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Fretting over freting

Posted by Andy Kirke on February 7, 2011 at 4:07pm in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Well this ain't as easy as it looks dudes.

Decided to score the neck with a knife and a square, only measured 2 wrong - more sanding.

Cut one slot with a small saw - may have gone too deep, how deep should you go?

Cut, placed, glued and hammered one fret in, it's still in there 24hrs later so result - but there is an art to this, and i don't think i have it.

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Replies

  • Andy Kirke February 13, 2011 at 10:37am

    Well i managed to get my frets done. I made a tool gluing a blade in a piece of wood - sorted, although i did stuff up fret 15. Aslo found a good use for golf tee's.

    fretsdone.jpg

  • Jon Pruett February 11, 2011 at 11:17am

    I definately agree with the process of cutting the slots in the fretboard first. My usual order of events is sand the fretboard smooth and apply a few coats of tung or other penetrating oil, cut the slots, glue the fretboard to the neck, shave the fretboard sides down to match the neck width exactly, measure and cut the frets a tiny bit wider than the fretboard, press the frets in place, file the frets smooth, install the neck to the body, and then apply the final coats of tung oil.  I used to file each fret individually smooth before installing - but then I made a file holder that keeps the file in perfect position and can file them right on the neck.



    Mungo Park said:

    It is a tricky job, I built a miter box for this and use a hack saw, I have found a blade that fits my frets. Still it takes carefull attention. Making a fret board is easier then trying to do it directly on the neck, errors are les costly.

    "pressing" the frets in also takes care, some people have built a little T shaped thing to use in their drill press to press the wire into the slot.       Cheers Ron.       

  • Mungo Park February 11, 2011 at 10:36am

    It is a tricky job, I built a miter box for this and use a hack saw, I have found a blade that fits my frets. Still it takes carefull attention. Making a fret board is easier then trying to do it directly on the neck, errors are les costly.

    "pressing" the frets in also takes care, some people have built a little T shaped thing to use in their drill press to press the wire into the slot.       Cheers Ron.       

  • Mark Bliss February 10, 2011 at 1:09pm
    As far as fret wire size and saw kerf goes, at this point I am mostly using the common medium wire and .023" saw mostly. I agree with the advise here, but wanted to point out you dont want to saw too tight a fit on very hard/dense fretboards, nor would you want to go too wide on softer woods. Just something to consider if you are working with non-standard combinations of parts and materials.

    Don Thompson said:
    The width of the cut is the width of your tang less the nibs. http://www.lutherie.net/fret.chart.html You want to use a saw that is the thickness of your tang, the nibs are what grabs the wood, so you would measure just the tang, not the width of the nibs and tang. Generally speaking it's a saw width of .020 to .023, if you have no means to measure with dial indicator or calipers you need to use the trial and error method on scrap wood. Saw a slot, tap in the fret and see if it stays well without glue but not so tight that when driven it it bows the fretboard. The width of the fret itself has nothing to do with the tang width. It is best to cut the slots slightly deeper than the tang for proper seating because of wood compressing downwards by the tangs.Good luck, Don

    Andy Kirke said:

    Thanks all, can't believe how easy some make it look on the video's. Just one last question what's the width of the cut, i have medium fret wire.

    Cheers

    Andy

     

  • Jon Pruett February 9, 2011 at 8:57pm

    There are some great tool tips for fretting over in the Special Tools group area - http://www.cigarboxnation.com/group/specialtoolseitherboughtorhomemade

     

    Several good ideas for how to make good cheap fret saws in particular that could help you out. Depending on which saw and fret combo you are using, you shouldn't need to glue them at all. I'm using a 9 dollar saw I bought from an online model train store and fret wire from CB Gitty and having great results.

  • dogfinger steve February 9, 2011 at 3:22pm

    Find more videos like this on Cigar Box Nation
    hope this helps some:0)
  • Don Thompson February 8, 2011 at 5:34pm
    The width of the cut is the width of your tang less the nibs. http://www.lutherie.net/fret.chart.html You want to use a saw that is the thickness of your tang, the nibs are what grabs the wood, so you would measure just the tang, not the width of the nibs and tang. Generally speaking it's a saw width of .020 to .023, if you have no means to measure with dial indicator or calipers you need to use the trial and error method on scrap wood. Saw a slot, tap in the fret and see if it stays well without glue but not so tight that when driven it it bows the fretboard. The width of the fret itself has nothing to do with the tang width. It is best to cut the slots slightly deeper than the tang for proper seating because of wood compressing downwards by the tangs.Good luck, Don

    Andy Kirke said:

    Thanks all, can't believe how easy some make it look on the video's. Just one last question what's the width of the cut, i have medium fret wire.

    Cheers

    Andy

     

  • Andy Kirke February 8, 2011 at 4:30pm

    Thanks all, can't believe how easy some make it look on the video's. Just one last question what's the width of the cut, i have medium fret wire.

    Cheers

    Andy

     

  • Chuck Dubman February 7, 2011 at 8:32pm
    Fret tangs measure 1/16".  Cutting a hair deeper, 5/64" to 3/32", gives a bit of extra depth to ensure that the frets can be driven home.  Hit the ends of the fretted slots with a drop of superglue and sand while wet to fill the ends.  That should also fill in the one slot you think you cut too deep.
  • Don Thompson February 7, 2011 at 6:32pm

    Hammering is somewhat of a misnomer, the action is more like tapping than driving a nail. A good fret saw has a depth gauge so it will stop when the proper depth is cut. You need go no farther than the length of the tang. I tap until the bottom of the fret hits the fingerboard. I install all the frets and then take a very straight edge and set it on top of the frets and sight along it and find the high fret(s) and lightly tap them more moving up or down the fretboard until all the frets are as level by tapping as possible. This step saves a lot of filing to level and crown frets. Also are you using a plastic faced hammer or a hard wood block to hammer the frets? If using a block, yes you will have to use more force in your blows.  A plastic faced hammer is a good investment if you plan on doing a bit of fretting.

    Don

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