Not much activity in the workshop over Christmas, but I got back at it this afternoon. I have two Kasha tenors needing to be finished so today I took on the fretboards. I had previously cut the fret slots, Now to shape them and add a bit of bling.
The first task was to taper them. I cut them 1 1/2 inches at the nut gradually tapering up to just a hair under 2 inches at the 13th fret. Next, I drew the curve and cut it on the band saw, then smoothed it up on the sander. I also marked the location of the marker dots and scored the spot on the center line with an awl to guide the drill bit..
Here is what it will look like on the instrument.
Now it is time to pick 4 Paua Abalone marker dots for the top and 4 tiny dots for the side. This beautiful shell fascinates me I will confess. I typically don't go in for much "bling" but I cannot resist this stuff.
I love how it changes as it catches the light. Each piece is different. The fretboard is taken to the drill press and the holes for the large dots are drilled. Shallow, just deep enough to accept the dots. Then the dots are tweezered into their holes and locked into place with a bit of medium CA glue.
 |  |
Now for the holes for the side dots. There is not much room for error here. I hold them in a vise and score a guide hole with an awl, then it is easy to follow up with the finger drill to cut the exact size hole for these small dots.
The side dots go in, and are fixed with a shot of CA glue.
And now, just a little sanding with a fine sand paper and these will be ready to receive the frets. Maybe I will get at that tomorrow.