DIY Scallop

JB_From_Hell

JB_From_Hell

Jomo's Nimions
I've had this Peavey Predator for over a decade, haven't played it much for at least half that time. One thing that keeps it out of circulation is the low frets. They're in good shape, but just really small. Couple this with never having owned a scalloped neck, and I think I'm gonna take a crack at modding it.

As I said, it's not a main player, so there will be no issue with getting impatient and rushing the job. After reading this tutorial, I'm feeling pretty confident about it: https://www.instructables.com/id/Scallop-Your-Guitar-Standard-Scallop-Frets-14-21/

I'm not intending to go as deep as the pics, just enough to not feel the board.
 
Re: DIY Scallop

I scalloped the neck on that Kramer I just finished because the frets were rather small and I wanted the feel of bigger frets and it worked out exactly how I envisioned because it feels like they're so much bigger now.
I went with a very shallow scallop because you really don't need all that much to get the effect.

Usually 1/2 the distance to the side dots is all the deeper you'll ever need to go and sometimes not even that much. Turn your neck over and look at the dots and how much material is there and you'll see what I mean.

Takes me about 3-4hrs from start to finish working the whole time to get one done, prior to that I bet I was at it for 8hrs or more. I use my Dremel and free hand most of it until I get the shape and then I switch to a several different diameters of things like markers and pencils with different grits wrapped around it to really get in there and to have more control.

You'll get it man.
 
Re: DIY Scallop

I scalloped the fretboard extension on my mandolin, and had no problem. I pulled out the top fret with end nippers, then used the dremel for about 98% of it, finished with sandpaper wrapped around a pen. It looks the same as when guys with $10k instruments pay someone to do it.

People scallop mandolins to get the fretboard out of the way for the sweet spot to pick. Since I'm f'ing with playing area, I think I'm gonna go with files rather than the dremel for the actual wood removal.

People are horrified at the thought of doing any stuff like this themselves, but it's basically just sanding. Gonna take the neck off, tape up the frets, and take it into work. Last month, I removed the paint and reshaped a body when we were slow, so this should be a lot less messy.

Thanks for the info. I'm sure I'll be consulting you throughout the process.
 
Re: DIY Scallop

That's funny you say that because I routinely have scallops that turn out nicer than some Yngwie Strats Ive seen. Of course I only have this one neck here to do and those guys are churning them out one after another but my point is that if you take your time as you said, you can certainly achieve good results.

A lot of your work is not causing yourself more work by being careful around the frets and keeping your depth consistent because if youre not paying attention youll be half way down the neck and the scallops are looking good and then you get one scallop a tad deeper, so then you gotta go back over and touch them all up.

I learned from those mistakes many necks ago and now I have a process and things go much smoother. The more you do the faster and better you'll get.
 
Re: DIY Scallop

ehdwuld said:
Get a cheap Amazon neck to practice on
Click to expand...

I have junkers I could, but I've sanded enough wood to feel ok going after the Peavey neck first. That's why I'm going with files and sandpaper first, so it's a super slow process and as long as I pay attention, I'm gonna have to try pretty hard to mess it up.

I'm sure someone will post scallopwned, which I'm sure what some dildo using a dremel blindfolded.
 
Re: DIY Scallop

I did my Squier Strat myself, and it looks like a blind monkey did it with a pocket knife.
 
Re: DIY Scallop

Not only did I scallop the FB on my Squier Affinity Strat...I painted the FB to boot.:)

attachment.php




;>)/
 
Re: DIY Scallop

I haven't done this myself, due to my lack of manual dexterity when it comes to this. I paid someone else to do it, and don't regret it. The guy on that instructible page sanded into the side dots.
 
Re: DIY Scallop

Mincer said:
The guy on that instructible page sanded into the side dots.
Click to expand...

Yeah, he did it evenly, though, so I don't think it looks that bad. Regardless, I'm not scalloping nearly that deep, so it should be a non-issue for me.

Gonna break down the guitar and start masking off the frets tonight, and filing tomorrow.
 
Re: DIY Scallop

Be careful not to go too deep. A friend of mine did that to his and it killed the tuning stability of the neck
 
Re: DIY Scallop

Rule #1 of sandpaper: You can always sand more, but you can't unsand.
 
Re: DIY Scallop

I also want to try this. I have a 25 year old Warmoth neck I can practice on before considering the mod to my super strat. I like the idea of getting different size dowel rods and wrapping them with sand paper. This seems much easier than using a a single rasp file for the whole neck.
 
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