Replacing an SG fingerboard

[badoogie]

I have a project SG which needs a new fingerboard, as the current one has really wide fret slots, and has been excessively rounded along the edges. I have bought a pre-slotted ebony board, but as I haven't done this before I'm not sure which jobs I should do before attaching the new board to the neck. This is the order I'm thinking of so far:

Position, drill and install dot markers
Position, drill and install side markers
Glue and clamp fingerboard to neck
Plane and sand fingerboard edges to neck width (no binding)
File and sand fingerboard to 12" radius
Install, level and radius frets
Install nut

Is this the best order to work in? What is the best way to position the new fingerboard correctly?

Thanks!

 

[ARandall]

It's easy to work on the board before it's attached to the guitar. So everything should be done before gluing.
The ExNihilo vintage burst build is on the first page now, so maybe look at how the fingerboard is prepped there, as it is glued to the neck blank in a completed form.

 

[pshupe]

There are pros and cons to doing it both ways. I have done both ways and lean slightly towards gluing the completed fret board. It’s easier to press in frets but harder to clamp to glue on the neck. Jigs or cauls can be used for both methods.

Regards Peter.

 

[Uncle Vinnie]

You're much more brave (and skilled) than I. I've replaced the rosewood boards on two of my guitars with ebony … I left it to professionals and consider it money well spent.

 

[Freddy G]

I'm an advocate of levelling the board and installing the frets after the board is glued on.
Yes, it is more difficult but the results are superior. When you glue the board on, there will invariably be distortion in the plane due to moisture content in the glue and also clamping pressure that is not perfectly even. Levelling the board after it's glued eliminates that.

 

[cmjohnson]

A few years ago I replaced the fingerboard on a 1953 Gibson ES-295 that had been played to death, so long and so much that the owner had once had the third fret fall out and land on the floor while he was playing a gig.

I ordered the board from my supplier already slotted and inlaid. I had to match it precisely to the original fingerboard after I removed the binding from it, and then installed the new board and applied the binding last. Then the binding was fitted to the neck. It came out beautifully. And THEN I fretted it, since I would not have been able to pre-fret it and then install binding.

Perhaps best of all, that guitar now sports a genuine Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard with real mother of pearl inlays.

I do agree that you should do as much work on the board as possible before installing it. I for one am absolutely no fan of the idea of doing inlay or slotting or radiusing work after the board goes on.