Face dots On fretboard.

Wana_make_a_guitar

Hero Member
Messages
2,793
So when I ordered my neck from Warmoth I asked if I could have only the double dots at the 12th and 24th fret, though this is a custom inlay job which cost $90, isn't it less work for the guys at Warmoth to do? why should we pay an extra $90 bucks for less? :icon_scratch: could we not pay it or is this a set thing that the machine does?

That did seem a tad nasty, but this is not the intention, it's just a query and a suggestion.
 
It would be a custom program that the CNC operator would have to enter.  The only thing doing less work would be the machine.  If it were all hand work I'd agree with ya though.
 
If it's just dots at the 12th and 24th frets, you could have Warmoth completely omit the dots (that's for free but does make the neck non-returnable) and put them in yourself. If you work carefully and with the right tools, you should be able to do this cleanly and without either removing or damaging your frets. And you'd be able to choose your own positioning/alignment.
 
It looks to me like Warmoth uses this machine with 12 drill bits that all cut at the same time...

http://www.warmoth.com/customerservice/aboutus/shoptour/shoptour.cfm?p=6

i think that it would be more work for them to try to adjust the machine for what your after.
 
line6man said:
It looks to me like Warmoth uses this machine with 12 drill bits that all cut at the same time...

http://www.warmoth.com/customerservice/aboutus/shoptour/shoptour.cfm?p=6

i think that it would be more work for them to try to adjust the machine for what your after.

And notice that machinery is hand built ! ! ! . . .btw, WOW - how cool is THAT ! and they have other custom made machinery too !
 
Enough with the no dots, guys!  Dots have an important purpose... they let your bandmates figure out what you're playing.
 
Wana's_makin'_a_guitar said:
dbw said:
Enough with the no dots, guys!  Dots have an important purpose... they let your bandmates figure out what you're playing.
Stuff 'em they can read of the music sheet I gave 'em! :laughing7:

Yeah, right.  :icon_biggrin:
 
It's not like I look which valves the trumpet players are pressing to know what notes they are playing... The only instrument where that would work is the keyboard - if I stand on a stool so that I get a clearer view...
 
I look at the other trumpet players hands in my school band to see what he's actually playing. I don't change anything, but his fingers don't match up with his music.
 
I put side dots on Peanut Buddha, my 30.5" scale fretless bass.
It's a regular G5, but with the bridge moved up so that the left hand fingerings would be closer together for chords and such (custom pickup placement too, $45 - gaak). I drilled shallow holes with a little jeweler's drill and filled them with a white casting epoxy called "Milliput". It went really well, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. The hardest part is simply placing the dots as exactly as you can possibly measure. :eek:

Milliput, drill, needle in a pin vise and 10X loupe for dot placement:

S6300104-1.jpg


Pre-dot neck:

S6300090-1-1.jpg


Microdotted!  :toothy12:

S6300099-1.jpg


It's like, EASY... way easier than making a nut, or filling grain or something. :hello2: The Milliput mixes into a clay, and you just cram it in the holes, level it off and wipe off the excess with a damp rag. You can dye it too, and there are a few pre-made colors.

http://www.milliput.com/prod.htm
 
Milliput? I would never have though to use that for side dots, I only use it as filler on my model railway stuff. Good idea.  :icon_thumright:
 
Drilled, but no dots installed.... that might be nice, since there are oodles of GREAT wooden and synth dots out there.
 
Premade dots raise the question of how to get them level. You need to be sure all your holes are drilled to a consistent depth, or that in the gluing process you glue them all level. The other way to do it is to get them close-but-high, then level them when you level the fretboard - obviously this is easier before the frets are on. :toothy11: I did read some repair books where dots were added after the frets, then leveled side-to-side between the frets, but it sounded hard.... I want to play the damn thing, not invent technical challenges to test my patience.

The mother of pearl and abalone dots look especially tricky. The experienced builders can push dots into a slightly-deep hole filled with glue till it's just level, scrap off the excess glue and have it come out good, but that sounded like more skill and patience than I could muster up right then. Maybe if it's an instrument I don't need so urgently.... :toothy12:
 
Back
Top