Custom Shop scallop tool

[jackson1]

I'm surprised they haven't come up with a CNC tool yet.

Exactly my thoughts too. Maybe pride of good workmanship plays a role at Jackson. Not that a CNC can't do good work but... you know.

[jcmktgguy]

Chip (the guy in the pic) is a VERY talented dude. IIRC, that was a scallop job on the last 4 frets. In the time it would take to just set that up on a CNC, Chip could probably bang out 2 or 3 of those. It's faster and easier to let Chip do the hand work....with the right tools.

[jackson1]

Thanks for the info, jcmktgguy!

Say hello to Chip and let him know we admire his new tool

Serious, will the Custom Shop only do one standard type of scallop or can you specify special ones like the Ritchie Blackmore scallops? (hard to explain, let me know if you have no clue as to what it is).

[Zerberus]

Dremel's contour sander works really well and is most likely a little bit easier on the neck than this tool shown. I'm surprised they haven't come up with a CNC tool yet. Warmoth has got a CNC setup for doing scallops.

Warmoth will also only do one exact scallop depth whereas with a custom Jackson you can decide on deep or shallow and almost certainly symm /asm. profile such as the aforementioned "Blackmore Scallops".... THere´s a good reason Custom builders do things by hand

[Bengal65]

Warmoth will also only do one exact scallop depth whereas with a custom Jackson you can decide on deep or shallow and almost certainly symm /asm. profile such as the aforementioned "Blackmore Scallops".... THere´s a good reason Custom builders do things by hand

Good thing to know. Thanks

[TommyD]

Custom Shop scallop tool

> As far as scalloping a fretboard using a CNC machine goes,it can SURELY be done on the higher frets with a ball-nosed end mill,which kinda looks like an overcomplicated drill bit. The problem with this is it would have to be done WAY before paint,because it simply HAS to be clamped or chucked up in a vise,thus ruining the fresh finish,also leaving dents that have to be steamed and sanded out. You also would have to create a way to position the fretboard absolutely square/parallel to the table in 2 different directions,otherwise you run the risk of crashing the endmill into a fret due to the frets being angled in relation to the direction of travel,or not milling the slot you are basically cutting the same depth on both sides. Both of these would sure as shit ruin your day AND the board. This would be much simpler on a manual milling machine,IF you can find a way to get it clamped and keep it there,by using the crank that controls the Y axis,or front to back motion. Doing the whole board this way is not possible with existing tooling,because of the radius on the end. IF you had a large enough ball-nosed end mill to have the radius needed to do the first fret,you couldn't use it in a standard R8 shank milling machine unless you spent the money for a specialized toolholder,or made one. Of course,even if you had the technology to mill the scallops,you still have to clean up and prep the board and frets by hand. Jackson/Fender has probably already ran into these pitfalls,hence the method you see in this thread. Tommy D.

[Jackson-Charvel]

How long would it take to scallop frets with emery cloth? I would think the Dremel Contour sander that uses sandpaper would work better.

[Bengal65]

How long would it take to scallop frets with emery cloth? I would think the Dremel Contour sander that uses sandpaper would work better.

I would think never! The Dremel Contour sander is the ticket, having those different size/shaped sanding bases. I would use the 3M Freecut (non-loading) paper and make quick work of it!

[Jackson-Charvel]

I would think never! The Dremel Contour sander is the ticket, having those different size/shaped sanding bases. I would use the 3M Freecut (non-loading) paper and make quick work of it!

Then why is that dude Chris using Emery cloth on that drill bit? Zerb says that's what he learned to use as well, maybe I will sit back and chill for a bit and get my answer.

[Inearthed]

How old is this picture? Is this one of the guitars in the RR limited run that some folks on the board are doing?

[Budman68]

Warmoth will also only do one exact scallop depth whereas with a custom Jackson you can decide on deep or shallow and almost certainly symm /asm. profile such as the aforementioned "Blackmore Scallops".... THere´s a good reason Custom builders do things by hand

Zerbs, I almost always agree with you bro, but in this area you'd be wrong, my friend. There is nothing you can't do with a CNC, that you can do by hand. As a matter of fact, there are things you can't do by hand, that you CAN do with a CNC.

Those blackmore scallops would be a piece of cake once it was modeled in the modeling software (something like SolidWorks). Then it can be done over and over again a million times and ever single one would be exactly the same. CNC's get a bad rap, this attitude is just completely wrong.

[Zerberus]

Budman, I did not say "Can´t do", but "Won´t do", I think you misunderstand me there. I have nothing against CNC machines in any way and know full well what they´re capable of doing when properly set up and programmed... but that takes time, and that´s the reason that it´s generally better IMO to scallop by hand, you´re done with 2/3 of the board before the CNC is even programmed...

But either way, it´s not a question of capability, but of willingness / price. Warmoth offers one scallop depth and contour, wheras the Jackson CS will truly scallop "to preference" .... the actual method of doing so is more or less irrelevant in this context

[Jackson-Charvel]

Can't you store programs for CNC routes so it's not having to program everything more than once. For instance, if you had a CNC machine, and an occasional scallop job? Like program it for one specific job and then save it to disk/CD/DVD whatever? I know nothing about CNC machines at all but I would think in the year 2006 most of the computerized part of it wouldn't require more than a couple of keystrokes and then the CNC is set to do whatever it is set to do. Then with a programmed CNC up and running it would probably knock out 30 scalloped necks or more before a mere human can scallop one. ie. Richie Blackmores kind of scallop.

The brother of a friend of mine was considering buying one for making custom parts for his guitars more as a hobby. I keep asking my friend when he is getting that CNC or if it's just wishful thinking.

[Budman68]

Can't you store programs for CNC routes so it's not having to program everything more than once. For instance, if you had a CNC machine, and an occasional scallop job? Like program it for one specific job and then save it to disk/CD/DVD whatever? I know nothing about CNC machines at all but I would think in the year 2006 most of the computerized part of it wouldn't require more than a couple of keystrokes and then the CNC is set to do whatever it is set to do. Then with a programmed CNC up and running it would probably knock out 30 scalloped necks or more before a mere human can scallop one. ie. Richie Blackmores kind of scallop.

exactly!!

[Bengal65]

Zerbs, I almost always agree with you bro, but in this area you'd be wrong, my friend. There is nothing you can't do with a CNC, that you can do by hand. As a matter of fact, there are things you can't do by hand, that you CAN do with a CNC.

Those blackmore scallops would be a piece of cake once it was modeled in the modeling software (something like SolidWorks). Then it can be done over and over again a million times and ever single one would be exactly the same. CNC's get a bad rap, this attitude is just completely wrong.

Yea, I'm with Dave on this. I'm an engineer and my designers use Solidworks all the time. We just send the data to the programmers for the CNC machines and they do some amazing stuff!
Hey ya got me thinking!