Dozuki 240 mm saw from Rutlands (offer) with UHMWPE spine stiffener and depth stop. Ply and UHMWPE saw guide, Bakelite height shims. Lexan CAD CAM Laser cut slotting template, St.Steel locator pin (or Stanley blade in slot for copying precut f/b slots) and 15" Purpleheart Ukulele fingerboard blank. Worked well.
Mike Wingate
DIY Fret Slotting Jig
Dozuki 240 mm saw from Rutlands (offer) with UHMWPE spine stiffener and depth stop. Ply and UHMWPE saw guide, Bakelite height shims. Lexan CAD CAM Laser cut slotting template, St.Steel locator pin (or Stanley blade in slot for copying precut f/b slots) and 15" Purpleheart Ukulele fingerboard blank. Worked well.
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Very nice Mike. How does the lexan plate work? I can't tell from the picture. Also the steel locating pin. How did you get the correct spacing for the frets? That's pretty critical.
The Lexan plate has 4mm dia slots cut about 5mm deep on one edge. These relate to the frets for that scale. The slots locate by a steel 4mm dia pin that is raised from the inside edge of the jig. Stick the Lexan template to the fingerboard. Index the slot to the pin and saw away, only 3 cuts are needed for the uke StewMac fretwire. Next slot, repeat. About 4mins per uke fingerboard so far. I downloaded a fretting formula from electricukuleleland. Exported the correct details into a cad program, printed it out, stick to the template, needlefile a triangular notch. File with a 4mm dia file, or export the DXF file to the school laser cutter and let it atomize the lexan, giving off nast gas.
Thanks for the details Mike. I use a CAD for some of my templates too but I don't have access to a laser cutter.
Very nicely built jig Mike, your instruments must be excellent if that's the standard of work you're doing. I have a jig on the same general principle although not as neatly built, so far I've made about seven fretboards with it:
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