Trying hard to fret my first cbg. Reading all the material out there.. looks like tomorrow i will go the japanese saw route. Have a miter box. Now just figure out depth control. Thank god i am bald... my guitar is so close to completion i would pull out my hair if i had any over these fret slots
I remember the first time I tried something else that had a lot of mystique. I was all nervous and sweaty and couldn't imagine touching my girl that way. What if I got it all sideways and broke something important? What if she had a hard time moving the next morning? Would she do everything I wanted her to do if I made a mistake?
That's right, it was a front wheel alignment on my Jeep Wrangler. I had taken it in and paid the man $50 a couple times before to do it right and then thought I shouldn't be doing that anymore. So I got out some chalk and my pipe wrench and did it better than the automatic laser jiggy thing in about 10 minutes. And I pulled several muscles kicking myself in the arse for past expenditures.
I have my six year old daughter helping me fret and she does great. The guys who promote all the this-n-that about fretting are probably trying to sell expensive tools and/or service.
Like anything it takes practice - experiment on an old piece of wodd the same size as your neck first, i made up a fret gauge from cutting notches in a long plastic ruler. I don't use any expensive jigs or rigs, i always get perfect results. Obviously fret and finish the neck before adding the nut and attaching to the guitar body.
Pencil in the fret slots along the neck according to the fret gauge, then true them up with a metal set square and score the fret positions with a stanley knife using the set square.
For medium fret wire cut the slots in using a junior hack saw with just a few strokes of the saw, check again with the set square and a few more strokes of the saw if required, then using a three-sided needle file dress up the slot.
The metal fret should be a sticky fit, and at first pushed down using fingers then a small nylon hammer tapped lightly. Wood glue can be used in the slot but very little, and wipe off the excess straight away.
Trim off the overhang of the metal frets with very strong snippers and file down the edges using a long file with the handle removed and further with a long block of wood wrapped in wet and dry paper, then dress the ftet ends off using a flat needle file.
I use a muslin cloth or duster to "test" up and down the neck for snags. Apply a couple of coats of lemon oil to a bare fetboard or a couple of coats of polyurethane gloss for a super smooth neck ! (-:
You were right man... I just finished 19 frets. it took me a few hours and a few of the slots were just a tad deep ( learning experience). It turn out great, i'll post a picture later. Going to make a jig I think
So, for my first cbg... i will string it up later and see how it sounds. I am excited!!
i think you will find its not as hard as most make it out to be .. and you will kinda snicker later and wonder what you were scared of . once you do it ;-)
I'm still pretty new at this too, but I've found a couple things that helped me. First, I purchased a fret saw (tho not the japanese style one) from StewMac. I built a simple fret cutting miter box out of scrap hardwood, and found some thick aluminum yardsticks with millimeters ($2.85 a pop at the hardware store) and cut/notched them with a hacksaw for fret scales The first ones I made were 25", 23", and 22" respectively.) They work really well for laying out and re-checking placement throughout each build. The biggest money saver, though, is that I decided to build my own fingerboards out of relatively inexpensive wood like maple, and oak. I just cut a few pieces to width and rip them to @ 1/4" thick. If I slip or do a mis-cut (which tends to happen to impatient newbies like me), it's not like I just ruined a perfect ebony fingerboard. It's just another cheap strip of oak.. I can always make another.
I have given the bobby pins a lot of thought. I bought the fret wire before I read the thread. I want, or rather I think NEED to figure it out and accomplish it. Kind of wierd, but it is something I have always wanted to do/learn. I will use the bobby pin method for sure though. It is truly a "wow, look what I used and it sounds great!" and very easy to do.
Comments
I remember the first time I tried something else that had a lot of mystique. I was all nervous and sweaty and couldn't imagine touching my girl that way. What if I got it all sideways and broke something important? What if she had a hard time moving the next morning? Would she do everything I wanted her to do if I made a mistake?
That's right, it was a front wheel alignment on my Jeep Wrangler. I had taken it in and paid the man $50 a couple times before to do it right and then thought I shouldn't be doing that anymore. So I got out some chalk and my pipe wrench and did it better than the automatic laser jiggy thing in about 10 minutes. And I pulled several muscles kicking myself in the arse for past expenditures.
I have my six year old daughter helping me fret and she does great. The guys who promote all the this-n-that about fretting are probably trying to sell expensive tools and/or service.
Like anything it takes practice - experiment on an old piece of wodd the same size as your neck first, i made up a fret gauge from cutting notches in a long plastic ruler. I don't use any expensive jigs or rigs, i always get perfect results. Obviously fret and finish the neck before adding the nut and attaching to the guitar body.
Pencil in the fret slots along the neck according to the fret gauge, then true them up with a metal set square and score the fret positions with a stanley knife using the set square.
For medium fret wire cut the slots in using a junior hack saw with just a few strokes of the saw, check again with the set square and a few more strokes of the saw if required, then using a three-sided needle file dress up the slot.
The metal fret should be a sticky fit, and at first pushed down using fingers then a small nylon hammer tapped lightly. Wood glue can be used in the slot but very little, and wipe off the excess straight away.
Trim off the overhang of the metal frets with very strong snippers and file down the edges using a long file with the handle removed and further with a long block of wood wrapped in wet and dry paper, then dress the ftet ends off using a flat needle file.
I use a muslin cloth or duster to "test" up and down the neck for snags. Apply a couple of coats of lemon oil to a bare fetboard or a couple of coats of polyurethane gloss for a super smooth neck ! (-:
coolaroo ;-)
You were right man... I just finished 19 frets. it took me a few hours and a few of the slots were just a tad deep ( learning experience). It turn out great, i'll post a picture later. Going to make a jig I think
So, for my first cbg... i will string it up later and see how it sounds. I am excited!!
i think you will find its not as hard as most make it out to be .. and you will kinda snicker later and wonder what you were scared of . once you do it ;-)
good luck ;-)
I'm still pretty new at this too, but I've found a couple things that helped me. First, I purchased a fret saw (tho not the japanese style one) from StewMac. I built a simple fret cutting miter box out of scrap hardwood, and found some thick aluminum yardsticks with millimeters ($2.85 a pop at the hardware store) and cut/notched them with a hacksaw for fret scales The first ones I made were 25", 23", and 22" respectively.) They work really well for laying out and re-checking placement throughout each build. The biggest money saver, though, is that I decided to build my own fingerboards out of relatively inexpensive wood like maple, and oak. I just cut a few pieces to width and rip them to @ 1/4" thick. If I slip or do a mis-cut (which tends to happen to impatient newbies like me), it's not like I just ruined a perfect ebony fingerboard. It's just another cheap strip of oak.. I can always make another.
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/albums/shop-junk
Thanks Dan, i will do that now..
Check out my beginner videos on my page here, it may help you with your fretting.
I have given the bobby pins a lot of thought. I bought the fret wire before I read the thread. I want, or rather I think NEED to figure it out and accomplish it. Kind of wierd, but it is something I have always wanted to do/learn. I will use the bobby pin method for sure though. It is truly a "wow, look what I used and it sounds great!" and very easy to do.
I appreciate you sharing it with me/us...
heres a sound bite with the bobbypin frets http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/bobby-s-yer-aunt
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