Chubbuck Guitars / Kevin Chubbuck, making & repairing guitars in an old building just north of Boston, Massachusetts.
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fingerboard prep
Custom fingerboard inlay :: 1982 Gibson SG R1
The SG dot-to-block conversion rolls forward with a custom "Norah" script to be inlaid into the 12th fret. This mother of pearl inlay was designed by a friend of the guitar's owner and hand cut by Dave Nichols Custom Pearl Inlay. Below this inlay was featured over on the vlog.
Dot neck turns block :: 1982 Gibson SG R1
A rare Gibson SG R1 in for new frets, but not before converting the dot fingerboard inlays to blocks. These block inlays were deceivingly difficult to position. If they are off just a little bit they look odd big time. The blocks will be flushed up with the board before a custom script inlay goes in the twelfth fret. Below is a quick video on inlaying the blocks.
Flatter Fingerboard Radius :: 1994-95 Fender Telecaster
The combination of the vintage 7.25" fingerboard radius and rise over the body was choking out big bends high up the neck for this player. We decided to flatten the extreme radius down to 10"R and plane down the body hump in the process.
Frets :: Chubbuck Rogue 005
The bridge is glued on and the neck is ready for fretting. I picked up a Taylor "Fret Buck" reproduction by Stew-Mac (pictured below) to test out. The "buck" adds mass and supports the fingerboard extension when knocking in the frets over the body. In the past I have hand-held a steel block under this area with one hand and tapped in the frets with the other. Nothing wrong with either method. The fret buck is great, but it's a little intimidating installing such a heavy piece of cast iron on your newly finished guitar!
Note this will be one of the first builds to come out of the new shop. Very exciting!
Catch up on the progress of this guitar at: http://www.chubbuckguitars.com/acoustic/rogue005
Sunset fingerboard sand :: 1967 Guild Starfire IV
Being able to steer this neck jig into the sunset and back light the fingerboard sand is just ridiculous. It makes checking the radius really accurate - incredibly lucky to have this much natural light in the shop.
