Do you glue the fretboard to the neck before you attach the neck to the body?

UkeforJC

UkeforJC

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Dear all,
I have a question!!
Do you glue the fretboard to the neck before you attach the neck to the body?


Thanks.
 
I do. My question is, are there any caveats to finishing the necks first before attaching the fretboard. I've read about different methods, some companies paint the side of the fretboard, which is what I'm doing now and some tape off where the fretboard meets the neck, which leaves a raised paint line that has to be dealt with, which I don't care for. Thinking about finishing the neck and body seperate then gluing the fretboard to the neck then attaching neck to body. But then there are times when I'll want to bind the fretboard... oh man my head is spinning again.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for sharing
So,You guys must also use a spacer under the body when you attach the neck to the body, right?
I am wondering whether can I get those spacer or how do you make it? I don't have a thickness sander to make the spacer, so I guess I have to find another way to get it.

I am building a Stew Mac Soprano, the spacers required has to be 11/64" thick.
I am stuck now, because I couldn't make them.
 
When I built the Stew-Mac kits, I deviated from the instructions in that I glued on the fretboard after attaching the neck to the body. It is an easier, less error-prone way to go, IMO, especially for beginners.

The spacer called for in the Stew-Mac instructions is to compensate for the fretted fretboard when attaching the fretted neck to the body. The 11/64" spacer raises the body an amount equal to the depth of the fretboard plus frets.

You don't need the spacers if you leave the fretboard off before attaching the neck to the body. In that case, the unfretted neck and body can lie flat on your work surface during assembly. Then add the fretboard to the assembled neck/body and you're good to go.
 
I always glue my fingerboards on before I do any finish work. There is a slight clear edge after, but it scrapes away in seconds. I have a tenor I changed the fretboard on after it was all done and the edge between the two drives me bonkers! One of these days I'll pull the neck off and redo the whole neck since I'm not liking the shape of it either.

I'm not sure why you'd glue the fingerboard one before fitting the neck--Seems cumbersome to me with the spacers and all.
 
The answer to your question is yes. The FB is attached to the neck before the neck is attached to the body, but the neck is already fitted and ready to be mated to the body before the FB is glued on.

It's been a long day and I'm pretty tired which may be why I'm not following the spacer discussion. I've never needed any kind of spacer for anything related to attaching the FB to the neck.
 
I attach the fingerboard before the neck is glued to the body. I also have the neck and body sprayed separately, and attach them after the finish process.
I'm with Dominator on the spacer issue.......i have never used them.

Jake Maclay
Hive Ukuleles
http://www.hiveukuleles.com
 
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