Fretboards

I cut the slots in the fretboards for the resos. Philly Phil's inlay was sorted before, and as predicted it was really hard to choose the position of the frets. I managed but will plan a lot more carefully next time I make a big ass inlay. 

Phil D's board was inlaid after slotting. We agreed upon shattered mother of pearl, as I have done a couple of times before. But I chose a bubinga board, and inlaying in lighter coloured woods is tricky. 

First pic shows the shards. 

But the shards need to have edges perpendicular to the faces. Needle file, dust mask and dust extraction crucial. 

Then as I discovered recently (the easy inlay post, remember) a drop of superglue and then scribe around the edge. 

You should be able to see the lines. 

Now a pic of the finished article would be cool, but all went well except I forgot to take that pic. I routed out the cavities, glued the MOP in, and ran it through the sander to get everything level. Then I fretted both boards, filed the fret ends and bevelled them (as you do).

Beneath this line it gets interesting again. 

I aligned them on the necks, which were still a tad oversize in width and glued them on. Then I carved down the neck so it matches the exact profile of the fretboard. It's much easier for me to do it this way, and the last chance to correct any minute discrepancies in the sideways angle of the neck. I just have to be careful not to touch the fretboard with the carving knife.