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Michiel · August 26th, 2009, 04:25 PM

Looking at the custom bridges offered by Workknot, I found I need to know the radius of my fretboard.
The templates he offered didn't help me much; I guess my cut-and-past skills are less then perfect; both arcs seemed to fit

.

This got me so frustrated I tried to derive a scientifically sound measurement method.

For the trigonometry-freaks, look at the pic below.
Use a T-square to measure A and B at the 11th or 12th fret.

No need to remove the strings before measuring. Just make sure the T-square presses only the high E and B on the fret. The rest of the strings should not be toughing the fret. This is a bit fiddly, but it worked for me.
The result will be less precise then when you measure without strings, but it will be good enough (I suppose) to measure the closest match to the two radiusses Workknot offers.

Fill A and B out in the formula in the lower left-hand side and this will yield the radius R.

For my 5129, I measured roughly A=52mm and B= ~4mm.
After calculation and conversion to inches, this gave me a radius of 13.4". Closest radius offered would be 12" (seems to comply with experience of other people that have already purchased one of the custom bridges).
When I adjust B a bit to 4.5mm, the result would become 11.9".

Hope this helps

.

For those of you who try this method: could you give some feedback on the results? Thanks!

A little note:
The angle of alpha + gamma in the pic is a straight angle, even though it doesn't look that way in the pic (it's not drawn to exact scale).
That is ensured by having the T-square only touch the high-e and b string to the 11th or 12th fret.

Michiel · August 26th, 2009, 04:34 PM

here is a zipped excel file to calculate the radius (note: enter A and B in mm)

Crooner · August 26th, 2009, 06:48 PM

My head hurts now.

I was told there would be no math.

dafreeze · August 26th, 2009, 06:50 PM

Good book, and has some stamp out radius gages of ~ 1/16" plastic in the back , courtesy of Stew Mac and the author, Dan Erlewine. $13.fitty.

http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Guita...330509&sr=8-1#

Jukebox · August 26th, 2009, 06:57 PM

Have you ever thought about emailing Pops and asking him?

ishtar · August 26th, 2009, 07:05 PM

Or can you find the specs for the particular guitar? Gretsch and Fender usually include radius measurements, don't they? Or is this something else?

Michiel · August 27th, 2009, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jukebox

Have you ever thought about emailing Pops and asking him?

I did and he pointed me towards the arc prints.
That's the point at which my handcrafting skills fell short

.

Michiel · August 27th, 2009, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crooner

My head hurts now.

I was told there would be no math.

sry, should've put a warning in the thread title

.

gigatron · August 27th, 2009, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crooner

My head hurts now.

I was told there would be no math.

Take two aspirins and call me in the morning.

Michiel · August 27th, 2009, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishtar

Or can you find the specs for the particular guitar? Gretsch and Fender usually include radius measurements, don't they? Or is this something else?

Double-checked that to be sure. But no, Gretsch don't list the radius of the fretboard here

:
http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/i...&product=G5126

Jukebox · August 27th, 2009, 06:46 AM

Call your local guitar store!

Michiel · August 27th, 2009, 06:48 AM

just ordered a 12" / 3" alu bar

GentleBen · August 27th, 2009, 07:10 AM

It is a lot easier to use the a radius templates if you remove the fretboard and pull out all the frets. Be careful because if you lose one you will have to relearn your scales.

Jukebox · August 27th, 2009, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michiel

just ordered a 12" / 3" alu bar

That should do you just fine!

MGllm · August 27th, 2009, 07:51 AM

What dafreeze said. This is a painful thing to read early in the morning.

Michiel · August 27th, 2009, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crooner

My head hurts now.

I was told there would be no math.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GentleBen

It is a lot easier to use the a radius templates if you remove the fretboard and pull out all the frets. Be careful because if you loose one you will have to relearn your scales.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MGllm

What dafreeze said. This is a painful thing to read early in the morning.

LOL :

.
aww guys, didn't expect so much bashing on a good & honest piece of geek work.

workknot · August 27th, 2009, 08:28 AM

Michiel: My website is down until tomorrow afternoon as you will see when you open the webpage. Sorry for the delay but we had to go out of town for an emergency. Thanks for your understanding.
Pop's

Michiel · August 27th, 2009, 08:29 AM

Ok Pop's, no prob. Hope everything works out for you.

rcboals · August 27th, 2009, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GentleBen

It is a lot easier to use the a radius templates if you remove the fretboard and pull out all the frets. Be careful because if you loose one you will have to relearn your scales.

Since I bought these I haven't had to pull my frets to check my radius

They are thin enough to fit between the frets. Got them on Ebuy laser cut plexiglass cheap.

GentleBen · August 27th, 2009, 10:24 AM

rc, ain't technolgy somthin'!