Easy (I hope) question! If I want to change the dots on my fretboard to change them to mother of pearl/abalone etc, whats the best way to remove the old dots? And do I just superglue the new ones in?
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Easy (I hope) question! If I want to change the dots on my fretboard to change them to mother of pearl/abalone etc, whats the best way to remove the old dots? And do I just superglue the new ones in?
To the dots part, I have no idea, but I definitely recommend using any glue except super glue.
Super glue vapour attaches itself to grease and oils leaving a white film that only sanding will remove, which is why super glue vapour is used in criminology for getting fingerprints off items. You may have noticed on some items you may have glued in the past white smudges around the glued area... This on a fretboard or anywhere on a project would be awful.
I'd recommend any epoxy based 2 part glue/resin, as long as you don't want them to ever come out again.
You would need to use a fine drill bit (1/32inch to 3/64) and a dremel with a base plate. Run the dremel at 25000RPM and run it over the dots to remove the dots or even resize the dots if you want bigger ones or some other design. You would need to figure out how deep to drill, but I reckon no more than 0.5mm to 1mm deep..... You might need to remove a few frets as well so that you aren't balancing the dremel where it can slip and gouge a pathway in your fretboard.
Because your fretboard is no doubt radiused and your dots will be straight you may need to 'sand' these so that they are level with the fretboard....another reason why you might need to remove the frets.
A little trick if you are wanting a different shape inlay or larger dot. Use white-out over the existing dot and fretboard area. Mark the shape on the white-out where you need to remove materialand then proceed to dremel from the middle outwards. Be careful...working slowly achieves the best results.
When it comes to gluing in the new dots use a mix of 5 minute clear epoxy and either some fine saw dust or colouring to match the fretboard. If you do opt for the fine saw dust do not use a fresh piece of sand paper to cut this material as a fresh piece of sandpaper tends to break up a little initially and you will end up with sandpaper residue mixed with the dust particles you are wanting to gather.
Thanks guys, might have to be left for a future project. I don't have the tools to remove the current dots at the moment, and I think the wife might kill me if I spend too much money at the moment :(
Quote:
Quote from stui on January 31, 2013, 15:46
Thanks guys, might have to be left for a future project. I don't have the tools to remove the current dots at the moment, and I think the wife might kill me if I spend too much money at the moment :(
Hey Stui,
Easy to do. Check out this months Guitar of the month, I replaced the dots using the following method.
I get a Brad point drill bit, two sizes smaller than the dot and drill it out. Once you have drilled through the dot you will find that it pops out easily with a metal scribe, small flat screw driver etc.
Then I get my selection of Ab or MOP dots out and find the right size, most of the Pit Bull neck dots are 6mm.
Get out the Stewmac Luthiers Super Glue. Yes, Super glue. Epoxy and Guitars do not belong together ( In my experience that is) I would recommend the medium for this job and glue the new ones in. (see my article on what Luthiers Glues to use)
You may have to give them a little nudge to seat them. I use a small block of wood and my quick grip clamp and squeeze them in.
Let the glue dry and then with a small flat file remove most of the dot that is sitting up from the fret board.
Then wrap wet and dry paper around the file and smooth it off (you may need to start with 600 and finish with 1200)
Whilst you are at it you can polish the fret board between the frets, again I do this with all the Pit Bull kits I build and it makes the fret board feel like silk under your fingers.
Hey DB!
Your plan sounds like a far better plan than mine especially given the tools that would be needed and being able to get in between the frets without removing any! (I am usually putting in MOP before installing frets so the surface is relatively level!
Probably a good point to mention that the brad points need to be really good quality and sharp and again be careful to control drill speed and depth of cut so that there is no tear-out.
I am curious about the epoxy comment. The Hancock Brothers (ALS) use epoxy on all their fretboards and even use it as a filler on very porous wood. Scary!! These methods are used on their acoustic builds. Personally, I have used the epoxy on the fretboards with good results but would never try using it as a filler after a mate of mine (who was also on the same course) attempted it with disasterous consequences! Funny enough they used to clamp the clamp directly onto the epoxy over the MOP or Ab(clamps with the plastic orange feet) as these clamps didn't seem to adhere to the glue?
Hi Gavin,
Epoxy glues are not really suitable for use on timber as they have no flex and I have seen things glued in with epoxy pop out!
On Maple fret boards I quite often use thin super glue - the Stewmac variety- to seal the surface and give it a level of hardness that allows for an ultra high polish.
For filling chip outs when re fretting I use the same method as you, collect sanding dust and using the teflon dam I fill the chips and add a few drops of the thin S.G.
Once it has dried I sand back with my trusty sanding beam and you would never know there were any chipouts.
The best quality Brad point drill bits I have found are the Colt brand. These guys are German made and stay sharp for ever!
I have drilled Ebony fingerboard dot holes on at least 8 builds now and my 6mm bit is as sharp as the day I got it.
Thanks Phil! It was actually the strat you made on this months guitar of the month that made me think of trying it out. I'll try and convince the wife to let me get a couple of tools to do this, but she's watching my spending like a hawk at the moment with the baby due in a couple of months, so I may not be able to get away with it...
Awesome, thanks for the reasons DB! I have the SM super glue and the black which will work for my ebony fretboards and I wont even have to mix it! And there I was thinking the super glue was to reglue split timber!!Quote:
Quote from dingobass on January 31, 2013, 17:06
Hi Gavin,
Epoxy glues are not really suitable for use on timber as they have no flex and I have seen things glued in with epoxy pop out!
On Maple fret boards I quite often use thin super glue - the Stewmac variety- to seal the surface and give it a level of hardness that allows for an ultra high polish.
For filling chip outs when re fretting I use the same method as you, collect sanding dust and using the teflon dam I fill the chips and add a few drops of the thin S.G.
I just used DB's technique with the undersize brad point drill & scriber - absolutely perfect!
DB rules :D