how to glue on a fingerboard.

I never built a neck before and i think it is time to try. I am thinking that i will buy a fingerboard pre-slotted for frets from stewmac. What is the best way to glue this on the neck to be sure that it is aligned Properly. also when is the best time to glue it on, before or after the neck is shaped?

thanks

If you cut the neck to your template size than you can simply trim the fretboard to the neck. Using a couple of brads trimmed short will stop the board from shifting when you glue it. So have to mark your centreline.

First of all, congrats on building your first neck. It's a bit of a challenge but well worth the effort. I built my first one last summer.

The way I lined mine up was to place a line at 9/16" from the butt of the neck. This is where I placed the 21st fret slot. Since I was using a fretboard extension for a 22nd fret, I needed an absolute location to work from. I took this measurement from a StewMac Tele neck. The measurement is actually between 1/2"and 9/16" or 17/32" but I knew I could adjust for the difference at the bridge saddles.

You can see a hint of it left in this pic.

http://www.crenshawweb.com/texastele/nk15.jpg

Check the link in my signature below for my build page...the neck page has lots of photos of the process as well as the jigs I made to route the truss rod and other steps.

Peace,
Mark

Use the search function :-). This is from the thread" attaching a fretboard" here in the archives:

Use titebond and if you can't get it, use Elmer's carpenters glue. This is what I do: Before you glue, I drill a 3-4 small holes with a narrow finish nail down into the fret slots, on both sides of my truss rod, (2) up near the nut and (2) at the 20-21 fret. Cut the head off of a finish nail. Line up and clamp the fingerboard to the neck wood where it is going to go. Chuck the finish nail up in your electric drill and use it for a drill bit. Drill down into the slots, but make sure that it on each side of the truss rod. Don't mar the fingerboard with the drill chuck either. Get 4 more finish nails the same size as the "drill nail". Wax the nails with paraffin, tap the 4 nails through the fretslots and down into the neck wood. Clip the ends off the excess nail, allowing about .25 inch sticking up. Carefully pull the nails back out of the fingerboard glue surface without bending them. Put a light coat of glue onto both surfaces of the underside of the fingerboard and the top of the neck wood. I usually trace the fingerboard first on the neck wood so I don't waste the glue. Masking tape is used to keep glue out of the truss rod slot. Make sure to remove that before gluing it down. Tap the nails back down ito the existing nail holes to re-align the fingerboard to your centerline. Use a caul to put pressure on the fingerboard and clamp it together with a bunch of clamps. You should have one every 3 inches or so. Make sure you do a dry run before gluing. Get all the clamps open enough so that you don't have to do it while your heart is racing. As you clamp from one end to the other, don't overtighten, but you want to see squeeze-out all around the fingerboard when you are done. I usually remove the clamps after an hour, pull out the nails, and scrape excess glue off that I could reach while the clamps were on. Dry overnight. Finish the neck the next day or whenever.
Marty

Take a look at This Thread (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/178158-sort-tele-style-baritone.html) about a baritone I'm building shows how I've done it.