Stewart MacDonald 5295, Assembly Instructions Manual

Page: 22 / 40

stewmac.com
Clamp the fretboard to a board, rest that board on its side,
and clamp this assembly to your benchtop with the bass
side of the fretboard facing up . Measure midway between
the appropriate fret slots, center carefully on the fretboard
edge, and lightly centerpunch for the side dot position
marker holes . Two evenly-spaced dots will be installed at the 12th fret . Drill all these holes with a 1/16" bit . One at a time,
touch a drop of medium-viscosity superglue to each hole
and insert the end of the plastic side dot rod . Snip it close to
flush . Level the dots with a smooth mill file (or the 120-grit
edge of the carpenter’s level used earlier) . Use a light touch
in sanding so you don't alter the fretboard edge .
Installing the fretboard side dots
With a flat block (or a 16" radius block if available), stroke the
fretboard lengthwise a few times, uniformly with 220-grit
sandpaper, as a final smoothing to prepare for fretting .
Do your fretting on a flat hard surface (we used a slab of 1-
1/4" thick marble) . The fretwire is curved, and must be cut
to length for each fret slot, but leave 1/8" overhang on each
side . Keep the cut frets arranged in order .
KIT TIP: Gluing the frets
There’s no need to use glue on a new fretboard,
but the choice is yours . Glue keeps the frets tight
and lubricates the slot for possibly easier fret instal-
lation, but also may produce an occasional loose
fret end .
Set the first fret in place and hold it so that it can’t tip, to
prevent wood chipping
(pictured ) . Seat the two fret ends
with one sharp hammer blow each, then hammer back and
forth across the fret . Since the fretwire is more curved than
the fretboard, the fret straightens as it’s hammered in . This
causes the barbs on the fret tang to move sideways in the
slot, tightening the fit . Avoid tipping the hammer face so that
its edge hits the fret, or you’ll dent the wire . Hammer from
your wrist, in short crisp blows
(pictured) . A scrap piece of
fretboard has been included with your kit, as well as enough
fretwire to practice fretting . Measure out the frets you will
actually use on your fretboard, then use the leftover fretwire
to test your skills on the scrap .
As you progress down the fretboard, the compression of
the fret tangs will cause the fretboard to backbow a little,
so be sure to hold the fretboard flat as you hammer . Install
the wire up to the 14th fret and stop . The remaining frets, in
the fretboard extension over the body, will be installed later,
after the neck is “dry-fitted” to the body . We do this because
the fretboard extension will curve slightly from fret compres-
sion, making sighting and fitting the neck more difficult .
Test the tightness of a couple of fret ends by prying up a little
with your fingernail . The fret ends should be seated tightly
(pictured) . To ensure this, you can rest the fretboard on
Installing the frets
20