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PostPosted: Sat May 11, 2013 4:48 pm 
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Koa
Koa

Joined: Sat Aug 04, 2007 10:37 am
Posts: 590
Location: United States
First name: Michael
Last Name: Shaw
City: Phila
State: PA
Zip/Postal Code: 19125
Country: United States
I don't but have you tried the program fretfind2D? You can design the fingerboard then save it to various formats and then print it out. yeah it's not a fretting template but it can help you out in your layout if you have to do it by hand....Mike
http://www.ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d/

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PostPosted: Sat May 11, 2013 4:50 pm 
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Koa
Koa

Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 12:14 pm
Posts: 1066
First name: Heath
Last Name: Blair
City: Visalia
State: California
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
i cant remember the exact numbers, but if you have a 25.4" fret scale, use the slot that would be where you normally cut off for the nut as fret number one. then, youll only have to cut the nut end off, essentiall adding one fret and i think you end up with something around a 26.9" scale. someone correct me if im wrong. thats what i was planning on doing for my next. hope im remembering that right!

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PostPosted: Sat May 11, 2013 6:02 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:35 pm
Posts: 2561
Country: USA
Focus: Repair
Status: Professional
There's an OLF member who made me a very nice template for a super reasonable price a while back.

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PostPosted: Sat May 11, 2013 10:20 pm 
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Koa
Koa

Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2011 4:10 pm
Posts: 797
First name: Bob
Last Name: Gramann
City: Fredericksburg
State: VA
Zip/Postal Code: 22408
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
Here's mine for 27 inches. You can make one for less than the cost of shipping. Use 1/4" acrylic or lexan. Lexan costs more, but I prefer working it to working acrylic. Use Wfret--google it and download it--to make a paper template. (Check the template by making sure the 12th fret location is 13.5 inches from the nut. Adjust the scale input to Wfret to make the paper template correct. Some printers don't print exactly the size you expect.) Tape the paper template to the plastic and make the notches with a razor saw and a triangular file. On this one, I use 1/8" diameter nails with the tip cut off as the index pins. When I glue the fingerboard to the neck, I use 1/8" dowels to index so there will be no metal to wreck a spatula if the fingerboard is ever removed. I could ship this template to you, but I think it's really easier for both of us if you make it. Every time I do a new scale, I make one. It's easy and worth the trouble.

And I almost forgot: One other trick. When I do one I know I'll never have to do again, sometimes I just notch the fingerboard blank (with the Wfret paper template as a guide) and slot using the fingerboard itself as a template. The notches are cut off when the board is tapered. Good luck.


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PostPosted: Sun May 12, 2013 7:35 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 8:20 am
Posts: 5968
Hi Chris,
I cut down a bass guitar fretboard for a 27 inch baritone I'm building. If you have a template for a bass you might be able to use that. As Heath mentioned, adding a fret on the peghead end of a 25.4 template will get you pretty close.


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PostPosted: Sun May 12, 2013 8:08 am 
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Contributing Member
Contributing Member

Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:16 pm
Posts: 190
Location: Bell Buckle, TN.
First name: kevin
Last Name: waldron
City: Bell Buckle
State: TN
Zip/Postal Code: 37020
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
Here is our Baritone page.

Blessings,

Kevin

http://www.waldronmusic.com/productlist ... tar&cat=50


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PostPosted: Sun May 12, 2013 8:22 am 
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Contributing Member
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Joined: Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:31 am
Posts: 904
Location: Candler, NC United States
I made a 28" template for a baritone I made a year ago. I found that to be the most usable scale length for tuning to A or B. 27" will do C no problem, but B gets a bit flubbery. Anyway, you're welcome to borrow that one.

I made mine in Rhino, exported it as a .dxf, then emailed it to a guy in town that does laser cutting, picked it up the next day. I think he charged me $20 (incl materials!). I also made the other side a 23 3/8" scale for a 2 1/2-style parlor, so I wound up with two templates for $20, with none of the margin of error that goes along with cutting them by hand.

I've considered offering this as a service to my friends here at the OLF.

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PostPosted: Tue May 14, 2013 6:03 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2005 6:25 pm
Posts: 2749
Location: Netherlands
The first baritone I made I simply used my 25.5" scale and added a fret 'below' the zero fret position. Easy enough to do the math for, requires measuring one fret position. Then I traded some maple for a couple of CNC laser cut steel slotting templates. That worked too.


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