Custom Stainless Steel Fret Slotting Templates
Faction Guitars now has the capability of making custom stainless steel fret slotting templates. While my MDF and clear acrylic fret slotting templates are great and work well for people on smaller budgets, stainless steel is the most durable option I offer. It's great for luthiers and builders wanting the most long lasting and strong templates available.
The templates are laser cut from 14 gauge stainless steel, and are functionally the same as the ones sold by StewMac (and are compatible with their fret slotting miter boxes), with only a few small differences:
1) The text showing the scale length on each side will be cut with a stencil font, as my supplier won’t do engraving on one-off orders.
2. Because of how the laser pierces into and out of the material as it cuts, there will likely be a small burr on one straight edge of the part. This can be easily taken off with a few passes of a file. (I have to do this on all of my stainless plates before I do polishing on them. It’s easy and doesn’t effect the quality or accuracy of the edge/design.)
3. The template will be cut out of stainless steel with a standard mill finish. It will be smooth, but may have some minor surface scratches or ink stamping due to the nature of the material. If that bugs you you could use a Scotchbrite pad or some sandpaper to bring it to a brushed/satin finish.
Pricing is typically $70 per template (2 scale lengths per template) and $10 for shipping for US orders. Extended scale length templates (like longer than 34" or so) may end up costing more because of the extra material.
The templates will ship straight to you from the manufacturer (similar to my templates). They only ship to US addresses, so I ask that international customers email me (factionguitars@gmail.com) to inquire about how much it will be to ship it from me to your address.
For those interested, please contact me via email with the following information:
1) Scale lengths required
2) Number of frets required for each scale length
3) Whether you need the extra notch for a Fender style nut slot at the headstock end.
4) Your address if you are international. (Outside of the US)
I hope this is a resource that builders can take advantage of.
Thanks!
-Kevin James
Faction Guitars