Stewart MacDonald 5297, Assembly Instruction Manual, Page: 22 / 42

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The fretboard needs to be tapered, starting at the nut slot .
The nut supplied is preshaped to 1-3/4" width .
On the slotted side of the fretboard, measure and mark the
center of the nut slot, then measure 7/8" (half of 1-3/4") out
from the center mark on each side .
Then at the 12th fret, measure and mark the center, then
1-3/32" (half of 2-3/16") out from the center mark on each
side at the 12th fret .
Using a straight edge draw a line from the nut mark to the
12th fret mark and let the line continue on to the end of the
fretboard . Do this on each side of the fretboard .
Tracing onto the curved (slotted) side of the fretboard allows
you to cut the board on a bandsaw with the flat side down
on the saw table . The fretboard can also be cut with a coping
saw or a hand plane . Cut the sides along your pencil lines,
leaving the lines visible . With a plane or sanding block you
can remove saw marks and smooth the edges, removing
the pencil lines .
True the cut edges of the fretboard with a “shooting block”
using 80-grit sandpaper, followed by 120-grit . Clamp the
fretboard flat-side down onto a piece of wood about 1/4"
thick and as wide and long as the fretboard — this is a shim
to lift it off the work surface for sanding . Clamp the fretboard
so one side hangs over the edge of the shim, and sand it
with the shooting block . SAVE YOUR SAWDUST! The fine
wood dust can be mixed with super glue and used to fill
fret ends later .
KIT TIP: Shooting block
A shooting block is a long, square-edged sanding
block for creating smooth, straight surfaces . We
used a carpenter’s level and fastened the sandpaper
to it with double-stick tape (pictured).
Making a fretboard
Trimming the fretboard
Mark the location of the dot fret markers on the fretboard
using the centerline that you made earlier . Refer to the
blueprint for location and size of marker to be used .
For single fret marker positions, make marks on the
centerline midway between the appropriate frets . For fret
locations inlaid with two markers, make a line at a right angle
to the centerline, midway between the frets, and then mea-
sure to each side of center to make the centerpunch marks .
Mark out the shape of your inlays on the fretboard using an
X-Acto knife . Measure the thickness of your inlays . Remove
the wood to be inlaid using a chisel or Dremel, not going
deeper than the thickness of your inlay . The goal is to keep
the inlay just proud of the fretboard, allowing it to level per-
fectly with the fretboard without being below the fretboard
surface . Fit by trial and error . Test on scrap!
Inlaying the fretboard
Use just a touch of super glue to permanently set your inlays .
To avoid excess squeeze-out, don’t use much glue . If the
inlays are a tight fit, you may need to press them flush to
the surface of the fretboard using a hard, flat object as a caul
(place wax paper between the fretboard and the caul if you
use super glue) . After you press the inlays flush in the center
of the fretboard, they will be raised slightly at the edges,
since the fretboard is radiused . Use a smooth mill file to level
them, and then smooth the board from end to end using a
hardwood block wrapped with 220-grit Fre-Cut (open-coat)
sandpaper . Try not change the radius of the fretboard .
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