Making a Really Simple Fret Slotting Jig for Guitars

In this video I show you how I created this guitar fret slotting jig using some scraps I had in the workshop.
For the guide visit Crimson Guitars at www.crimsonguitars.com
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[@dutu000]

best diy fret slotting jig on KZbin!

[@JohnClothier]

Thank you!

[@Gryphon1980]

This is brilliant! And very well explained - thank you very much 😀

[@Stephen_M.]

Great job! Very nice tool for the shop.

[@carlohansen2380]

This is my Saturday project this week. Great video

[@TenPester]

Excellent work.

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks buddy

[@RPiehli]

Thank you so much for the inspiration! I built my version of it today and it works just perfect!!

[@JohnClothier]

Awesome. Glad you found it useful

[@andybinns8385]

Brilliant video, mate! You earned a new subscriber! Can't wait to make my own.

[@JohnClothier]

Thank you!

[@dutu000]

Hey, man! I've done it and it works perfectly!!! Thanks a lot!!!

[@JohnClothier]

Awesome!

[@franciscohurtado3357]

hey man that was awesome! thank you so much

[@JohnClothier]

Glad you liked it!

[@stevenruby2657]

lovely job dude

[@johnniemnemonic73]

This is just what I need, thanks very much. 👍

[@JohnClothier]

Awesome! Glad it’s been useful

[@johnniemnemonic73]

John Clothier I’m going to contact you about a precise shopping list for this jig. I am into guitar making too and it is good to know as many people as possible. I’ll find you on Instagram and I may email you too. My Instagram is johnnierox

[@barrycook4690]

Got to hand it to you , working all that out and making the jig . keep going you'll get there👍👍

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks Barry.

[@tracymcdougal6381]

Nice build,I appreciate your video.

[@JohnClothier]

thanks

[@WoodenItBeNice]

Hi John, Heath Robinson would be proud of the engineering that went into making this jig. Brilliant mate. Cheers, Huw

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks Huw! Really appreciate that

[@james9789]

I don't know all this malarkey to saw a few frets ...but hold on that was so nicely done I've just made a micro shooting board to square all those smaller pieces of wood now you've inspired me to make a fret jig thanks John. Just subscribed.

[@monkeypuzzler]

Great video, mate. Thinking about making this myself.

[@JohnClothier]

Go for it!

[@erichoffman7764]

Awesome video, thanks for this. Also, "Just a little bit of glue." *pours massive amount of glue* really made me chuckle. :)

[@GuitarFuYou]

Subscribed! Brilliant work!

[@JohnClothier]

Thank you very much!

[@garrywatson5346]

Another great video John. I'm planning to build one of these very soon. Good luck with your GGBO entry!

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks Garry

[@johnkaufmann4711]

Nice . Good idea

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks!

[@butchd18]

Looks great job well done

[@JohnClothier]

Thank you

[@butchd18]

@@JohnClothier ur welcome see my hand made guitars look up (poplar acoustic guitars) thank you John

[@JohnClothier]

@@butchd18 i'll do that thanks

[@TrevorIves]

Many thanks for this. It'll make things far simpler as I'm starting out. One thing I would do that you might be doing already is to clamp the whole jig down when cutting.

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks! I’ve found clamping it in the vice works pretty well.

[@djpenton779]

Nice. I have been planning a similar build myself. A good commercial mitre box for fret slotting costs $200 here in Canada. I have taken to making my own tools, which is good practice for woodworking, and saves a lot of money. Keep up the good work!

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks buddy. Glad you like it. I love making my own tools. Really nice to use them knowing you made them

[@realitystudioscustomshop]

very useful info, thanks for sharing

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks. I’m glad you found it useful

[@booyaa1851]

Glad your building it and not me John. Great stuff 👍

[@JohnClothier]

Lol thanks buddy

[@MakingItOutOfTheWoods]

Great idea! 🥰🌲🦊🌲

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks Claire

[@sandymclea]

Like your simple setup for the bearing guides. Have only seen it with lot of meta work..

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks

[@AndyJenkins999]

Brilliant John, works really well. I thought I was the only person still using an Axminster White brad nailer so good to see yours too :)

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks Andy. Lol yep mine works a treat. I dont use it often but it's not let me down.

[@AndyJenkins999]

John Clothier mine neither I have the little pin nailer too.

[@mikkosutube]

i made a jig very similar with skateboard bearings that could be height adjusted for the depth of the slots..the bearings however wore away the brass on the spine of the fret slotting saw..and as i remember it then was not so accurate, and started to bind a little during the cutting process. It had a base that the fretboard attached to..which had the correct slots cut into it, but the slots were on the bottom of the base, and there was a razor blade on the jig that fit snug into the slots to keep the fret distances accurate..the fretboard was hotmelt glued to the base. The base was a little bit narrower than the jig, and i used some small wedges to keep the fretboard and base aligned and snug to the side of the jig as i cut the slots. This avoided any side to side movement that would have caused the blade to bind during the cutting.

[@JohnClothier]

Some interesting ideas there. Thanks for sharing. I too have found the bearings eating away at the brass spine.

[@royyazzie6028]

Very simple there 👍

[@JohnClothier]

Sure is!

[@lexzbuddy]

I'd 3d print instead of using MDF, just because I have one. Great idea and stuff. Thanks for sharing.

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks. To be honest if I had a welder I would have made one out of aluminium which would have been even better lol

[@RichardBuckman]

@@JohnClothier If you want to make one out of aluminum without getting into welding you can get some brazing rods and a torch. Or you could use extruded aluminum, either the usual size, or the smaller ones like nanobeam or makerbeam

[@JohnClothier]

It’s a good idea and something I’m going to look into

[@jalbertob288]

This is great! I am keen on building my first guitar and am also very keen on making my own tools to do it. Have very little wood working experience. I was looking for the guide on Crimson, but failed to find it. Can you link it?

[@norgermish1]

Nice job, very similar to the one Susie Gardener did a while back. Yours is a bit simpler to make though. Thanks

[@DubsteadyMusic]

Building this tomorrow saves me $250 buying stew macs

[@JohnClothier]

Glad to have helped buddy

[@PaulLockwood]

That’s quite interesting to watch. Do like your idea of a small amount of glue though😂😂

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks Paul. It was a tricky project with much thought spent on it. Lol yep I'm a nightmare with glue, always way too much lol

[@ryanbaptiste249]

Nice work, John. You could refine the guides slightly and sell it as a kit… I'd certainly be in the queue!

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks for your confidence in me lol. I think I would need to refine it quite a lot before getting to that stage! 😁

[@davidmontero2414]

Thank you John! vey well explained but please could you tell me the brand and model of your band saw? I have a very small space and I'm looking for something useful but small and yours seem like that!

[@JohnClothier]

Hi thanks! I bought it from Crimson Guitars

[@scottmartinezguitarandbass]

Would you be able to list the hardware you used for this build, and possibly source? I just want to make sure I get the correct items!

[@spenceramandahowe6536]

How did you make sure your saw would not cut too deep? I seem to have missed the point where you added a depth stop. Thanks!

[@JohnClothier]

It’s down to the height of the bearings

[@mrwilly41]

Looks Good! 🤔I would of maybe screwed a larger base board to what you just made, so it could be clamped down to the table...MDF is sooo slippery!

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks. Yep that is a good idea

[@mc-yt2rc]

clever, would a normal mitre block do the same job? if you clamped down the template. well worth the effort if you plan on making more guitars though.

[@JohnClothier]

Thanks Mark. In theory it would but the gap for the saw would likely be a lot wider leading to inaccuracy. The saw needs to stay at exactly 90 degrees or the guitar wont play in tune. At least this is my understanding

[@mc-yt2rc]

@@JohnClothier ok, enjoying the series, looking forward to the rest.

[@mikehuber6005]

I love the jig and I may have missed it but, you show a lot of care in making it square etc, which I appreciate but did you mention that the fret board must be precisely positioned on the fret jig plate (for lack of a better term) or the cuts will not be accurate?

[@JohnClothier]

That does depend on your fret layout. I tend to cut a zero fret slit for the nut which resolves that issue

[@ConsistentImprovement]

What do you use to ensure the depth of the fret slot cut? Maybe I missed that piece

[@JohnClothier]

The top of the bearings ride on the top support of the saw. This prevents the saw from going to deep.

[@mike194254]

John; Do you have any sizes for you Jig: I appreciate that I could work it all out (I suppose based on bearing sizes etc) but it would be handy to have a baseline sized diagram. I did make your fret bending jig which was quite straight forward but this does seem to need a bit more accuracy.

[@JohnClothier]

Hi sorry I don’t. It was all made as I went along. The 2 things to work with are the fret template and the bearings. The rest is just holding everything in place

[@mike194254]

@@JohnClothier Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. I have now drawn up a plan based upon your design which I can send you if you wish.

[@danjazzbass1983]

Friend, do you sell the plans for this tool?

[@2194steve]

Where abouts do you put the pin ( measurement)?

[@thijs199]

this is definitely worth your time, I mean the thing costs 150 bucks, and it's pretty fun to build as well

[@russellscott1151]

How did you notch the crimson fret position guide. They don’t come with notches! Hacksaw?

[@JohnClothier]

They do come notched. The scale rulers don’t but the guides do. That’s the whole point of them

[@russellscott1151]

I stand corrected. I didn’t realise they did special guides as well. Needless to say, I have the ruler :)

[@JohnClothier]

No probs buddy

[@stygianguitars]

Shouldn't the cut follow the radius of the board? Or it doesn't make any difference?

[@dutu000]

What dimensions does the base have?

[@JohnClothier]

It doesn’t really matter as long as you can get your template in and the fretboard

[@bryanmeakin4634]

i use a set square, pencil, knife and a junior hacksaw oh and a ruler

[@JohnClothier]

Fair enough.

[@bradleybrown8399]

Sooooooo, we just GUESS at the dimensions and measurements. Got it.

[@JohnClothier]

You won’t need them if you know what you are doing.

[@bradleybrown8399]

@@JohnClothier fair enough

[@shanefoster2861]

Simple?

[@kasperkap]

How I know this video wasn't made for Americans? Because we have a very different idea of "really simple"

[@JohnClothier]

lol It is certainly a lot simpler to make than some I have seen. All relative I guess. thanks for watching

[@davidrussell8918]

Simple jig? My head hurts.

[@JohnClothier]

lol Sorry about that. It really was meat to be simple

[@AllSpace]

get out of here m8... thats profesional

[@JohnClothier]

Thank you!

[@baduktiger7661]

now show us how to make templates without cnc

[@JohnClothier]

Here you go studio.kzbin.infoiu75t1jh9U8/edit

[@baduktiger7661]

@@JohnClothier I meant FRET TEMPLATES

[@JohnClothier]

@@baduktiger7661 buy them