A stupid mistake , I carelessly glued the fretboard onto "journey" in the wrong place. About half an inch farther back than it should have been.
It should be covering the rosette and the joint you can see in the purfling. It extends too far back leaving no room for the nut.
The fretboard must come off, but HOW?. It is glued tight.
The fretboard must come off, but HOW?. It is glued tight.
First I tried heat. The glue I use is supposed to liquify at 140 degrees. No luck, and besides I feared damaging the delicate body with the heat. I decided to sleep on it.
In the middle of the night it came to me. I will saw it off! This morning I pulled out the frets and put the sled on the table saw. The blade depth was carefully set, and here we go, back and forth I passed the instrument over the saw blade.
I think this is going to work! See how I am hogging away the wood and not damaging the body. If I can just keep the fretboard flat on the sled as I pass it through the blade.
I am getting that rosewood down thin enough that I should be able deal with it with a plane, chisel and scraper- plus being that thin will make it easier to heat the glue to liquid state. There is hope after all.
Now the chisel work begins. Looking good
Lets apply a little heat
Little by little I am getting there, but the area over the thin cedar top will be the tough spot.
What a relief, It came off the cedar easily. The fretboard is off with no damage to "Journey" and all I have to do is make another fretboard, an easy task. Well, I won't make that mistake again. A momentary bit of carelessness can ruin your day, but it did not ruin this ukulele. Whew!