Greetings from England

[Martin Lang]

Just received my first kit today (ST-1). It took 16 days to arrive (arrived in the UK after 11, then sat with customs - but I wasn't charged any import duty).

Looks good except for a mark on the side of the fretboard (see attached image). Any advice? Do you think it can be easily sanded out? It's a bit close to the fret marker for my liking.

I'm a bit daunted about setting the frets (flattening tops and re-crowning... I don't have a notched straight edge, for example). Otherwise pretty excited to get started.

All the best
Martin

[McCreed]

Welcome Martin.
You'll find lots of other UK members here.

Is it glue on the side of the fretboard, or is it a defect in the timber? (hard to tell from the photo)

If it's glue, it may be able to be removed with a solvent like Goof Off (just be cautious with side dot) or possibly something milder like naptha. Another approach is scraping it off with a single edge safety razor or utility knife blade (without the "holder") draw the blade across the timber, so it's scraping, not slicing if that makes sense.
It may just need a light touch up with some fine(ish) sand paper after to smooth out any scrape marks.

If it's a defect in the timber, I reckon it could be sanded and stained to camouflage it.

If you don't have or don't want to spend money on a notched straight edge, you can DIY one out of a 24" steel rule. There's videos online showing different ways to make them.

Good luck. Look forward to seeing your progress!

Cheers,
Mick

[Simon Barden]

Hi and welcome.

As McCreed says, its hard to make out exactly what's going on with that photo. Does it look like a glue mark to you? If it is, its should be PVA or Titebond, which is water soluble. A strong glue remover, or acetone should remove it (but these will soften and melt binding materials if left on them too long, which is why you should keep it off them). But you can also try steaming it off, in the way you'd remove a dent from wood, by using a soldering iron pressed onto a bit of damp cotton cloth over the mark.

But it could be a factory attempt to fill in a dent in the fretboard. If so the kit should have been a second and sold as such.

Whilst most necks will benefit from a fret level and re-profile, a lot of necks are fine without them. I'd put it together, set it up and then see if you need to work on the frets.

[Martin Lang]

Cheers for the advice.
I will, as suggested, set it up and see before buying a notched straight edge.

Regarding the mark: In the end, I sanded it and I'm happy with result (not a factory fill job, few!).

[McCreed]

Cheers for the advice.
I will, as suggested, set it up and see before buying a notched straight edge.

Regarding the mark: In the end, I sanded it and I'm happy with result (not a factory fill job, few!).

Glad it was an easy fix! Look forward to the next round of photos!