fingerboard sanding to radius

[Lonnie B]

Kool Kevin. I was hoping someone would set up a rail system. My mind had been dwelling on just how it might be accomplished. I imagined it to be a fail safe system to prevent a novice from screwing up. Believe me if it can be screwed up I betcha I can figure out how to do it.

[TonyinNYC]

I do my fretboards free hand. No rails. Going slowly and marking with chalk is the way to go to keep things even. Like Kevin said, my boards do not come out CNC perfect, but they are certainly close enough to get the job done. Once I have fully radiused the board, I use a 24" level with sand paper taped to it to even out any high or low spots I might have made with the radius block. Again, chalk or a white pencil stolen from your children's colored pencil set is key. I run the level the length of the board along the string paths to get everything level from the nut to sound hole end. So far it has worked very well for me.

[ken cierp]

Yes you can radius FB's without a sled/rail system --- here's how to take it to the next level. Note there are ledges on the sanding block, the rails are set the width of your block, thickness is adjusted by the height of the rails, use screws so they can be raised and lower its position using shims or washers. Make the base wide enough so you can fasten it to the bench. This photo sample took me less than 15 minutes to make and yes it is functional.

[Lonnie B]

Good job Ken just how cool is that?

[Paul C]

Ken what is your method for getting the radius on the block itself?

[ken cierp]

Paul we (KMG) have three CNC Machines

We also radius all our finger-baords using CNC's. As mentioned this was just a photo shoot for the forum. We do make the contoured blocks but have not made the decision to market them -- maybe as part of a kit for the above rail system -- we'll see.

[Lonnie B]

That's sounds good Ken.Would it have more then one radious? Or still in the thinking about it stage?