You have eliminated 90% of my fears. I have to pull a truss rod out of an all-original '88 Squier Bullet 1 (Silver label/Samick) and the neck is gorgeous. In the meantime I have installed an '04 Fender MIM Strat neck, so right now it's a Squender Bullocaster. You rock, bro!
I realize this is an older video but I'm just now needing to swap a fretboard out. I watched several other videos before getting to yours. You seem to have one of the better methods. I ran across a guitar labeled "Squier Strat" that is a factory second. A few years old but still brand new, unplayed stock. The fretboard radius was over sanded from about the G string to the bottom edge or high E string and from about the 16th fret to the heel end. It apparently also affected the lower half of the frets back up to the 7th or 8th because they are all slightly raised. The neck shaft appears to be good quality and is pretty nice and worth saving so, here I am. Over all its a really nice guitar and I got it cheap so hopefully it all turns out well. If not, at least I'm learning on a cheap guitar. Lol. Thanks for the video! Very helpful.
Awesome video Ken! I've been playing bass for 40 years, and at the onset of covid decided it was a great opportunity to learn to build. Also been a woodworker for 39 years. Own my own house with a complete 2 room shop in my lower level. I digress lol I have a 06 Fender P that I stripped to natural, and had to swap necks due to maxed trussrod. I actually like the allparts maple replacement better, it even fits tighter in the neck pocket! But I want to replace the truss in the original rosewood neck. This vid is perfect. Ordering a pull saw :) Thank you so much for the vids you share❤✌
A really thin knife from my experience is a plus, thinner seems to cut thru with less effort, putting something behind the cutting device like you did is a major plus too, that's a beautiful fretboard!
Japanese pull saws are great for removing fretboards, and also for cleaning up the back side of a fretboard and the face of a neck where the first 4-6 frets of the board have lifted, cleans up the old glue and gices a nice surace to week some glue back in and reclamp the freboard, nice job man, and excellent show of patience and confidence
Thanks for another excellent tip, Ken. I cringed at first that you weren't wearing gloves until I saw the tape protection on the business side of the Japanese back saw! Keep the great vids coming - you're getting me closer to my dream Custom-built Bass.
I gotta say thank you for the tips, I saw on the Stewart Mac channel how they removed a fretboard off an old rickenbacker, I find your way a whole lot easier, same procedure just less pry tools, I started my own repair shop not too long ago and since I play bass, it's obvious I'm not going to own just one bass lol I bought one with a beautiful rosewood, now I have to remove the fretboard to exchange the truss rod, thanks for the tips on how to do it!!
Great video! I buy cheap guitars and fix 'em up and give them away when I find someone who can't afford a guitar (or sell them as nicely playable guitars, to feed my addiction to working on the things). I take it as a personal challenge to make even the worst guitar play great. Well, I got my first Gibson/Baldwin Epoch Les Paul-ish looking guitar today, and none of my notched straight edges fit the frets as laid out on this guitar! It has frets laid out as if for 24.75in scale up to the 12th fret, but they get closer and closer past that! This thing isn't even close on intonation past thre 12th fret. I've never seen anything like it. I thought, oh well, I paid just few bucks and now seems to be the first chance for me to swap a fretboard and refret a whole neck. I have a lot more confidence this is possible after watching your video here on removing a fretboard, my biggest fear of the whole project. I'm patient enough to know I can glue, slot, refret a fretboard, but the removal of the old, incorrectly slotted fretboard had me fearful. Anyway, thanks for this! It is a big help to me.
Thanks Ken. I have a Tele Neck that the Fretboard rises starting at the 6th fret from the heel. It is the neck that rises. I need to pull the Fretboard to level the Neck under the Fret board. I started to throw it away but after seeing your video, I believe I can salvage it. Thanks.
Hi! really good video! Woul you give me some advice? In that case, when the neck was twisted, once you've put the new truss, have you rectified the neck in the surface where the fretboard goes? Or just a good truss rod will put the neck and fretboard back straight? Thank you!
I do something similar but to bend the neck down, I hang a 5 gallon bucket from the head and use a pitcher to gradually add water until I reach the bend I want. I do this as well to to preload the neck for setting truss rods. Did a 5 string bass neck today
Great video! Its pretty straight forward. Quick question thought, does this method work on spanish guitar fretboards? I want to change the fretboard on my cheap guitar, since its all worn-out due to all the playing I do with it. Thanks in advance.
If by "Spanish" you mean an acoustic, then you have a fretboard with a tongue that's glued to the guitar's top & extends to the soundhole. This can be either a steel-string or a nylon-string. You'll want to start at the opposite end from the peghead, in that case. Use a sharp knife to "cut" slightly around the tongue where it's glued to the top. You just want to separate any finish that overlaps the joint between the fretboard & body. Don't try to force the knife between the fretboard & body at this point. Next, mask off the top with cardboard or heavy paper so that the finish doesn't burn or melt from heating the tongue with an iron. If you can, heat up a smaller block of metal to use instead of an iron, so that there's less chance the heat will attack the finish on the guitar top. Take care not to burn yourself, either way. Rather than initially investing in costly specialty tools, go to a craft shop & find an inexpensive artist's palette knife, you can probably use two. Heat them a little, too, then CAREFULLY force the blade into the joint, starting around the last few upper frets & working toward the soundhole. Don't apply any lifting force, just get the blade(s) farther between the fretboard & the top, little by little. You can elect to go from the soundhole all the way to the nut, or you can work it loose as far as the neck joint, then start at the peghead end & work from there. Use even, firm pressure to force the seam open gradually. If any splinters are remaining attached to the underside of the board when it's removed, try to remove them whole & intact, & reglue them on the top or on the neck in their original locations before installing another fretboard.
I have a great Ratliff mandolin but not used to the flat fretboard. I could sell it and go back to Eastman or have a radiused fretboard installed. Is it that easy??
I have a classical guitar which are more delicate and I'm worried that so much heat could cause issues. Since I would like to completely replace the fretboard with a new one, would it be safer to plane or sand off the fretboard so that no heat is involved ?
So I have an old ESP LTD neck that's now mangeled ------- I'd like a new maple fretboard on it with medium frets. What would you charge and what's the turnaround time?
Oh man. In the morning I'm removing only the first fret portion. I love that bending the end to get it started. Trying to salvage a stripped nut on the truss rod. It's a $70 bass. What's the worst that could happen?
I've taken a couple of fretboards off using my wife's hairdryer, but I'll be trying the iron today on a Squier strat. Just a tip; if the fret ends need filing smooth/rounding, it's way easier to do it with the fretboard off, than when it's on the neck.
I tried this about a month ago... i guess i did not heat the fretboard enough... i destroyed the fretboard, made a beautiful firewood piece... Ima revisit this video if i try this operation again. thanks for sharing.
I am getting ready to do this to a couple of Les Paul's and an SG, hopefully they go as smoothly as yours did. I was wondering something, Instead of knife or something along those lines to pull down the neck and cause separation, what about a piece of wire, like a piano wire? It would seem that the wire would be much easier to manipulate and less likely to slip and cut you. I will give it a shot and let you know how it worked for me. Good video, thanks for putting it up, I subbed btw....
I want to replace the rosewood fretboard with an ebony one on my fender mim telecaster. But I want the keep the neck, is this something I could send you the neck and have you do?
You bad influence! I peeled the fake rosewood fretboard off my LP kit and am replacing it with an Ebony one. Seriously, thanks for the tips...it came off like a charm (I did skip the pushing down of the headstock, for fear of loosing it). A carpet knife blade got the end peeling up for me. Now I'm just waiting for the mighty StewMac to get the Ebony boards back in stock ("Gibson" scale with slots and a 12" radius). I don't have a .57mm fretsaw, yet, and I'm definitely not doing a radius with sanding blocks! So I pay extra... having a small CNC would be nice at this point (sigh).
Advice for someone wanting to remove fret marker inlays, and "disguise" them as wood? I have a rosewood fingerboard with white inlays. I want to make the fingerboard look like theres no fret markers.
pappystar1 that’s what glass guys use to remove windshields. I help a friend do it and that is a great idea for this. I’m about to do a firebird Fretboard replacement and I’m glad I watched this and saw this comment. TY
Ive tried that method and cracked the neck under the fretboard just behind the nut. Not sure why, probably got too impatient and didnt let the iron rest long enough on the ruler. I think you might just get away placing the iron directly on the frets without anything between, since you only work between a couple of frets distance at a time...
Nice work, glad to see you using your intro music again. I didn't like hearing it playing in the background of that other channels video. It just wasn't right. Lol Cheers
How do I successfully separate a scarf joint that's under the fretboard? I have a through the body guitar neck that the headstock is irreparable (long story) so I'm planning on using a donor guitar neck and grafting the headstock from one neck to the other. I know I have to remove the fretboard to do this operation. The guitar neck that I'm trying to save has a Floyd Rose locking nut on it. I'm planning on using a modern smaller screw into neck rather than a through the neck screw type. Any help you can offer is helpful. Plus I've never done this before. I'm a beginning luthier.
My 2 month old Beavercreek Travel Guitar between the 9th and 12th fret, where the fretboard and neck meet, the lacquer has started to flake off...how can I fill it up and smooth it out?
Hi, in case of a MIA Fender, does this affect the resale value a lot if you replace rosewood by a new rosewood (for fretboards with heavy wearing or damaged)?
How would I do this if the frets are missing? I'm working on a really old beat up guitar in which the frets were pulled, so I'd like to know if it's even possible.
I wound think the heat would be spread out more evenly across the fingerboard without burning the wood. It would also lessen the chance of the board breaking at the fret slots in theory. But like I said, this is the first time I've done this so I can't say for sure.
Thank you! I had to laugh when I saw it was a GFS Guitar Fetish neck. They sent me 2 different necks that twisted within about 5 months. The fretboards are beautiful, so I didn't want to get rid of them. Obviously will never buy from them again, so beware of what you get from them. But, great video!
I want to remove the neck of an old strat-copy guitar I have...Is there anything I need to think about regarding the truss rod when the neck is not attached?
You may have found answers by now, but if not, the tension rod would typically be adjusted so that the neck, when not under string tension, will lie as close as possible to ruler-flat. If the guitar seemed to have about the right amount of relief when strung & fully-tuned, then in a lot of cases it'll lie flat once the strings are removed or slackened. Just removing a neck from a body doesn't normally require that the tension rod needs any special attention. If you intend to work on the frets, then you should try to get the fretboard as flat as possible before leveling away any material from the frets. After making any adjustments to the tension rod, allow some time to pass so that the neck wood has a chance to settle into the new adjustment. Frets can often be uneven with one another in height, and the important measurement is checking the flatness of the fretboard wood itself, rather than along the tops of the frets. Notched straightedges are used for this purpose. If you can, get a plain one at a hardware store & grind notches in all the right places so that it'll clear all of the frets & lie directly on the wood. If you think about it, the fretboard is flattened during the initial construction of a guitar, then the slots are cut, then the frets are installed & leveled. At some point, the tension rod is snugged but not cranked. If all goes well, the string tension will be enough to give the fretboard a slight amount of relief. To do a repair or restoration of some nature that involves fretwork, you always want to work with the neck dead-flat as a standard reference. Hope this is of some help, and don't forget to have fun.
Does steaming the fretboard warp the neck in any way? I'm building a guitar and I'm replacing the fretboard, so I want to keep the neck and glue on a different fretboard.
Don't make it look to easy Ken everybody will be doing it. What are your thoughts on why for the ruler? Better heat distribution? Shielding the dot inlays? It came off really clean.
.I did the same thing basically removing the fingerboard on a cello. Minus the ruler. The key is to recognize when the work is getting too hard/cold and needs to be reheated. Or the heat applied further down the way. But it works great. BTW, you can also apply an iron to an edge of formica that is coming loose. It re-activates the glue. Same trick when glueing down a thin piece of wood or chip. Apply an iron to take the water out of your wood glue.
Good work , & no bleeding ! ! ! I could see a way to make it go a bit easier ; when you put the ruler on the neck the second time, if you turn the iron pointing toward the direction you're heating , MORE surface area of the iron will contact the ruler. . .which should cause better heat transfer ! I just had a brain fart that might be well worth trying . . . Get a piece of 2 1/4 to 2 3/8 by 1/4 inch wide cold rolled mild steel , long enough to span the length of the fretboard . . . put it in the oven to heat it , & it should heat the entire fretboard with one or two heatings ! to make it even BETTER , the piece of steel could be run through a 'slip roll ' , & be 'set' to fit the radius of the fretboard too ! 2 feet of steel would cost about 14 dollars . . . * Now I'm thinking that it could also be 'self heating' too . . . ( Add 2 irons to the steel ? ) No need in becoming a 'professional fretboard remover' :p With just a bit of framework construction , it could be made into a very commercially viable tool ! (( I Have it copyrighted ! )) Send me my 10 percent, & I'll be happy :D Stay cool Ken !
Hi I just bought a brand new Les Paul Custom ebony The guitar looks, feels, and sounds great. There is a problem though. After 10 minutes of play, my fingers are black. I took it to my guitar tech and he took off the strings and cleaned the fingerboard with some sort of cleaner for guitar fingerboards. He then put on new strings. I am still getting black fingers (not quite as much, but still pretty bad).why? Can you help me?thanks
ouch...at 6:29..i envisioned the fretboard letting go and the knife with the fingers in front of the sharp edge slamming into the bench..fingers flying everywhere
i have i cameo lp copy from the 70s i started getting buzzing then realized that the fret board dried out so bad a credit card slid right under it it came off in a matter of seconds
People that are still watching this video for advice, the best way if you were salvaging the neck and using it for another project, the best thing would've been to remove the heated frets first then start the removal at the heel of the head stock, not the center-top portion... I'm really surprised it didn't snap off during the first few frets!
I NEED TO DO THIS ON THE SECOND GUITAR I BUILT, I GLUED THE FINGER BOARD ON WITHOUT PUTTING CAULK IN THE TRUSS ROD CHANNEL SO WHEN YOU BANG ON THE NECK IT RATTLES A LITTLE. NOT A HUGE DEAL BUT ENOUGH TO BUG ME AND I KNOW IT WILL AFFECT THE WAY THE GUITAR SOUNDS. IT SUCKS BECAUSE I GOT LUCKY AND THE REST OF THE GUITAR DOESN'T SUCK TO BAD.
Boudreau Guitars , instead of fixing the neck , can we buy a new neck and play?? Is there any doing difference??? U can show the result in ur next video :)
You have eliminated 90% of my fears. I have to pull a truss rod out of an all-original '88 Squier Bullet 1 (Silver label/Samick) and the neck is gorgeous. In the meantime I have installed an '04 Fender MIM Strat neck, so right now it's a Squender Bullocaster. You rock, bro!
I realize this is an older video but I'm just now needing to swap a fretboard out. I watched several other videos before getting to yours. You seem to have one of the better methods. I ran across a guitar labeled "Squier Strat" that is a factory second. A few years old but still brand new, unplayed stock. The fretboard radius was over sanded from about the G string to the bottom edge or high E string and from about the 16th fret to the heel end. It apparently also affected the lower half of the frets back up to the 7th or 8th because they are all slightly raised. The neck shaft appears to be good quality and is pretty nice and worth saving so, here I am. Over all its a really nice guitar and I got it cheap so hopefully it all turns out well. If not, at least I'm learning on a cheap guitar. Lol. Thanks for the video! Very helpful.
Awesome video Ken! I've been playing bass for 40 years, and at the onset of covid decided it was a great opportunity to learn to build. Also been a woodworker for 39 years. Own my own house with a complete 2 room shop in my lower level. I digress lol
I have a 06 Fender P that I stripped to natural, and had to swap necks due to maxed trussrod. I actually like the allparts maple replacement better, it even fits tighter in the neck pocket! But I want to replace the truss in the original rosewood neck. This vid is perfect. Ordering a pull saw :)
Thank you so much for the vids you share❤✌
A really thin knife from my experience is a plus, thinner seems to cut thru with less effort, putting something behind the cutting device like you did is a major plus too, that's a beautiful fretboard!
A spatula, for returning steaks in a pan was my tool to remove fretboard.
Japanese pull saws are great for removing fretboards, and also for cleaning up the back side of a fretboard and the face of a neck where the first 4-6 frets of the board have lifted, cleans up the old glue and gices a nice surace to week some glue back in and reclamp the freboard, nice job man, and excellent show of patience and confidence
Do you have a video on regluing a cab that's separating from the neck with out taking it completely of ??? Thanks in advance you rock !!
Thanks for another excellent tip, Ken. I cringed at first that you weren't wearing gloves until I saw the tape protection on the business side of the Japanese back saw! Keep the great vids coming - you're getting me closer to my dream Custom-built Bass.
I gotta say thank you for the tips, I saw on the Stewart Mac channel how they removed a fretboard off an old rickenbacker, I find your way a whole lot easier, same procedure just less pry tools, I started my own repair shop not too long ago and since I play bass, it's obvious I'm not going to own just one bass lol I bought one with a beautiful rosewood, now I have to remove the fretboard to exchange the truss rod, thanks for the tips on how to do it!!
Great video! I buy cheap guitars and fix 'em up and give them away when I find someone who can't afford a guitar (or sell them as nicely playable guitars, to feed my addiction to working on the things).
I take it as a personal challenge to make even the worst guitar play great.
Well, I got my first Gibson/Baldwin Epoch Les Paul-ish looking guitar today, and none of my notched straight edges fit the frets as laid out on this guitar!
It has frets laid out as if for 24.75in scale up to the 12th fret, but they get closer and closer past that! This thing isn't even close on intonation past thre 12th fret. I've never seen anything like it.
I thought, oh well, I paid just few bucks and now seems to be the first chance for me to swap a fretboard and refret a whole neck.
I have a lot more confidence this is possible after watching your video here on removing a fretboard, my biggest fear of the whole project. I'm patient enough to know I can glue, slot, refret a fretboard, but the removal of the old, incorrectly slotted fretboard had me fearful.
Anyway, thanks for this! It is a big help to me.
Now all I need is a wife so I can use her iron....
No you don't...trust me....lol
@@mark006868 ^^this^^
Just buy an iron... Marriage is way over rated...........
Buy the iron 😅 maybe borrow his wifes iron 😂😂😂
Clever method...nice work.God bless you for
Your creative helpful video.
You're belly clamp idea is awesome I'm gonna try it.
Thank God you used tape on the saw.............I was sweating until I noticed it.
lol, I was thinking the same thing about the tape on the saw blade!
thanks for posting this. i've been kinda intimidated to try, but it was your first time and it went great. so thanks!
Thanks Ken. I have a Tele Neck that the Fretboard rises starting at the 6th fret from the heel. It is the neck that rises. I need to pull the Fretboard to level the Neck under the Fret board. I started to throw it away but after seeing your video, I believe I can salvage it. Thanks.
Assume the iron is set for "no steam" correct?
How high do you set the heat on the iron?
Have you considered putting the iron on the pull saw once its down there?
Would you use a simular method for a fretless fingerboard? -great thanks.
Hi! really good video! Woul you give me some advice? In that case, when the neck was twisted, once you've put the new truss, have you rectified the neck in the surface where the fretboard goes? Or just a good truss rod will put the neck and fretboard back straight? Thank you!
@jackofalldaves my comment was 2 years ago and Im sorry to tell you that I gladly repaired it, and still perfect!
I do something similar but to bend the neck down, I hang a 5 gallon bucket from the head and use a pitcher to gradually add water until I reach the bend I want. I do this as well to to preload the neck for setting truss rods. Did a 5 string bass neck today
Great video! Its pretty straight forward. Quick question thought, does this method work on spanish guitar fretboards? I want to change the fretboard on my cheap guitar, since its all worn-out due to all the playing I do with it. Thanks in advance.
If by "Spanish" you mean an acoustic, then you have a fretboard with a tongue that's glued to the guitar's top & extends to the soundhole. This can be either a steel-string or a nylon-string. You'll want to start at the opposite end from the peghead, in that case. Use a sharp knife to "cut" slightly around the tongue where it's glued to the top. You just want to separate any finish that overlaps the joint between the fretboard & body. Don't try to force the knife between the fretboard & body at this point. Next, mask off the top with cardboard or heavy paper so that the finish doesn't burn or melt from heating the tongue with an iron. If you can, heat up a smaller block of metal to use instead of an iron, so that there's less chance the heat will attack the finish on the guitar top. Take care not to burn yourself, either way. Rather than initially investing in costly specialty tools, go to a craft shop & find an inexpensive artist's palette knife, you can probably use two. Heat them a little, too, then CAREFULLY force the blade into the joint, starting around the last few upper frets & working toward the soundhole. Don't apply any lifting force, just get the blade(s) farther between the fretboard & the top, little by little. You can elect to go from the soundhole all the way to the nut, or you can work it loose as far as the neck joint, then start at the peghead end & work from there. Use even, firm pressure to force the seam open gradually. If any splinters are remaining attached to the underside of the board when it's removed, try to remove them whole & intact, & reglue them on the top or on the neck in their original locations before installing another fretboard.
I have a great Ratliff mandolin but not used to the flat fretboard. I could sell it and go back to Eastman or have a radiused fretboard installed. Is it that easy??
I have a classical guitar which are more delicate and I'm worried that so much heat could cause issues. Since I would like to completely replace the fretboard with a new one, would it be safer to plane or sand off the fretboard so that no heat is involved ?
Thanks VERY much! I know what I’m going to try to do this weekend!!
After removing the fretboard, could you have planed or sanded the twist out of the neck, or is it even worth doing?
awesome video i have an ebony board i want to switch onto a diferent? guitar
So I have an old ESP LTD neck that's now mangeled ------- I'd like a new maple fretboard on it with medium frets. What would you charge and what's the turnaround time?
Is it safe to do these procedure on a 3piece neck like Ibanez wizard neck?
Oh man. In the morning I'm removing only the first fret portion. I love that bending the end to get it started. Trying to salvage a stripped nut on the truss rod. It's a $70 bass. What's the worst that could happen?
There are many videos showing mostly, the use of an iron to heat the fretboard.. is a heat gun too hot for this.? will it damage the wood.?
Worked like a charm, thanks............
I've taken a couple of fretboards off using my wife's hairdryer, but I'll be trying the iron today on a Squier strat. Just a tip; if the fret ends need filing smooth/rounding, it's way easier to do it with the fretboard off, than when it's on the neck.
Farmer Pete , let me know how it works out for ya
I tried this about a month ago... i guess i did not heat the fretboard enough... i destroyed the fretboard, made a beautiful firewood piece... Ima revisit this video if i try this operation again. thanks for sharing.
I am getting ready to do this to a couple of Les Paul's and an SG, hopefully they go as smoothly as yours did. I was wondering something, Instead of knife or something along those lines to pull down the neck and cause separation, what about a piece of wire, like a piano wire? It would seem that the wire would be much easier to manipulate and less likely to slip and cut you. I will give it a shot and let you know how it worked for me. Good video, thanks for putting it up, I subbed btw....
How did it go with the Piano wire?
@@paulj92713 I haven't done it yet. When I do I will try to remember to let you know.
@@alabamahebrew still waiting on that piano wire review
if only we had a readily available source of thin flexible wires.
Question, how hot was the iron..? Hope you're still there
I want to replace the rosewood fretboard with an ebony one on my fender mim telecaster. But I want the keep the neck, is this something I could send you the neck and have you do?
Heat the saw in hot water, reheat as necessary. The saw is a nice hack.
Looks like the neck manufacturer did a good job with gluing the fretboard !
You bad influence! I peeled the fake rosewood fretboard off my LP kit and am replacing it with an Ebony one. Seriously, thanks for the tips...it came off like a charm (I did skip the pushing down of the headstock, for fear of loosing it). A carpet knife blade got the end peeling up for me. Now I'm just waiting for the mighty StewMac to get the Ebony boards back in stock ("Gibson" scale with slots and a 12" radius). I don't have a .57mm fretsaw, yet, and I'm definitely not doing a radius with sanding blocks! So I pay extra... having a small CNC would be nice at this point (sigh).
Advice for someone wanting to remove fret marker inlays, and "disguise" them as wood? I have a rosewood fingerboard with white inlays. I want to make the fingerboard look like theres no fret markers.
Have you ever tried a old guitar string with two dowel rods on each end, push pull .. Instead of metal blade?
pappystar1 I have not! Next time !
That is exactly what I use. It is like a hot knife thru butter.
pappystar1 that’s what glass guys use to remove windshields. I help a friend do it and that is a great idea for this. I’m about to do a firebird Fretboard replacement and I’m glad I watched this and saw this comment. TY
@@mblueser3770 same here, with changing a rosewood to ebony
Could this be done on an Epiphone Les Paul where you can't remove the neck?
small twist you could pull the frets to re-radius of the board, or if the twist is really small you can just take down the frets to deal with the hump
Much appreciated, I got a maple fretboard that is going to have to be replaced!
No fear!
Ive tried that method and cracked the neck under the fretboard just behind the nut. Not sure why, probably got too impatient and didnt let the iron rest long enough on the ruler. I think you might just get away placing the iron directly on the frets without anything between, since you only work between a couple of frets distance at a time...
Nice work, glad to see you using your intro music again. I didn't like hearing it playing in the background of that other channels video. It just wasn't right. Lol
Cheers
How hot do you set the iron?
Would an egg spatula do the job as well?
Yes an egg spatula would open up your belly just as efficiently as a super sharp knife. Either way use a vice not your belly .OMG
Hey cool video i liked and subscribed but im just wondering can this be done with a Sg that has its neck attached to the body?
Jaime Lucio , sure but be careful
How do I successfully separate a scarf joint that's under the fretboard? I have a through the body guitar neck that the headstock is irreparable (long story) so I'm planning on using a donor guitar neck and grafting the headstock from one neck to the other. I know I have to remove the fretboard to do this operation. The guitar neck that I'm trying to save has a Floyd Rose locking nut on it. I'm planning on using a modern smaller screw into neck rather than a through the neck screw type. Any help you can offer is helpful. Plus I've never done this before. I'm a beginning luthier.
Allen Toler , th-cam.com/video/RzQIWiYoeUA/w-d-xo.html
What would happened if the neck was bound?
My 2 month old Beavercreek Travel Guitar between the 9th and 12th fret, where the fretboard and neck meet, the lacquer has started to flake off...how can I fill it up and smooth it out?
friend me on face book and shoot me a couple pictures pleasefacebook.com/boudreau.guitars
Hi, in case of a MIA Fender, does this affect the resale value a lot if you replace rosewood by a new rosewood (for fretboards with heavy wearing or damaged)?
Replacing a fret board isnt cheap
Great idea. I've ever done it like the way of ironing, used by our grandmothers, with a wet linen! :-) But the ruler is easier to use!
Ken, How did you hollow out the 2 by that you set the neck in? It look's very handy.
dave miller stew Mac
Thanks
That’s a really ingenious way with the iron instead of steaming and possibly twisting and destroying a neck!!😅😅
Can I expect the same with an ebonol fretboard?
If you mean Ebony, yes
How would I do this if the frets are missing? I'm working on a really old beat up guitar in which the frets were pulled, so I'd like to know if it's even possible.
Marius Cojocar do it the same way with, or without frets, cheers
I've never pulled a fretboard before, is there a better result if you leave the frets in while you heat the board?
I wound think the heat would be spread out more evenly across the fingerboard without burning the wood. It would also lessen the chance of the board breaking at the fret slots in theory. But like I said, this is the first time I've done this so I can't say for sure.
Thank you! I had to laugh when I saw it was a GFS Guitar Fetish neck. They sent me 2 different necks that twisted within about 5 months. The fretboards are beautiful, so I didn't want to get rid of them. Obviously will never buy from them again, so beware of what you get from them. But, great video!
Was the warp in the neck or the board?
Michael Nielsen the neck
I want to remove the neck of an old strat-copy guitar I have...Is there anything I need to think about regarding the truss rod when the neck is not attached?
You may have found answers by now, but if not, the tension rod would typically be adjusted so that the neck, when not under string tension, will lie as close as possible to ruler-flat. If the guitar seemed to have about the right amount of relief when strung & fully-tuned, then in a lot of cases it'll lie flat once the strings are removed or slackened. Just removing a neck from a body doesn't normally require that the tension rod needs any special attention. If you intend to work on the frets, then you should try to get the fretboard as flat as possible before leveling away any material from the frets. After making any adjustments to the tension rod, allow some time to pass so that the neck wood has a chance to settle into the new adjustment. Frets can often be uneven with one another in height, and the important measurement is checking the flatness of the fretboard wood itself, rather than along the tops of the frets. Notched straightedges are used for this purpose. If you can, get a plain one at a hardware store & grind notches in all the right places so that it'll clear all of the frets & lie directly on the wood. If you think about it, the fretboard is flattened during the initial construction of a guitar, then the slots are cut, then the frets are installed & leveled. At some point, the tension rod is snugged but not cranked. If all goes well, the string tension will be enough to give the fretboard a slight amount of relief. To do a repair or restoration of some nature that involves fretwork, you always want to work with the neck dead-flat as a standard reference. Hope this is of some help, and don't forget to have fun.
Does steaming the fretboard warp the neck in any way? I'm building a guitar and I'm replacing the fretboard, so I want to keep the neck and glue on a different fretboard.
Figglebob High no steam only heat
Oh, thanks.
Don't make it look to easy Ken everybody will be doing it. What are your thoughts on why for the ruler? Better heat distribution? Shielding the dot inlays? It came off really clean.
heat distribution
.I did the same thing basically removing the fingerboard on a cello. Minus the ruler. The key is to recognize when the work is getting too hard/cold and needs to be reheated. Or the heat applied further down the way. But it works great. BTW, you can also apply an iron to an edge of formica that is coming loose. It re-activates the glue. Same trick when glueing down a thin piece of wood or chip. Apply an iron to take the water out of your wood glue.
At what temperature does the glue become soft enough to remove the fretboard? Thanks.
Super hot . 3rd degree burn kinda stuff.😂
Nice..smooth..priceless tip..thanks
hi，sir，do you know how to tear down the richlite wood fretboad，I have try kinds of way，but didn't tear down it😂
Nice work
I wonder what would happen if you used a heat gun instead
Good work , & no bleeding ! ! ! I could see a way to make it go a bit easier ; when you put the ruler on the neck the second time, if you turn the iron pointing toward the direction you're heating , MORE surface area of the iron will contact the ruler. . .which should cause better heat transfer !
I just had a brain fart that might be well worth trying . . . Get a piece of 2 1/4 to 2 3/8 by 1/4 inch wide cold rolled mild steel , long enough to span the length of the fretboard . . . put it in the oven to heat it , & it should heat the entire fretboard with one or two heatings !
to make it even BETTER , the piece of steel could be run through a 'slip roll ' , & be 'set' to fit the radius of the fretboard too ! 2 feet of steel would cost about 14 dollars . . . * Now I'm thinking that it could also be 'self heating' too . . . ( Add 2 irons to the steel ? )
No need in becoming a 'professional fretboard remover' :p With just a bit of framework construction , it could be made into a very commercially viable tool ! (( I Have it copyrighted ! )) Send me my 10 percent, & I'll be happy :D Stay cool Ken !
Hi I just bought a brand new Les Paul Custom ebony The guitar looks, feels, and sounds great. There is a problem though. After 10 minutes of play, my fingers are black. I took it to my guitar tech and he took off the strings and cleaned the fingerboard with some sort of cleaner for guitar fingerboards. He then put on new strings. I am still getting black fingers (not quite as much, but still pretty bad).why? Can you help me?thanks
Umit UMT , it’s coming from the strings. What brand of strings do you use?
@Boudreau Guitars first strings was a stock and second one was elixir coated but the fingers are getting dark and black like a black inked
If you think it's coming from the fingerboard , I would wipe a few light coats of Tung oil on the wood to seal it up.
it is probably because the fretboard was dyed.lots of companies use grade B wood and dye it so it looks like grade A wood to save$
It's funny, if you squint your eyes just right, the "Slick" logo looks like is says "Suck" haha!
ouch...at 6:29..i envisioned the fretboard letting go and the knife with the fingers in front of the sharp edge slamming into the bench..fingers flying everywhere
johncartelli I wasn’t pushing that hard, bro! Lol
i have i cameo lp copy from the 70s i started getting buzzing then realized that the fret board dried out so bad a credit card slid right under it it came off in a matter of seconds
Is that a normal house iron?
Yep!
I like this.
Great video! Thanks!!
Your my idol sir tank you so m..,
Can you heat the neck and twist it straight?
Tricknologyinc , that is possible but I wouldn’t suggest it
@@BoudreauGuitars, What's the harm in trying? What do you have to lose but the waste of a neck?
@@Tricknologyinc I've done a couple of times. It worked for me. You have to leave it hot a while, until it knows you mean it.
If you get some White Out and connect the L and I, it would be more fitting a name for that neck.
What about a neck with 2 dowels locating the fretboard???
Stratasaurus T , work around it and remove them.
Nice info! Thanks Man.
Slick! Thanks Ken!
People that are still watching this video for advice, the best way if you were salvaging the neck and using it for another project, the best thing would've been to remove the heated frets first then start the removal at the heel of the head stock, not the center-top portion... I'm really surprised it didn't snap off during the first few frets!
Nice job removing the fretboard. If you didn’t tell us nobody would have known this was your first time doing it.
Thanks man this just what I needed
Thank you
Is it the only way to remove the fretboard?.. This method is so risky
Nice work :) Is it brazilian r.w?
Even Seb naaa, nothing that nice
Well done.
Damn! I threw a warped neck with a nice fretboard a few months ago....
Just what I needed thanks, off to eBay to buy me a secondhand iron
Cool job Ken no Hari Kari necessary with your japanese blade...good job for your first time...Keep Rockin...
Bravo!
I NEED TO DO THIS ON THE SECOND GUITAR I BUILT, I GLUED THE FINGER BOARD ON WITHOUT PUTTING CAULK IN THE TRUSS ROD CHANNEL SO WHEN YOU BANG ON THE NECK IT RATTLES A LITTLE. NOT A HUGE DEAL BUT ENOUGH TO BUG ME AND I KNOW IT WILL AFFECT THE WAY THE GUITAR SOUNDS. IT SUCKS BECAUSE I GOT LUCKY AND THE REST OF THE GUITAR DOESN'T SUCK TO BAD.
eddie julian you don't have to remove the fingerboard to fix that.
That was pretty "slick"!😂
HA !
What if we buy a neck and but it on guitar ????
Gaming and technology , um, what?
Boudreau Guitars , instead of fixing the neck , can we buy a new neck and play?? Is there any doing difference??? U can show the result in ur next video :)
you can always buy a new neck that's what I did. th-cam.com/video/mdnYegCFWuk/w-d-xo.html
Would you recommend this if the neck is the part you’re trying to save ??
Hardtail Havoc sure, I would be more carful with the neck in that case. I was not here because the neck was twisted
Might be better to put the fat end of the iron at the end you're working on, instead of the pointed end.
Good job bud.hope your sense of humor.
This comment was supposed to say hope you have a good sense of bumoe
Yeah, 'cos the second one makes no sense either. lol
i will try this ........thz !
Now i know what to use my cheap dosuki saw for 😏😏