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Fingerboard

Page history last edited by Jonathan McKinley 14 years, 10 months ago

     I bought an ebony fingerboard blank on line for $19. I needed to take off a considerable amount of material to get it to the finished dimensions. Before I began to shape the fingerboard I needed to make a special fingerboard holder. I clamped the special holder in a standard vise so it would be easier to work with.

 

 The fingerboard simply slides in between the two small strips of wood on top of the holder. If necessary a small hammer can be used to tightly wedge the fingerboard between the strips of wood.

 

 While the fingerboard is in the holder a hand plane can be used to flatten the underside. I used a very well tuned 9 1/2 Record plane made in England.

 

Next, I planed the edges of the fingerboard with the hand plane clamped upside down in the vise.

 

The fingerboard was about 10 mm too long so I used a small aluminum miter box to remove small pieces from the top and bottom.

 

I made a small adjustable shooting board to square off the edges of the fingerboard after I used the small miter box.

 

I made a sanding block with coarse sand paper to slowly square off the ends. I moved the sanding block back and forth with my right hand for several minutes.

 

Next, I started shaping the top surface of the fingerboard which has a 42 mm radius for its entire lenght. I used the hand plane to remove the bulk of the material on the top. Then I used a cabinent scraper to refine the radius.

 

To prefect the radius I used a sanding block that I turned on the lathe. This sanding block has a 42 mm radius and can be moved back and forth over the top surface to remove any imperfections.

 

I then made a shallow bowl shape in the underside of the fingerboard using a small gouge and a scraper. This bowl shape makes the fingerboard much lighter.

 

After sanding, the fingerboard is ready to be glued to the neck.

 

To make sure the fingerboard would not slide while gluing with hide glue I attached four small wooden blocks.

 

 

 

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