How to strip the barbs from fret wire?
David Dreisbach
I want to try glued in frets with hemisphiercal ends.
Thanks,
Dave
Chris Johnson
Well, even then, why would you want to take the barbs off
the tang of the wire? There isn't any reason I can think
of for doing that. In fact, without some barbs, the tang
will be too thin to seat securely in a typical fret slot.
And glue only helps to a certain extent. Glue, even
super glue and epoxy, has only a limited bond strength
to the nickel silver fret wire composition, and most
fret wire is lightly oiled as you get it anyway, so if
you don't completely clean the wire with a suitable solvent,
the glue doesn't stick well at all.
Gluing in frets is a common and sensible practice. But
keep the barbs on the wire so that the wire is mechanically
retained, and the glue is a secondary insurance policy.
Incidentally, I recommend using three drops of super glue
on a fret. This does a good job of holding the fret wire
securely but the glue bond can be broken without much
trouble when the time comes for another refret.
If you need to shorten the tangs a bit (so the fret is longer
than the tang, like for a bound neck) then Stewart-MacDonald
sells a nice tool for cutting the tang and leaving the
fret top, and it comes in two sizes which between the two
manage to handle every fret wire size.so
As for the rounded (hemispherical) ends, it's been done,
and while it's not bad, most players won't think it's any
better than a properly finished fret job with your normal
bevelled, broken, and polished end treatment. I've done
some hemispherical treatment for experimentation purposes,
and decided against doing it again for my own instruments.
I simply wasn't impressed. I think it's a waste of effort.
A properly done normal fretjob feels better.
CJ
Kim Strickland
"David Dreisbach" <david.d...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
I must confess, I have done this. My reason was to experiment
with glue-in frets without routing out the slot wide enough to
accomodate the barbs, so there would be a good fit with the
fret wire tang and the slot with the epoxy. It worked reasonably
well, and I may do it again for the frets over the body on an
acoustic. Otherwise, it is more effort than hammering or
pressing in normal frets.
I got the idea for removing the barbs from a Dan Erlewine
technique in a Stew-Mac catalog. Basically, take a standard
bastard file, and cut it into two equally sized rectangular
sections. Use a grinding wheel to get long sides on both
file sections flat and smooth. Then get a bench vise and
some feeler guages. Start with feeler guage combinations
just a little narrower than the barbs, and clamp them between
the two file sections in the vise. Then, pull the fret
wire through the gap between the two file sections. Once
you can pull it through easily, reduce the thickness of the
feeler guages and do it again, until you barb disappears.
The fret should then go into the fret slot without much force.
Of course, just like an normal fret job, it is good to use
a triangular file to flare away a little of the fret slot
on the fingerboard, since the fret tangs are not a perfect
right angle to the crown of the fret, but actually have a
small tapered section.
Kim Strickland
David Dreisbach
"Don't fret" video, but now it's three videos
and with out knowing which one... $130 something. I wanted to try the thing
that was in the GAL article a while back.
That guy used a .01 space between the end of the fret and the binding. I
think just getting a straight line will be hard.
And it does sound like alot of work but I just wanted one for me.
Thanks again,
Dave
Kim Strickland <kest...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:kestrick-5CED35...@news.east.cox.net...
Gitarzan
cheap, I really like the sound, vibe and everything but the frets.
They were factory dressed down to super low "fretless wonder" style
frets. I've seen this in a couple Teiscos I have, but this one is
really low and it really cramps my string strangling-bending style.
I do my own repair work, but I've never tackled frets before.
I plan on getting about 6" of jumbos from StewMac, and will either buy
or grind a nipper into a puller. I've done a bit of reading on the
internet and am looking forward to tackling this.
Any caveats or tips from you pros? Is it like pulling teeth or just
slow and careful does it? Typically, do they all come out easy? Or do
they fight you all they way? Or do all but one come out nicely but
just one the will make me miserable?
Also re: dressing. I was thinking of sizing and trimming the frets
before tapping them in. That seems to be contrary to everything I've
read. Am I a fool for trying to do it this way? Or is it just the
slower way, or what?
Thanks for any help.
-Dave Fultz
Racedish
These are the most difficult frets in the World to install with the exception
of Pre-war Martin "Bar frets". I would seek professional help.
Leo in Tucson (who seeks professional help every two weeks)
Gitarzan
|>>I plan on getting about 6" of jumbos from StewMac
|>
|>These are the most difficult frets in the World to install with the exception
|>of Pre-war Martin "Bar frets".
Are they difficult just because of the size? Or are StewMac frets an
issue in general?
|>I would seek professional help.
Do you mean a luthier or psychiatrist? :)
I really don't want to shell out a couple hundred on a guitar that I
paid $49 for... I would be acceptable to hearing other suggestions of
easier ways of doing this, however. I look at this as a learning
experience. If I screw up the neck, I'll get another from eBay. But I
DO want to be armed with as much knowledge as possible before I leap
in.
|>Leo in Tucson (who seeks professional help every two weeks)
thanks
-dave
Mike Dotson
side) If it's a Rosewood board as opposed to a finished Maple board that makes
it a bit easier. The lacquered Maple boards are a nightmare.
In either case you should checkout the Stew-Mac videos on fretting, they are
very helpful.
Chris Johnson
thread asking your question. It's better netiquette.
Gitarzan wrote:
>
> I've a very inexpensive late 60s-early 70s tele copy (Lero) that while
> cheap, I really like the sound, vibe and everything but the frets.
> They were factory dressed down to super low "fretless wonder" style
> frets. I've seen this in a couple Teiscos I have, but this one is
> really low and it really cramps my string strangling-bending style.
As a general rule, those who like to bend strings like taller frets..
>
> I do my own repair work, but I've never tackled frets before.
>
> I plan on getting about 6" of jumbos from StewMac, and will either buy
> or grind a nipper into a puller. I've done a bit of reading on the
> internet and am looking forward to tackling this.
It's fun, but you'll need more tools than that. Get a fretting hammer
and a small, #2 toothed triangular needle file with the corners ground
and polished safe. You'll need it for the ends of the frets and
you'll also use it for crowning if you don't want to spend the money
on dedicated crowning files.
I expect you will need six FEET, and not six INCHES, of fret wire.
Probably just a typo.
You'll need to remove the old frets. Applying heat with a soldering
iron (but not TOO much) will break the glue bond on the fret tang
and they'll pull out more easily.
Don't bother to try to grind your own custom fret pullers unless
you're experienced in modifying tools like this. It's so easy
to screw it up that I guarantee failure on your first attempt.
Just buy a set that's already modified and be done with it.
You'll need to clean the old fret slots out.
You'll need a method of arching the fretwire. It's much better to
give the wire too strong an arch than leave it too flat. Seat
the ends first, and hammer the wire in from the ends to the middle.
Use two or three drops of superglue per fret for security. No other
glue is as good for this application.
>
> Any caveats or tips from you pros? Is it like pulling teeth or just
> slow and careful does it? Typically, do they all come out easy? Or do
> they fight you all they way? Or do all but one come out nicely but
> just one the will make me miserable?
Getting them out is easy. Getting them out without splintering
the fretboard takes a soldering iron, a good pair of flush nippers,
and patience. And then you have to level and dress the board
itself.
>
> Also re: dressing. I was thinking of sizing and trimming the frets
> before tapping them in. That seems to be contrary to everything I've
> read. Am I a fool for trying to do it this way? Or is it just the
> slower way, or what?
That, sir, is a HORRIBLE idea. Abandon it NOW. Rough cut them,
undercut the tangs (bound board only, usually, but I undercut the
tangs on my guitars if they're unbound and have ebony boards just
for the clean appearance and feel) with the tang nipper available
via Stew-Mac, glue and hammer them in place, nip the ends flush,
and start filing. The bevelling files sold by Stew-Mac are
great for rough filing the ends, and from there you use the needle
file.
The tough part is levelling out the fret job for low action without
taking off more than you really have to. No substitute for
practice here, I'm afraid. But you can use small steel squares
or any very straight, very stiff piece of anything really solid
as a mini level. It'll rock when it's across three frets and the
one in the middle is too high.
Level them out, crown them, string up the guitar temporarily for
testing, make adjustments as needed, polish them out.
Nut work may or may not be needed. It depends on how high
the nut was cut as compared to the new fret wire's height.
Shimming your existing nut is easier and often better than
trying to make a new one.
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> -Dave Fultz
Have fun. And if at all possible, get some in-person pointers
from a repairman who does good fretjobs and likes to teach people.
Oh...don't worry about fret size choice. The process is the same
regardless of size, though the bigger frets may take more work.
They're also more forgiving. Get the wire size you want and
work with it.
In case you're wondering, yes, I do fret jobs professionally.
Today I finished a job on a 70's Martin D-35 with an ebony
board and bound neck. The customer thinks I did a much better
job than the original Martin fretjob.
He's right, I did.
CJ
Gitarzan
Sorry about the thread thing, When I changed the title I thought it
posted as a new one.
Re: Prebending... I know Stewmac has a jig for doing that, but
typically, would a slight bend with the fingers do, or maybe pushing
against a large oval piece of wood? Should I prebend the entire two
inch, er two foot strip before cutting?
I've got a suitable hammer and will need to get a suitable file.
Thanks again.
On Sun, 25 Aug 2002 00:18:14 GMT, Chris Johnson <cmjo...@cfl.rr.com>
wrote:
Alan
>On 24 Aug 2002 22:03:33 GMT, race...@aol.com (Racedish) wrote:
>
>|>>I plan on getting about 6" of jumbos from StewMac
>|>
>|>These are the most difficult frets in the World to install with the exception
>|>of Pre-war Martin "Bar frets".
>
>Are they difficult just because of the size? Or are StewMac frets an
>issue in general?
PMFJI - I never had any particular difficulty installing Stewmac
frets.
Alan