Radiused Fretboards...

So I was looking through the stewmac catalog today and came across tools for adding radius to fretboards and frets.

From everything I have read, it seems that a radiused fretboard is not very common among ukes...true? I have no experience with higher end ukes, but the (cheaper!)ones I have played and own have flat fretboards. I can understand it being easier to play barre chords though, sometimes I have trouble pressing each string in a barre enough...guess it'll get easier as my fingers get stronger though anyway..

Sooo, out of curiousity how many of the luthiers here actually build a radiused fretboard on their ukes? Is it actually worth the extra time and effort?

Thanks for any input and insight!!

I do 18" and 20" radii upon request. While I prefer not to, they aren't that that difficult, just a little more time consuming. Personally, I don't like anything smaller than 18". Smaller radii don't feel comfortable to me, but everyone is different. Whether it's worth it or not is up to the player.

When I add a radius, I do 16". I can feel a slight difference when playing. It is definitely worth the effort for my personal instruments, but I dont do it on all of the ones I sell. Only by special request.

Take care,
Thomas

radius

Every uke I have built as well as guitars and mandolas has a radiused fretboard, I do 12" and 16" radius.
It makes the instrument much more playable and professional looking. Only thing I make flat is dulcimers.
I use the stew mac sanding blocks with 80 grit. Since I am using the cross dowel bolt on neck now I radius the fretboard after it is glued on the neck.

About half of my ukes get a 16" radiius finger board. On a board that is barely 1 3/4" wide it is hardly noticeable. Still, there are some people who think they are necessary, mostly players who have come from the guitar world. In my experience, good ukulele players don't seem to require them.

It really depends on the instrument. Adding a radius is like trimming the fretboard, which can be a good idea for some instruments, but I wouldn't want to decide what radius to use and how far up the fretboard to go with it until I had the instrument in hand. Are you adding a radius to the nut? What about the saddle? Does the radius go all the way to the end of the fretboard, or does it flatten out gradually. How do you do the shaping? etc. Your hands will guide you.

I put a 12" radius on about half of my instruments. I can't feel a lot of difference but some of my customers request it.

Brad