Fret-board Radius?

[mushroom]

Hello - I'm putting this is the Solid/Chambered space but feel free to move it as required.

I recently got a T100-D and notice that the fret-board radius is different (way different - much smaller or rounded) than solid body Guilds I have.
I am specifically looking at finding some information on the 70's solid bodies fret-board radius (I don't have a measure / gauge).

Is there any known source on this ?

I suppose I could just buy a gauge......

Thanks.

 

[GAD]

It depends on the era and the guitar. My 1964 CE100D has a 9.5" radius, but then so does my 1979 S300AD and my 1981 X82 Nova. My S70D is 7.25"!

My Nightbirds are all 12" as is my 1994 S100, my Liberator is 16", and my 2001 Paloma is 20".

Depth varies considerably as well.

 

[mushroom]

thanks GAD - I find it crazy that there is that much variance.
I wasn't really sure what I was expecting. Maybe that there was a flattening in general as as the years went on - but I don't know why I thought that either.
I think I'm going to buy a set of gauges!

 

[Nuuska]

I have asked this before - got no answer then - so I'll ask again.

Because the string spacing is wider at the bridge than at the nut - most logical form for curved fingerboard would be conical instead of cylidrical.

If fretboard is conical - where is the radius measured? At 12th?

 

[kakerlak]

I have asked this before - got no answer then - so I'll ask again.

Because the string spacing is wider at the bridge than at the nut - most logical form for curved fingerboard would be conical instead of cylidrical.

If fretboard is conical - where is the radius measured? At 12th?

Isn't that basically what guys like Warmoth are doing with compound radius necks? IIRC, those get spec'd at nut and end of board.

 

[GAD]

I have asked this before - got no answer then - so I'll ask again.

Because the string spacing is wider at the bridge than at the nut - most logical form for curved fingerboard would be conical instead of cylidrical.

If fretboard is conical - where is the radius measured? At 12th?

Kakerlak is correct - that's called a compound radius and it's generally measured at the nut and the heal. Jackson's been doing it for years. This guitar has a "12-16" radius neck, for example.

 

[Quantum Strummer]

At least some vintage Fender maple fretboards have compound radii, though maybe not by intent. My old Tele measures the usual 7.25" at the nut but ~9" at the 21st fret.

-Dave-

 

[Nuuska]

Thanks guys - I remember having seen a video of sanding fretboard over belt-sander. With shorter hanging arm at nut end it would be a nobrainer to produce the compound shape. I do not have any radius calpers - I'm equally lousy with concave-flat-anyradius neck . . .

I actually have a nylon string Carmelo Gonzales with concave fingerboard.

 

[DThomasC]

Yeah, I don't think the compound radius is a new concept; the best guitar makers have been doing it all along. The problem creeps in when a beginner buys a tool like this thinking that it'll make fret dressing easy. I love Stewmac (I lived almost next door for 7 years and used to dive in their dumpster - tried to date one of their employee, but she wouldn't have me) but while light fret dressing can be simple enough, serious work is not as easy as they make it seem. And, more importantly, it never has been.

 

[DThomasC]

Nuuska, now that you mention is, it would be pretty easy in a production environment to get a consistent compound radius. It's harder to do correctly by hand... don't ask me how I know.