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About 20 years ago I built a dulcimar. when I cut the slots for the frets in the fret board which was already glued on, the ebony fret board bowed so the strings touche the fret board which dicouraged me and aused me to hang it on the wall for decoration. Lately I've been wondering if it could be fixed. Hoped someone might have some advice. Thanks
A better description of the problem or some pictures would help but the basic answer is yes, it can be repaired. Need more info!
I"ll post some when I can figure out how. Also I was wrong saying it was 20 years ago. actually it was 30 years. How time does fly.
If the frets are hammered into a too-tight fret slot, it will force the fretboard to do a back bend. You can pull the frets out, widen the slots with a wider fret saw, and reinstall the frets. However, if the instrument is that old, the fretboard may have taken a permanent set. The only way to tell is to pull the frets and see if it flattens out.
I just put a straight edge on it and with it held down at one end there is a 12/32 gap at the other end. The fret slots may have been to tight , but I pulled them when i found the warp. Still trying to figure out how to post pictures from my computer. I'll get it sooner or later. Thanks for the replys
Dic
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Still trying to get this right.
Dick
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Dick,
1) May I suggest removing the fret board completely and either re-install or replacing. ( If I were to guess I'd say the fret board was not leveled from the beginning. It's also possible that the fret wire was never leveled properly ............ Most guitar fret slots are in the range of .223"+/- range wide this seems to work fairly well for most brands of wire ..... Many pull style hand saws match this kerf. ........another concern would be the nut and saddle height? were they correct to begin)
Most glues will release with heat and this happens usually at 180 degrees to 275 depending on the glue used... If you choose to remove the board ...... longer is better in regards to a sanding block for leveling board and frets. We would recommend placing PSA style sandpaper down on a flat surface like slate, thick glass /plexi, even Corian works and moving the board over the sandpaper ( basically the fret board is now inverted ). You can make a sled for your fret board with a flat piece of mdf/plywood etc. and cut a slight taper on either side of the sled then place a small ledge to either side of the board on the outside of the carriage board/sled slightly higher than the sled but less than the thickness of your fret board. Your board will tighten between the sides on the sled and you will be able to push the fret board in one direction on the sand paper mounted to the flat surface. ( alternate would be to still use a sled and use a good double sided tape ) Re-surface possibly top and bottom of board ( you will need to rough/clean the glue surface either way......... if you used hide glue minimal sanding is necessary ) You can install frets prior to re-install or install on instruments....... personally probably do everything prior to re-installation if you have pulled the fret board off. We find using a mdf caul the full length of the fret board makes for easier glue up/clamping of the fret board to the neck.
2) If you choose not to remove the fret board we would recommend removing fret wire ( think you said you had already done this ) ........... re-level fret board by sanding to some level but consistant ( you will need to remove the nut and the saddle to do a re-surface ...... it's also possible that the nut and the saddle were not at the correct height to begin with..... and even though the fret board is no longer set properly it may only be part of the problem )..... a 18" aluminum hand level works well as a sanding beam with PSA sand paper attached. Re-slot with a pull saw or fret saw that has a kerf in the .223"+/- range re-install fret wire level with beam and sand/file ends.
We would for sure coat the fret board with some kind of good sealer after all this..... if you choose any of our suggestions ..... ( black shoe polish acutally will work well / Johnsons paste wax and several other oils ).
If we can help further be glad to help.
God Bless.
Kevin
Thank you all for your help. I am going to try sanding without removing the fret board as Kevin suggested. Will post later one way or the other as to my success.
Dick
If the fingerboard bowed backwards after slotting, it makes me think that something was way off from day one. Usually, the fingerboard will develop too much forward bend with no frets and all those fret slots cut. The fact that it wants to go the other way tells me that it's being yanked that way by something. It makes me wonder if you make a new fingerboard and reinstall it that it won't just be curved too. Simplest may be to just install an oversized fingerboard and level in place, or just plane down the fingerboard you currently have if you have enough thickness (i.e. Kevin's option #2). Given how dulcimers are constructed, I don't think there's anything you can do with heat and clamping to remove the bow as you sometimes can on a guitar neck, and it's bending the wrong way for compression fretting.
3/8" is a huge amount of backbow, by the way....far more than I can ever remember seeing on any instrument. It's hard to even imagine what could have caused that. If that's a real number, that means you have a 3/16" hump in the middle of the fingerboard. Again, that's an absolutely gargantuan amount. In this case, I think it may be relatively important to understand where that's coming from. If it's still under stress, removing that much material may destabilize it even more and actually make the problem even worse.
Dick,
Tried to post you a pdf cross section of the neck and fret board of a typical mountain style dulcimer. ( only post bitmap files.... jpg etc. all fret/scale, measurments are lost when you try blowing it up large enough to read ) If you need this contact me pm. and be glad to send you this file.
Blessings,
Kevin
Thank you to everyone that tried to help. After really looking it over, i've decided to hang it back on the wall as a decoration. on final inspection I found that the whole body is warped and slightly twisted. I think my efforts would be better spent to possibly build new. Thanks again.
Dick
That was exactly what I was suspecting you'd find. I think you're making an excellent choice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Howard