Kevin Chilcott
Luthier
MAKING A HUNTRESS
The Fingerboard - Cutting the Fret Slots
The 'Jigs'
In the pictures below is the
Mk II Fret Slot Cutting Jig which was designed by Dave
Sumner and Myself.
Dave
built it for me in early 1986.
It can cut 24 3/4",
25 1/2"
and 34"
scale lengths.
All my guitars from then on had their fret slots cut with this bit of
equipment.
My Mk
I Jig I
designed and made myself in 1981
and used it until 1986
when Mk II
came along.
It could only cut a 24 5/8" scale
length at that time.
I chose 24 5/8"
as it was the easiest scale to 'physically mark out' and cut for a Jig
with the limited equipment
I had. Also, with the figures and calculations involved, to get the maths
right was quite a headache !
This was essentially a manual version
of the Mk II
- as the Jig used a Handsaw
and was more crudely made.
All my early guitar fingerboards were cut on that apart from 'Pearly'
and the '12 string Acoustic'.
Chris,
my old Boss,
let me use his Jig
for those.
I'll
try and dig 'it' out
so you can see the differences.....
and I'll also try and show you how to make a similar simple fret-cutting jig in
the 'Tools' Section.
The Mk II Jig
Essentially, the First Component of the Mk II Fret Cutting Jig is a Circular Saw with a 6" (150mm) Blade, the cutting area being machined to 25 thousandth/inch (0.65mm) and a Trolley System that the Saw can traverse. The Fingerboard Blank is stuck with double sided tape to the Second Component which is an Aluminium Block with locating holes cut in the side at the exact spacing that the frets should be. This feeds through Teflon 'Runners' which keep it square to the Saw and Trolley. The Third Component is a Locking Bar and Locater. Of these components, the Trolley, The Locater and the Runners are securely bolted to a Strong and Flat Base board - in this case 1 1/2" thick.
The Circular Saw
on the Trolley - which has a 'rise
and fall' capability. The Aluminium Block is
beneath with the Fingerboard
Blank on top of it. The Locking
Bar and 'Locater' are to the right.
( No power to the Saw while the picture was taken.)
This picture shows the 'Locking
Bar' ( in the middle)
which feeds through a 'Locater' and
locks into the precision
machined holes in the Aluminium Block part
of the 'Jig'. The Fingerboard
is shown on top of the 'Block'. The specially
machined Saw Blade is also visible.
( No power to the Saw while the picture was taken.)
Half way
there..... 12 cut.
This picture shows a good view of the Trolley. You
can also see the line of red/brown resinous
dust that is created by the Saw cutting
through the Rosewood - in this case.
All the frets cut. I always allow for 24 frets anyway, although the Huntress will have 22.
I'll continue this as soon as I can.....