Fret saw 0,5mm

Make sure your Fretboard has a straight side and cut the top in a 90 degrees angle from the side straight through. This will be the top of your fretboard.

Determine your scale which is the length from nut to bridge. Calculate your fret positions for which you can also use our fret calculator.

Take your ruler, preferably a 600mm metal one and align it straight. Precisely mark your fret positions on both sides of the ruler. I like to use an eyeleteer for marking the positions, as pencil does not always show properly on dark wood and this way, with the hole of the eyeleteer, you have a starting point for your fretsaw.
Each next fret slot should be closer to the other with lesser space between the frets. If something looks odd, it often is off, so check, check double-check. Measure twice and cut once, right? Annoying but true.

You can use a square to guide your fret saw. Place your saw in the marker and set your square tight against it. Make sure the teeth of your saw are under the square or you'll ruin the teeth.
Start with the first slot and pull the saw down, slide back up and pull down again. Repeat till you have a sloth that is deep enough for your frets. Keep in mind that you still need to radius and that you will loose depth on the sides. You can always cut your fret slots a bit deeper after the radius is in place.

In case you cut too deep, you can fill up any visible gabs after fretting with a mixture of saw dust and Titebond. Preferably the transparent Quick & Thick. For best sound and fitting, we recommend to glue in your frets with thin instant glue like ZAP.

You can find out more about frets in our how-to's about frets.