croquet hoop
Senior Member
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I am wondering which particular technique you would recommend for rolling fingerboard edges. I read a bit here and there on the subject, but I think it could be useful to centralize the information, notably the pros and cons of different techniques.
I am considering doing it on a boatneck. When handling it, the back felt great, but I found the fingerboard edge to feel surprisingly hard and uncomfortable. I went back to the guitar I have been playing for ten years (an Ibanez RG 1550, with "Prestige" fret treatment as they say) and found it much more comfortable. A closer examination of the thing showed that these years of playing had smoothed out the edges between the frets, so I think this is the kind of rolling I am aiming for on the boatneck.
So I want something quite subtle — but maybe the different profile of the neck (the Ibanez is 17 mm thick and very flat, the boatneck is a 25 mm thick V-shaped log) calls for a different kind of rolling? I am interested in hearing about your experience here.
I know that some want the entire length of the neck, both fingerboard and frets, to be beveled, as shown is this post from Ron Kirn: [link]
I am mentioning it for the sake of completeness, but I don't think this is the result I am looking for. It looks like it could drastically change the shape of the neck in this area and slightly reduce the fret width (i.e. the "playing area").
Other, more subtle techniques involve scraping (or "rolling" with a steel rod) to various degrees the area between frets, leaving them untouched. I know that some consider this technique improper because the fret ends may stand out, but I can tell from my experience with the Ibby neck that if the rolling is subtle (i.e. not some sort of scalloping), as long as the fret ends are properly rounded, this should not be a problem. So this is what I'm considering at the moment.
What I'm not sure about is the technique to use to get the desired result. Here are my possibilities:
• The compression technique
From what I read, this is one of the most common techniques used by us guitar hackers. It just involves pressing a hard metal rod at an angle against the edge to slightly compress the wood and remove the hard edge, as shown is this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N10Ye6I84-Y
I am surprised that a hard wood like maple could be softened/compressed in this way, with such a light/fast motion, but maybe this is the proper technique. If you know another, better way to do it, please tell!
It's said to be the safest technique — there is no wood removal, you can do it several times while increasing pressure progressively to achieve the desired result without going too fast, and it can be done without damaging the finish.
• The scraping technique
Involves scraping the edge of the fingerboard with a blade. It looks easier/faster to achieve a more pronounced rolled effect than with the previous method, but with the proper motion it should still be safe enough:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKy48CP4J9w
The main drawback is that you have to do it before finishing the neck, so you have to achieve the desired result before that. It may be possible to use the previous method (metal rod) to fine-tune the shape of the area if needed, though.
• The sanding technique
As explained here:[link], it involves eating slowly into the area between frets with a sanding sponge or steel wool by rubbing it perpendicular to the neck. I am not questioning the validity of this method, but I fear it would be harder for someone unfamiliar with it to get consistent, even results across the fingerboard.
In my case, as I will be doing it on a unfinished maple neck, I'm leaning towards compressing or (more probably) scraping the edge. I am really interested in hearing your opinion on the subject.
I am considering doing it on a boatneck. When handling it, the back felt great, but I found the fingerboard edge to feel surprisingly hard and uncomfortable. I went back to the guitar I have been playing for ten years (an Ibanez RG 1550, with "Prestige" fret treatment as they say) and found it much more comfortable. A closer examination of the thing showed that these years of playing had smoothed out the edges between the frets, so I think this is the kind of rolling I am aiming for on the boatneck.
So I want something quite subtle — but maybe the different profile of the neck (the Ibanez is 17 mm thick and very flat, the boatneck is a 25 mm thick V-shaped log) calls for a different kind of rolling? I am interested in hearing about your experience here.
I know that some want the entire length of the neck, both fingerboard and frets, to be beveled, as shown is this post from Ron Kirn: [link]
I am mentioning it for the sake of completeness, but I don't think this is the result I am looking for. It looks like it could drastically change the shape of the neck in this area and slightly reduce the fret width (i.e. the "playing area").
Other, more subtle techniques involve scraping (or "rolling" with a steel rod) to various degrees the area between frets, leaving them untouched. I know that some consider this technique improper because the fret ends may stand out, but I can tell from my experience with the Ibby neck that if the rolling is subtle (i.e. not some sort of scalloping), as long as the fret ends are properly rounded, this should not be a problem. So this is what I'm considering at the moment.
What I'm not sure about is the technique to use to get the desired result. Here are my possibilities:
• The compression technique
From what I read, this is one of the most common techniques used by us guitar hackers. It just involves pressing a hard metal rod at an angle against the edge to slightly compress the wood and remove the hard edge, as shown is this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N10Ye6I84-Y
I am surprised that a hard wood like maple could be softened/compressed in this way, with such a light/fast motion, but maybe this is the proper technique. If you know another, better way to do it, please tell!
It's said to be the safest technique — there is no wood removal, you can do it several times while increasing pressure progressively to achieve the desired result without going too fast, and it can be done without damaging the finish.
• The scraping technique
Involves scraping the edge of the fingerboard with a blade. It looks easier/faster to achieve a more pronounced rolled effect than with the previous method, but with the proper motion it should still be safe enough:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKy48CP4J9w
The main drawback is that you have to do it before finishing the neck, so you have to achieve the desired result before that. It may be possible to use the previous method (metal rod) to fine-tune the shape of the area if needed, though.
• The sanding technique
As explained here:[link], it involves eating slowly into the area between frets with a sanding sponge or steel wool by rubbing it perpendicular to the neck. I am not questioning the validity of this method, but I fear it would be harder for someone unfamiliar with it to get consistent, even results across the fingerboard.
In my case, as I will be doing it on a unfinished maple neck, I'm leaning towards compressing or (more probably) scraping the edge. I am really interested in hearing your opinion on the subject.