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On the face of the neck (where the fretboard will go), pencil
a line 3/16" back from the break angle of the peghead . This
3/16" area is where the nut will stand . Lay the neck face
down on the back of the fretboard, and align the end of
the fretboard with your pencil mark . Center the neck on
the fretboard and trace the neck shape onto the back of
the fretboard .
Plane the fretboard taper
Clamp the fretboard face down on a riser block as illustrated,
and use a small block plane laid on its side to plane the ta-
pered edges until the pencil line is just starting to disappear .
There should be little or no overhang of the fretboard to the
edges of the neck .
On the edge of the fretboard, drill 1/16" holes for the side dot
markers . A single dot will mark frets 5, 7, 10 and 15, and two
dots will mark the 12th fret . Center the dots between the fret
slots (the dot for fret 5 will be centered between fret slots 4
and 5, etc .) . At the 12th fret, drill two holes 1/4" apart .
The side dots are created with the thin white rod . Place a
drop of superglue in one of the holes, push the white rod
in, and nip it off so a small amount is left protruding from
the hole . Do this with the remaining holes, one at a time
(superglue dries fast) .
Inlay the white side dots
Drill 1/4" holes for single pearl inlays at frets 5, 7, 10, and 15 .
Drill two holes for two inlays at the 12th fret . A brad-point
drill bit is preferable because it creates a flat-bottomed hole,
but a regular twist drill bit will work . Be careful to drill only
very slightly deeper than the thickness of the dots .
Glue the dots in with Titebond or superglue, pressing them
flush to the fretboard surface with a flat block . Don’t press
them lower than the surface .
Inlay the pearl position markers
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