Joe G’s PSH-1 First Build Diary

[jugglindan]

Definitely no fill on the fret slot ends. No sharp edges of frets that catch, but not 100% smooth. I am now thinking that I could sand the current edge smooth (sanding back onto the neck somewhat to get some mechanical adhesion), tape the fretboard top and then spray the sides.

Or maybe, as Joe mentions above, I could leave it as is for now to avoid losing momentum on the build. Once I have a playable guitar I could always pop the neck off and spray the edges then.

[Simon Barden]

You could even TruOil over the neck.

[jugglindan]

You could even TruOil over the neck.

Really? Over the acrylic lacquer I currently have? Interesting. I would have to avoid the headstock though, as I switched away from a satin poly to reduce the risk of turning my bluey decal green over time.

[Simon Barden]

Probably best to give a light sand first, to allow it to key in. But I've put it over satin poly on a Fender neck to give it a bit more colour and some shine.

[jugglindan]

Cool, that's something I will keep in mind if I revisit this after completing the build.

And now I will stop hijacking Joe's thread (although the topic is related)

[Joe Garfield]

After looking more closely at the frets, they are probably the best thing on the guitar - all level, even, constant height, etc. I can radius the fretboard carefully with the edge of a folded piece of sandpaper at the fret corners and it comes out pretty decent.

The one thing that bugs me is the divot at the first fret. I don't want to remove that much material to blend it as it will make the fretboard noticeably thinner. So I'm thinking about building up the edge of the fretboard. Since it's the edge of the board I think wood filler is a bad choice for durability. Epoxy mixed with sawdust seems like a possibility. I could even get it close, then use CA while sanding the actual fretboard to blend it. If I finish the fretboard with something somewhat shiny I think it might blend OK.

What do you guys think? Have you ever built up a fretboard? Do you think fretboard oils would work over the patch?

This is a pic of the back of the first fret, and a pic of a similar gouge elsewhere on the fret for reference. I wouldn't build up the maple neck, just the rosewood and blend it back. It wouldn't be perfect but it would give me the back the width of the top of the fretboard.

[Joe Garfield]

Well it’s been a little nuts here the past couple months. My piano needed repair and the tech did a lousy job, so I ended up having to buy parts and fix it myself. Then my Jeep needed a bunch of work, and 3 of the ‘better quality’ parts I ordered ended up being bad so I had to re-do some work there, too. On top of my job getting quite busy.... Things seem to be quieting down so I expect to get back to the guitar this week.

[Joe Garfield]

I went to check the neck/pocket for alignment, and check the scale length. The nut is in the wrong place - I looked up a fret spacing chart and all the frets are properly placed relative to each other for 629mm scale length (for my international friends ) but the first fret to the nut is 312mm, short by about 2.5mm. I'll either have to cut the nut back about half its thickness, or move the nut closer to the tuning pegs and add a spacer. (Note that the bridge is locked in place, and also irrelevant to the spacing issue; I can space the neck 12-3/8" from the bridge, but the nut spacing will be closer to 24-5/8")

Have any of you had to deal with this before? Any suggestions on what looks the best?

[Sonic Mountain]

You should be measuring from the inside of the nut to the high E saddle on the bridge. Measuring to the 12th isn't really helpful, the overall measurement will ensure it's correct.

So looking for 628.5mm on that measurement. If it's not right you need to move the neck in or out to correct it, it's not a case of jamming the neck into the pocket as far as it will go. The placement is determined by the overall scale length.

[Bakersdozen]

^^^ this exactly what Sonic said. On my prs kit, I had a sizable gap between the end of the neck and the front of the pickup route. Once I measured it bang on, allowing for some adjustment in the saddles, I made a block the correct size so I could put it back exactly in the same spot. I also ended up gluing the block in with the neck to expand the contact area for enhanced resonance etc.

Here is a post from Marcel's diary with some photos and reasoning behind this decision;

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...l=1#post175919