Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Korrigan on December 29, 2017 at 9:06am

I don't know a lot about fretting but I'm a CNC service technician so I can tell you that 6 thou is about the thickness of 2 blonde human hairs, which is a huge gap in the work that I do.

Stewmac sells a tool for expanding fret tangs but it's $80... way more than it's worth in my opinion. Luckily they aren't hard to make yourself. Check it out and follow the links for instructions.

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Permalink Reply by Angry Rooster Guitars on December 29, 2017 at 11:18am

I'm a tool and die designer and supervisor of our tool and die shop. I agree, .006" is a pretty loose tolerance. The rubber products that come off of our molds have tolerances .003" on thicknesses. Thinking about having to glue every fret in until I use up this batch of wire is a little frustrating.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on December 29, 2017 at 9:40am

Hi, could be the frets are budget versions from a manufacturer with low guilty control or your supplier changed their supplier who has a different size tang fret.

you could get a fret saw of a size to suit the frets.

The neck will only move under string tension if it is not too stiff, normally we make our neck as stiff as possible due to having no rod in the neck.

i use the crimping tool mentioned, but that's normally for Frets going into wide slots from refretted guitars or older guitars.

Does the supplier sell a saw to suit their fret wire?  If you've only got the one size saw you may have to state the tang size needed with future purchases.

I have been gluing frets in for over &@$()0?! years. It's what I do.

cheers Taff

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Permalink Reply by Angry Rooster Guitars on December 29, 2017 at 11:32am

I bought a stewmac fretsaw for my table saw. It worked perfectly for the bigger frets. It's only available in .023" kerf. Plus at $100 USD per blade, I'm not ready to buy another one. The fret wire has all been from CB Gitty. Not sure who they get their wire from or if they changed suppliers since it comes in their packaging.

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Permalink Reply by Milt Haselmire on December 29, 2017 at 11:17am

A proper fret wire saw cuts a slot of.023". The fretwire you mention would not be loose in these slots, so I assume you used a different type of saw to cut them. Every kind of saw in the world has been used to cut fret slots, but only one works well. I paid $50 for mine from Lee Valley. It has saved me hundreds of dollars in aggravation.

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Permalink Reply by Angry Rooster Guitars on December 29, 2017 at 11:25am

I have a stewmac fret blade for my table saw and it is aligned with the miter slots within .001" to .002". The larger frets fit perfect. Keep in mind, the .030" measurement includes the barbs. I'll have to measure the actual tang thicknesses to see how they compare.

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Permalink Reply by Angry Rooster Guitars on December 29, 2017 at 11:49am

I just measured the tang thickness of each size fret wire, not including the barbs, and they both measure .023". Maybe the extra .006" on the barbs and tang length make the difference

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on December 29, 2017 at 12:21pm

Yes, I use the same circular fretting blade. The slot is for the tang size and the barbs are forced into the side of the slot for grip.

Are you using the same hardwood fretboard material? 

On my first blade I bent it just a fraction (so that it wobbled) and caused a wider slot, I had to buy a new blade.

Taff

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Permalink Reply by Angry Rooster Guitars on December 29, 2017 at 2:25pm

Yes. Same woods I've been using since I bought the blade. Like I said, the larger fret wire will fit tight in the same slots the smaller wire fits loosely in.

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Permalink Reply by Milt Haselmire on December 29, 2017 at 1:18pm

023" should be the perfect fit into a well cut slot. The barbs bite into the sides of the slot to hold them in place. It is also very critical that the frets be driven absolutely straight into the slots. They must be totally seated for best results.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on December 29, 2017 at 1:50pm

Hi ARG, something I and many other builders and repairers do is to put a slight radius in the fret, or if fretting a radiused board apply a slight over radius.What this does is as you drive the fret down the radius flattens and pushes the ends of the fret sideways, this causes the barb to go in at a sideways angle at the ends, giving better grip.

It can't pop up as it may if driven straight in. But of course the barbs have to bite into the side of the slot to start with.

Taff

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Permalink Reply by Milt Haselmire on December 29, 2017 at 2:07pm

Good piece of information. The wire I buy comes in about a 12" diameter roll. This gives it  a radius although it is being driven into a flat fretboard. Works well.

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