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I'm getting ready to slot a fingerboard. I'll use fret wire with a .055" tang and a 16" radius on the fingerboard. How deep should the slots be? Is there a formula for different radii?

Just a tad deeper than the tang depth.

Al

With the classicals I build, the fingerboard has no radius, but I have to contour the bass side so those flappy nylon basses don't buzz. Rather than trying to figure out how much deeper to cut the slots for the contour, I just go back and cut the slots a bit deeper with a fret saw, using a thin 6" rule that fits down inside the slots to check depth.

Best,

Michael

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With a 2 1/8" chord and a 16" radius you'd need to add .0353" depth to the .055" for a line to line fit. I'll let you decide how much clearance to add.

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