fret board removal

[Rick Back]

I need to replace a maple fret board on an old (late 20s) Beltone that sounds pretty good and was inexpensive on Ebay. I have a new SM slotted one of Rosewood. I would welcome suggestions on how to proceed. I'm most concerned with removal of the old one. Thanks.

Rick

[Andy Miller]

Here's one way to do it. I pulled out the frets and planed the board off of this guitar. If you want to take the whole thing off at once, you need a method of heating the board enough to release the glue joint between neck and board. I've got a side-bending heating blanket that would work for this, and I believe they make smaller sized ones for this purpose as well.

[Lefty Luthier]

Unless you know how the truss rod is installed, I suggest not using heat to remove the fretboard since you could not only loosen it, you might cause the truss rod to pop out. Best process on an instrument that you did not build is to remove the frets and either plane or grind the board off.

[Rick Back]

Unless you know how the truss rod is installed, I suggest not using heat to remove the fretboard since you could not only loosen it, you might cause the truss rod to pop out. Best process on an instrument that you did not build is to remove the frets and either plane or grind the board off.

Thanks, Andy and Byron. I should have said that there is no truss rod.

[sunburst]

I normally remove fingerboards with a clothes iron and a putty knife. The most difficult ones are old ones glued with hide glue, usually old Gibsons, but I've always gotten them off when I've tried. Most of the time I'm planning to re-use the 'board, and sometimes originality is important, so cutting away the 'board isn't always an option.

[Jim Garber]

John:
Do you usually pull the frets or are you able to re-use the board with frets intact?

[Martin Jonas]

On the one occasion I had to take a fretboard off (on a 1940s German mandolinetto), it was very straightforward to do so using the clothes iron/putty knife method suggested by John. No fret pulling, but I did put a cloth between iron and frets, to distribute the heat more evenly. On that occasion, the frets were reusable, although they did need to be levelled and crowned after the board went back on.

Martin

[swampy]

I did this one fairly easily by just putting the iron right on top of the frets, and using the metal to conduct the heat. I just made sure to keep it moving. I also made a cardboard protector to cover the body, and lined it with aluminum foil to reflect the heat from the body near the extension. Pretty soon I was able to get a putty knife in there and it all worked well.

[fishtownmike]

I use a home iron. And i like a metal cake icing spatula. It helps to heat the knives. heated water works great since the water will aid loosening the hide glue. More then one is useful. As one cools put it back in the heated water and use the second.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1348/741604691_8c57e8ae1b.jpg

[billkilpatrick]

do you think the iron/spatula method would work for a fiddle as well? the fiddle is new and chinese made - i would guess (?) something other than hide glue was used:

http://www.hobgoblin.com/local/GR6534-p-Ashbury-Smooth-Violin-outfit-Page.htm

[Rolfe]

Someone thought a hammer and chisel was the way to go on Unicorn #33. It has been a major project recreating the original. The fingerboard in the picture is the original, too badly messed up to reinstall.
57796

[pops1]

do you think the iron/spatula method would work for a fiddle as well? the fiddle is new and chinese made - i would guess (?) something other than hide glue was used:

http://www.hobgoblin.com/local/GR6534-p-Ashbury-Smooth-Violin-outfit-Page.htm

I use a 100 watt light bulb in my bench light. By covering the area i want to protect with foil and placing the light close to the fingerboard it will heat it up just fine. I feel for how hot it is often as it can burn the wood if you are not paying attention. This is great for a violin as the fingerboard is so rounded.

[sunburst]

Jim, as others have said, the frets conduct heat into the 'board and can often be left in and re-used.

Rolfe, I think there is an old rosewood Unicorn fingerboard around here somewhere! The mandolin was loaned out and mistreated and the 'board fell off! (Well, nearly, it just popped off the rest of the way.) At the request of the owner I replaced it with ebony.

Wish they were all that easy to remove...

[fishtownmike]

do you think the iron/spatula method would work for a fiddle as well? the fiddle is new and chinese made - i would guess (?) something other than hide glue was used:

http://www.hobgoblin.com/local/GR6534-p-Ashbury-Smooth-Violin-outfit-Page.htm
One thing i do know about violins if made correctly is they use a different weaker strength of hide glue that is for ease of disassembly. A violins fingerboard can almost be pop off with finger pressure alone.

[Rick Turner]

I have used lemon oil (yeah, I know what it is...) on fingerboards when heating them with a clothes iron to keep them from drying out excessively and to help transfer the heat more evenly into the wood and down to the glue line. It works.

[fishtownmike]

Good tip Rick. I will try that next time.