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  • Tim Latham March 30, 2010 at 10:13pm
    What I do for being simple is go to the hobby shop and buy the steering linkage for remote control cars and air planes. It is harden steel wire. Be careful, I messed up my wire cutters cutting it. To cut my fret slots, I use a Miter Box saw and clamp a hack saw blade upside down on it to use as a depth gauge. Then I fill the cut fret spaces with Elmer’s wood glue with a toothpick. Tape the edge so the glue doesn’t run out of the fret slot first. Then just set the new fret wire in place and let it dry overnight. It is time consuming but what the heck it’s a hobby. No frets have fallen out as of now. Hope it helps. Remember have fun!
  • Jonathan March 30, 2010 at 7:29pm
    Thanks Matt.

    Here's hoping that '0' on the fret scale calculator is indeed the nut. haha

    and to the OP, it was hard but felt rewarding when i finished. one thing i did that seemed to help. I smeared some wood glue in the hole before placing the wire. it seemed to go in smoother and it will case harden the slot. just have a wet rag handy to wipe off all excess. one thing i won't do again is install the fret wire before putting the finger board on the neck. slot yes, but wait and put the wire in after you've attached the fingerboard.
  • Outhouse Instruments March 30, 2010 at 7:09pm
    Jonathan said:
    I just got a little bit from lmi bc i needed a few other things as well but if that were my only need c.b. gitty seems to be the best deal by far.
    on a side note; i fret my finger board tobay, all i can say is i hope you have lots of patience. to put it another way, i almost never cuss anymore, today was an exception.

    It gets easier ... really it does!

    I can do a 25.5" scale - saw, fret, dress - in about an hour.

    Do not ... I repeat ...DO NOT cut to length first. Much easier to hold a whole stick, tap into place and then nip it off.


    Matt
  • Jonathan March 30, 2010 at 8:23am
    I just got a little bit from lmi bc i needed a few other things as well but if that were my only need c.b. gitty seems to be the best deal by far.
    on a side note; i fret my finger board tobay, all i can say is i hope you have lots of patience. to put it another way, i almost never cuss anymore, today was an exception.
  • Jeff "Sweet T" Tinsley March 30, 2010 at 2:23am
    So what's you point, Naz?
    ;~þ
  • Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates March 30, 2010 at 12:40am
    Huzza! +10 for Jeff.

    Jeff Tinsley said:
    The best deal I've found so far is C.B. Gitty , right here on the Nation.
  • Mark Werner March 29, 2010 at 9:30pm
    I used straightened copper wire for a couple of builds; regular household wire. You strip it and secure one end in a vise and then use a stick or something on the other to pull till it "goes straight". You can then cut bits off and glue them into hacksawed slots with JB weld....
    That's a bit tedious, however... I found brass tubing and bar stock at a model-airplane shop. Stuff comes in about any diameter you'd like, is dead straight, and only costs a couple of bucks for enough for a guitar.

    JB weld epoxy seems to work better than any other glue I've tried; superglue doesn't bond to metal well.
    The trick is cutting the slots nice and level.
  • Jeff "Sweet T" Tinsley March 29, 2010 at 9:28pm
    The best deal I've found so far is C.B. Gitty , right here on the Nation.
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