Thread: Stewmacs Fret Slotting saw and jig

G'day Greg, Funny you mention fret-slotting, as my fret-slot circular saw blade arrived today ....................Time for carnage.

Seriously, I find the standard mitre-box and fret saw great, I just prefer to cut them
mechanically for better precision and a tighter slot.

Here's a build thread we had a month or so back on fret slotting in general and some specific answers regarding the stew-mac setup too.
https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...highlight=fret

I have the old style wooden mitre box with brass and nylon saw guides and perspex templates. It was very accurate and the best 15 years ago. It looks a lot different from the new one but has some similarities.

Number one problem is I had to make a new mitre box because I wanted to fret one piece maple necks (fender style). Looks like the new mitre box will similarly only do fretboards.

The number two problem on the old design was people using the guide pin to lock the board in position. It should have been only used to locate the board and then the board should have been clamped sufficiently to allow the pin to be removed. You didnt want the board to move and start the pin dinting the perspex guides. The old box had a toggle clamp and I added another to make sure nothing moved.
The new system uses stainless steel templates but I still dont like the sound of them holding the board in place. I would add a few clamps.

As good as it is, if I was to do it again I would buy their templates, guide pin and their power saw blade.

Cheers
Pete

Thanks Stu,

I tried to find that thread.

I like the way Phil does his with the saw blade.I am not to sure that my Triton + Makita saw would be that accurate

I am leaning towards the handsaw and Mitre box.

Regards

Greg

I personally think the Stewmac mitre box is way overpriced and wouldn't want to spend my money on it. It was way cheap to just buy the circular saw blade and build the table out of free particle board I got from the local caibinet maker, his off-cuts. Hell, I think the saw blade is the same price as that box with handsaw. The blade wins over big time for me.

However, since you want to do it by hand, just buy the fretting saw for $20-25 and do it without the mitre box.

I can't remember for the life of me if I posted the "handcutting" tutorial I did on it on Talkbass.com but here it is again if I did. This is a direct cut-copy-paste from my original post.



Tools needed:
1. computer with internet connection (I'll assume you already have this one )
2. printer
3. glue
4. a square
5. fret saw
First go to the fretfind website and print out a PFD document with the scale you want to use.

Cut out the extra paper from the template and use scotch tape to tape the ends of each sheet to form one long fingerboard. be sure to align the lines really well. The lines are there to make sure the fretboard is accurate.

Here's the result, now cut out the line at the bottom of the fretboard. This line will align with the square edge of your fingerboard blank.

Take some glue and glue the paper template on the fretboard blank. Make sure the edge line of the template is aligned with the square edge of the blank. I just use regular white or yellow glue.

Take your square and align it on the first line of the blank. It's got to be precisely on it.

Hold the square very tightly to the fingerboard and use it as a guide to your saw. Push the saw against the square as you're sawing to make sure it doesn't wander. When the line is well started, you can let go of the square and just cut the rest of the depth of the slot until it is as deep as you want it. As you can see i'm not holding the square as hard as I can on that picture, that's because I needed the free hand to operate the camera

Do that on every fret. Once you're done peel off the paper and sand the leftover bits away and you're done.

Excellent tute Phil, many thanks! Greenie in the post. As I work with pdf's all the time I would caution that a little check of a few dimensions would be in order. Not all pdf's print as they are supposed to.

Ive been using a Japanese type razor saw, as I do smaller instuments it is no big deal as I use smaller fret wire. A Thinline Mitre Box was going to be my next template but with the tute above......

Ive made my thoughts clear about buying from the US, yes they are the market leaders but well Im a bit bloody minded about buying local and keeping local guys in business.

Same way for me, Phil, except I mark and scribe lines. The truth of the matter is that you could have the most accuratly slotted fretboard in the world but it will still play out of tune if you dont fret the strings cleanly or if you mash them down hard when you play.

Sebastiaan, I used a Japanese razor saw too on a build and it was great, but the kerf as a little too small for my liking. I think the one I used was a .5mm and a bit too hard a bang was required to seat the fret properly.

Thanks Phil,

That all look too easy (and cheap)...

Greg

Originally Posted by Pete Sharps

I would buy their templates, guide pin and their power saw blade.

Funny you should say that, as it's what I did about a month ago. Haven't used it yet, as I still need to setup the table saw.

Originally Posted by Phil Mailloux

I can't remember for the life of me if I posted the "handcutting" tutorial I did on it on Talkbass.com but here it is again if I did.

+1 on the expense of mitre box setup. I bought their blade, as I mentioned above. I still need to make a jig for it, but can't wait to use it on the next few builds.

BTW, you did post it on talkbass. From memory, I think it was for someone who couldn't work out how to cut accurate slots.

Originally Posted by mkat

+1 on the expense of mitre box setup. I bought their blade, as I mentioned above. I still need to make a jig for it, but can't wait to use it on the next few builds.

BTW, you did post it on talkbass. From memory, I think it was for someone who couldn't work out how to cut accurate slots.

i saw it on talk bass as well, it was phil.

good method, i use very similar to that, but measure my slots with a vernier caliper and mark with a scribe (pretty similar to mogrels method from the sound of things). i like having the hand saw as you can adjust the depth of the slots without setup.

as much as i know that phils method works, i wouldnt personally trust my printer and its settings to do it right.


a trick i found when scribing the line, scribe where the edge of the saw should be, not the middle. makes it easier to judge where the saw fits when you have partially hidden the scribed mark.

With the PDF method I posted, I usually check up on the scale length before I cut anyway. It's easy to end up with a wrong scale if your printer is set to "shrink to fit page", you HAVE to check those settings before you print it and once you have glued all the pages together check at least the length of the scale from the nut to the 12th fret to be sure its all good.

Micheal, I meant on my post that I couldn't remember if I had posted the TB tutorial on this forum. When I read the original post again, it's not very clear indeed.

The accuracy of the printer is critical when working off these templates. My laser isn't accurate, but I don't use it for this purpose. I print off another that is very accurate according to my vernier caliper. I check it before marking the slots.

Phil, I just reread your comments and they make sense, you clearly stated that you posted it on talkbass.

Thanks for the tutorial Phil!

Someone listed all the fretting equipment that they were going to buy on the PG forum and I just saw $$ signs.

Mongrel and Sebastiaan (and others): the Japanese saw is just a fine blade (push?) hand saw correct? Are there other equivilent saws that can be used in the place of the Stew MAc fret saw, and do they do as-good-a-job?

Naw, Japanese saws are pull saws. The main thing is the kerf of the blade, and I gues the TPI. You need a cross cut saw. I have also bought a "gents" saw, but the kerf is too big, it would work for a glued in fret, but it really is a bit too sloppy for pressed in. The thing is you will find that a fretting saw is about the same price as the other types. I paid $45 for my japanese saw, $39 for the gents saw, and about $50 for a fret saw with a depth guage (as seen in Lil' mongrels build)

You are better off with pull saws, there is less likelyhood of chattering the teeth across your fretboard.