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I am new to the forum, but have built 4 guitars, working on 5 and 6 now. I just glued the fretboards on and realized i made a terrible mistake (twice), the truss rods are upside down. I feel very disheartened, and am wondering what the options are. The slots are too tight to pull the rods out, tried that already. I thought about arcing the board under back tension to compensate for the future tension, and decided thats asking for trouble, and probably creating more problems in the future. Now i'm thinking the best option will be to remove the unslotted fretboards. One has been glued for a full day, the other for 4 hours. Im going to borrow an iron and try to get the fresher one off, but i may have to plane down and start over. Anyone have any advice? Thanks in advance

Be patient with heat and a thin blade, like a frosting knife the fretboard will come right off. No need to plane, even it has been glued for 10 years.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

I agree wtih John - a little heat and it will come off easily, but don't be surprised if it warps badly. Many/most of today's store bought TR's are two way just wondering what you have there?

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Some tips on removing a fretboard in this http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Trade_Secrets/Fixing_a_warped_neck_with_carbon_fiber.html?lac_guid=daa92db7-f396-e611-80ce-ecb1d775572a&utm_campaign=ts0273&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=ts0273_C_20161020

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Thanks for the quick responses! They are one way rods from lmii. Everything I've learned thus far was working with a luthier in Xalapa, Mexico, these are the second and third builds without his instruction. It's been and interesting ride translating the knowledge I learned from him into English and setting up my own shop piece by piece. I'm glad there is a community of builders to get support and advice from. Thanks again!

Update: Hot iron, patience, and a thin spatula, they popped right off! They are pretty warped and one was staring to split a little at the ends, but that's a minor setback relatively.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Nice job. Glad it worked.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I'm wondering, as I read this, about the distortion to the fret board. Can it be corrected or is it ruined.

Personally I doubt it.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Probably meaning, 'I doubt it can be corrected'.

I would not risk trying to reuse a distorted fingerboard.

Pardon my ignorance, but why would you want to slot your fingerboards after they have been glued on the neck instead of slotting before they are installed?
Seems like a lot more work slotting after than slotting before, and possibly not as accurate either.
Cal

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Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!

If it is bowed, I'd try to straighten the fingerboard by supporting the ends and weigh it in the middle. if it is twisted, this is not good and likely a sign that it wasn't such a great fingerboard to start with. I'd pitch it, you are better off discovering this now than having the it twist later on.

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Craig Bumgarner

Bumgarner Guitar Blog

How did you do that? With rounded edges and all?