Jakester Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 (edited) Help builders! I have just removed the frets from a Yamaha RBX as an experiment. Fret removal went perfectly, so now I need to fill the slots and sand the board. I just have no idea as to what should be the perfect radius for the board. The Yamaha website suggests there's no difference between fretted and fretless, with a 10deg radius. Should I just stick with that? Edited September 22, 2018 by Jakester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 I think you might mean 10 inches and not 10 degrees. Perfection is subjective. What, apart from wanting a fretless instrument, would you like to change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted September 19, 2018 Author Share Posted September 19, 2018 Ah, that possibly makes more sense! Not looking to change anything in particular but if a specific radius would work better for fretless than fretted I could go with that - otherwise I’ll just stick with what it’s got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 I'd suggest you concentrate on preserving the fretboard profile and finish as far as possible. Filling the slots is the objective. Someone who has done this before will doubtless answer this question better than I could. Paging @Andyjr1515 for advice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted September 19, 2018 Author Share Posted September 19, 2018 Yes, it was more about just taking off the old fret edges, filling the slots and sanding smooth, but wondered if there is any better/worse option to try whilst I had it in bits. Maple veneer ordered, and now trying to decide whether to try a Tru-oil finish or poly varnish on the FB (only intending to use flats). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Are you veneering the fingerboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted September 19, 2018 Author Share Posted September 19, 2018 Nope - veneer for the fret slots (to give lines). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 17 minutes ago, Jakester said: Nope - veneer for the fret slots (to give lines). Of course. You're well ahead of any advice that I can give you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted September 19, 2018 Author Share Posted September 19, 2018 6 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said: Of course. You're well ahead of any advice that I can give you. 😂 If you knew me you’d know how totally untrue that statement was, but nice of you to say! 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted September 22, 2018 Author Share Posted September 22, 2018 So, I've been busy... I thought I'd document my very amateurish progress on my first ever project! Neck after defret and a quick sand to remove sharp edges: Slots filled with cuts of maple veneer. Superglue used. I started using the veneer strips cut with the grain, and then thought I'd try cutting against the grain. BIG mistake - it's much more difficult to trim by knife and really didn't like being sanded. After trimming and a quick rough sand to partially level the veneer. In retrospect, I wouldn't use SG again as it has stained the fretboard. Hopefully the finishing sanding will clear the staining though. Had a couple of bits of veneer break out when sanding - obviously not an even enough layer of SG. So, I have Tru-oil - I just need to get some finer grade sandpaper and some wire wool. Hoping to finish it tomorrow! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 You forgot didn't you... SG can be removed with soapy water... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted September 22, 2018 Author Share Posted September 22, 2018 2 minutes ago, TheGreek said: You forgot didn't you... SG can be removed with soapy water... Didn't know! Do now - out with the soap, cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 (edited) Really??? Didn't you used to SG the hands of kids in the year below to the toilets doors? It was either soapy water or ripping skin from hands... Edited September 22, 2018 by TheGreek 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 Somehow missed this! It's looking good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 13 hours ago, Jakester said: I wouldn't use SG again as it has stained the fretboard. It doesn't leave much time for you to seat the parts well either. PVA is slow to grab and even after it has grabbed, it can be reworked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTool Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Sorry to add this after your hard work, but for info, 36 years ago I defretted a neck and used a darkish woodfiller rather than wooden inserts. Finished the rosewood board with a darker stain and waxed after fine sanding. I was never bothered about changing neck profile etc as the neck was perfectly playable whilst fretted. It's never let me down since. Audiences may disagree mind, as my band mates always referred to it as my Tuneless bass.... 😖 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baxlin Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 (edited) 51 minutes ago, BassTool said: Sorry to add this after your hard work, but for info, 36 years ago I defretted a neck and used a darkish woodfiller rather than wooden inserts. Finished the rosewood board with a darker stain and waxed after fine sanding. I was never bothered about changing neck profile etc as the neck was perfectly playable whilst fretted. My thoughts and experience exactly, but as the fretboard on mine was black, and I couldn’t get black filler, I spray painted it black with satin finish, carefully masking the sides. Even though the fret slots were filled and painted, they could still be seen, just enough to aid fingering. Edited September 23, 2018 by Baxlin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baxlin Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Re my last post, the finished article.... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTool Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted September 24, 2018 Author Share Posted September 24, 2018 (edited) 21 hours ago, BassTool said: Sorry to add this after your hard work, but for info, 36 years ago I defretted a neck and used a darkish woodfiller rather than wooden inserts. Finished the rosewood board with a darker stain and waxed after fine sanding. I was never bothered about changing neck profile etc as the neck was perfectly playable whilst fretted. It's never let me down since. Audiences may disagree mind, as my band mates always referred to it as my Tuneless bass.... 😖 Yep - this experience has showed me I should probably have used darker wood, or plastic. Filled the tear-outs with dust and SG, but they're showing as a very different colour. Hopefully they'll take on the oil and settle to the same as the FB. First coat of tru-oil slurry sanding was very disappointing - it seems I should have been more careful with the maple inserts, as some of them have taken on a much darker hue from the slurry, so I have an uneven finish to the fret markers, which is a shame given the effort. I may just get my lad's colouring pens and even them out! On the upside, the FB feels silky smooth after 1200 grit and first slurry sand. I'm sure it'll be perfectly functional, just not quite as nice looking as I'd have hoped. After 240 grit: Up to 600 grit after wiping the dust off: (not sure why pics are showing upside down... Edited September 24, 2018 by Jakester 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted September 25, 2018 Author Share Posted September 25, 2018 All finished and strung up, and immediately a workmanship issue has come to the fore: I didn't clean out the fret slots before filling, which meant that the fret markers don't extend to the edge of the fretboard. Meaning, I can't see where the fret edges are when playing! Looks like I'll be more out of tune than I thought! 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 On 25/09/2018 at 19:31, Jakester said: All finished and strung up, and immediately a workmanship issue has come to the fore: I didn't clean out the fret slots before filling, which meant that the fret markers don't extend to the edge of the fretboard. Meaning, I can't see where the fret edges are when playing! Looks like I'll be more out of tune than I thought! 😂 You could put small side dots on the line like an unlined bass rather than the in between position like the top dots? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 (edited) That's all I have on my Vantage fretless - the dots are where frets would have been. There are no markers on the face of the fingerboard nor any lines. The side dots don't make me sound like I can handle a fretless, you understand, but they are all you need if, like me, you haven't got your ear in well enough to intonate well without visual cues. Edited September 27, 2018 by SpondonBassed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted October 10, 2018 Author Share Posted October 10, 2018 A short coda to this. I decided to replace the side dot markers; well, initially I decided to replace all the fret line markers as well, but after taking about 15 mins to make a small dent in my test fret line, I decided I could probably live with the darkened lines. However, after a few days' playing it became apparent that the board wasn't sealed properly - it was showing string marks even though I was using flats - so I decided to refinish it at the same time. So, I picked up some 2mm dot plastic, and (with varying degrees of success) drilled out the existing markers and put new ones in. It's safe to say if you're a fan of squiffy markers then you'll love this - but they do the job. The filling of the existing holes was less than optimal, but after refinishing a real cheat's touch up with a black pen means they're indistinguishable at more than a couple of inches. I re-sanded the fingerboard too - I realised where I went wrong the first time (which led to the discolouration) was not putting a couple of coats of Tru-oil on first, before the slurry sanding. So, after sanding the FB down to 600 grit (which led to a much more consistent colour in the maple inserts, thankfully) I applied a couple of coats of Tru-oil, let that harden and THEN started the wet sanding. Did a few passes over a couple of days, and then finished with a couple of very thin, finger-applied coats on top. Plays beautifully (at least, to me!) and looks a LOT better. Dots make it easier to play, albeit the slightly skew-whiff ones make my teeth itch. Still, a satisfying end result (more or less!). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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