Precision luthier tools. Made in Virginia, USA. Lifetime Warranty.
Guitar & Bass Double Sided Fret Slotting Template
Guitar & Bass Double Sided Fret Slotting Template
Two Scales. One Template.
One on each side.
You choose both.
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One side is laid out for one scale length, the other side for a second. Slot a board to the first scale, then when a build comes along that needs the other, work off the opposite side. Two scale lengths, two different necks, one piece of 3/8" cast acrylic.
This is not a multiscale template. Each side is one straight scale, with all the slots square to the board. Two separate scales, one per side.
Scale Lengths
Eleven ready pairings across four instruments, or build your own at the same price.
Guitar · 24.625" + 25.5" · 25" + 25.5" · 24.625" + 25" · 25.5" + 27"
Bass · 30" + 34" · 32" + 34" · 30" + 32"
Ukulele · 13" + 15" · 15" + 17" · 17" + 19"
Mandolin · 13.875" + 15.875"
Every pairing puts two different scales on the one part, because a template with the same scale on both faces is only half a template. Or type any two scales you want. Baritones, 7 and 8 string extended range, anything from 13" up. Set your fret count too, from 12 up to 36 per side. Same price either way.
What we can cut. Two limits, and both move with the fret count.
The ceiling is the laser bed. At 24 frets we handle any scale up to 34", and every fret you add above that shortens it, because the slots have to fit on one blank.
The floor is the acrylic. Frets close up as the scale gets shorter, and past a point the strip of acrylic left standing between two slots is too thin to survive use.
The builder on this page works both ends out as you go, draws you the template as you change it, and will not let you order something we cannot make.
Got a spec the builder will not take?
Send it to us and we will tell you straight whether it is cuttable. stringpluckery@gmail.com
Two Sizes
$55 covers most builds.
Anything up to a 30" scale at 24 frets fits our standard blank, which includes every six string guitar, every ukulele and mandolin, baritones, and 7 and 8 string extended range instruments.
Longer scales need more acrylic, and that is the $70 size. A 34" bass sits right at the edge of what our laser bed can hold. The page picks the size for you from the scales and fret count you choose, so you are never guessing which one to buy.
Registration
The Fret Slot Template has an engraved nut line at one end. Both sides of the template index off that nut line and a 1/8" index pin hole keep it registered while you work.
Where It Fits In The Build
Slot the board, radius it, then bend and set the wire. The Fretboard Radius Jig takes a slotted board to a consistent radius in under ten minutes, then smooth it out with a set of radius sanding blocks. When the board is ready for wire, the Fret Wire Bender & Straightener sets the fret wire radius to match, and the Tang Catcher keeps the nipped tang ends off your shop floor.
Specs
| Material | 3/8" cast acrylic, laser cut |
| Scale lengths | Any pairing you choose, 13" to 34". The window narrows at both ends as fret count rises. |
| Fret slots | 12 to 36 per side, your choice, same on both sides |
| Instruments | Guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin, and anything else inside the scale and fret range |
| Sides | Two, a different scale on each |
| Registration | Indexed off the engraved nut line. Laser cut centerlines and a 1/8" index pin hole. |
| Width | 3" on every template |
Absolutely excellent quality and craftsmanship. Made my job a 100 times easier.
