Rolling fretboard edges

[croquet hoop]

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.

 

[stratamania]

I used a very sharp blade to do this, and afterwards used a strip of sandpaper narrow enough to go between the frets to smooth a little.  (This is nothing like a scallop as some of the posts at the other thread seemed to think)

The link to the post of Ron Kirn, seems a little drastic as a method and would seem to narrow the string area too much for my liking.

I can't see the compression method with a screwdriver working very easily on very hard wood.

 

[croquet hoop]

Ah, yes, I have seen the part about scraping the edges on your build report, it is one of the things that make me consider using this technique.

I have a spare neck from an old cheap Strat copy, so I'll experiment on it beforehand. But I am still interested if anyone else has anything to share about this kind of work on a neck.

 

[Strat Avenger]

That was something I liked about my USACG neck. They rolled the fretboard edges for me. I didn't even have to ask them to do it.

 

[stratamania]

If anyone else has any suggestions on rolling fretboards the more techniques the merrier.

Ideally it would be a lot easier to get the effect along the entire length of a fretboard prior to the frets going in and a different approach could be taken to do it.

 

[Surf n Music]

What about a router? Then you would have a bit for the exact size and it would be uniform... but it might not work with the radius of the fretboard.  :icon_scratch: I don't know just a thought... don't want to take to much off.

 

[croquet hoop]

The router could be a suitable solution for a uniform bevel prior to fretting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSKz30b5TkA

The result would be akin to Ron Kirn's technique, though. It's more a way to (re)shape the neck than to give a fingerboard the worn feeling of an instrument which has been played for years.

 

[elfro89]

I considered doing something similar to this, in the end I opted to just file the fret edges away slightly. While the edge of the wood is a bit sharp, it doesn't feel uncomfy nor does it interfere with the playability so I'm leaving it alone. If it isn't broke don't fix it as they say.  :laughing7:

 

[Ace Flibble]

On my Warmoth necks, I've used a rat tail file followed by medium-fine sandpaper on ebony, and just the sandpaper for rosewood. If any areas come up a little rough I give them the once-over with 800 grit paper and that usually is enough.

I must echo previous statements that there are other parts companies who will roll or half-roll the edges of the fretboard for you, at no additional cost. As much as I like Warmoth's bodies, I've stopped getting my necks from them because they do the least finishing and prep work on their necks. If having rolled edges and rounded fret ends is important to you and you want to save yourself the bother of doing it yourself, hit up Musikraft or USACG.

 

[Surf n Music]

The router could be a suitable solution for a uniform bevel prior to fretting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSKz30b5TkA

The result would be akin to Ron Kirn's technique, though. It's more a way to (re)shape the neck than to give a fingerboard the worn feeling of an instrument which has been played for years.

That is a hell of a router he has! Looks like he is doing it with the frets in as well. I see how it is just a reshape though and not that good worn in effect. One other method is to play a guitar for a good 10 to 20  :icon_biggrin: but this requires patients. I'm on week one with my new guitar so I got a while to go  :laughing3:

 

[mark1178]

I just use a strip of sandpaper about 3 inches long and sand off some of the edge. Quick and easy. Start with 300 then finish with 500 and good to go