and will polish bare wood to
where it looks like it has a finish on it. kind of expensive,
but long-lasting and extremely effective.
So here we have the finished fingerboard, ready to glue to our neck. Those frets just gleam don't they? I'm extremely pleased with the results and am itching to finish shaping the neck, drilling the peg holes, gluing on the peghead veneer and bolting the neck on for keeps.
