lotass Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 or do I need to give stewmac more of my business? man ive bought from there 3 times now, paid 20$ in shipping, ridiculous. Anything else I might need w/my fret hammer so i can save on shipping? got my wire, my fretboard and my binding... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHowell Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 Why dont you press your frets? I made my own fret pressing caul. Cut the concave radius in a piece of hard wood(I mean firm, rigid wood that doesn't dent easily, not hard as in wood terms balsa is a hardwood) I then lined it with 3mm aluminium. Ive fitted it with a clip so I can simply clip it onto the jaws of my bench vise. Simply press the fret lightly in to the slot with your fingers or perhaps a light tap with a hammer on each end and press in with the caul. Works great. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 For a short period some time ago, Harbor Freight was selling these all brass head hammers that seemed like they'd be a great fretting hammer. I didn't buy one, because I thought they'd always have them. They also had a copper one. Now, as far as I know, the closest they have is a 'dead-blow" hammer with a brass face on one side. I heard the "dead blows" are not good for fret-work, so i don't want one of them. Stew mac ain't the only place to get a hammer for fretting. If you lay a piece of steel over the frets, you can use a regular steel carpenters hammer. Last time I hammered frets, I used a steel hammer, and I put a brass rod on the fret, and hit the other end of that with the hammer, worked quite well. It was faster than my pressing method, which is why I was experimenting with it, but I think I'll stick with my pressing method (could change my mind any second, tho) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 I made a fretting hammer with a brass head (and Birdseye Maple handle!) and it marked frets. I ended up going to a hardware store and got a nylon/plastic faced hammer for like $20. 8oz is a good weight to look for BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 Yeah the plastic faced hammers are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 KeithHowell, you don't have a picture of that set-up by any chance? I'm not sure I get it exactly and would like to see what that looks like. I'm also trying to find alternative pressing methods... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 I use a regular claw hammer or ball pein (which ever is handy) and a piece of oak. It was turned on the lathe to use as a sanding bobbin, so it's about 4" long by 1" round, with a 1/2" section comprising about out 1" of it length (this bit was to chuck in a handrill so it needed to be narrow). I rarely use it for sanding now, but I do use it for fretting. I sit the narrow end over the fret, tap down each end, then walk back and forwads accross the fret seating it perfectly. The first tap put a nice reverse indentation of the fret into the end, so it doesn't slip, and it's doesn't mark the frets at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 Here is the one I use $10 at Sears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 Here is the one I use $10 at Sears That's quite close to what I use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 I've always used a ball pein hammer. It was my grandfathers, and the handle is near petrified by now. I soaked the top part in CA, and ground the face flat, then buffed it to a mirror finish. The mirror finish is the key to not marking frets. If you can dent a fret with any mirror finish hammer the fretwire is too soft, or you're hitting too hard. But any roughness to the surface will mar the frets for sure. The flat section on mine is about 1/2" diameter on the small side. The big heavy top makes for a sort of "dead blow" action without the oil and shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotass Posted March 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 could you use a rubber mallet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLS Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 Why dont you press your frets? I made my own fret pressing caul. Cut the concave radius in a piece of hard wood(I mean firm, rigid wood that doesn't dent easily, not hard as in wood terms balsa is a hardwood) I then lined it with 3mm aluminium. Ive fitted it with a clip so I can simply clip it onto the jaws of my bench vise. Simply press the fret lightly in to the slot with your fingers or perhaps a light tap with a hammer on each end and press in with the caul. Works great. Keith Do you think the radius blocks from stewmac would work? And if so would i be able to press multiple frets in at once?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 could you use a rubber mallet? Sure, if you want to make a difficult task even more difficult. Even the hard plastic ones are too "bouncy" to suit me. Plenty of pros use a steel hammer : Mike Stevens Hideo Kamimoto T.J Thompson Martin Co Brian Galloup uses a brass faced on a video Anthony Lintner uses a brass hammer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 I think with a rubber malled you'd be looking to do a Three Stooges reenactment. You might break your glasses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotass Posted March 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 could you use a rubber mallet? Sure, if you want to make a difficult task even more difficult. Even the hard plastic ones are too "bouncy" to suit me. Plenty of pros use a steel hammer : Mike Stevens Hideo Kamimoto T.J Thompson Martin Co Brian Galloup uses a brass faced on a video Anthony Lintner uses a brass hammer so can you use a normal hammer(metal)?...I thought someone said it makes marks on the frets....whats better...plastic / brass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHowell Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 Do you think the radius blocks from stewmac would work? And if so would i be able to press multiple frets in at once?? No I don't think you should attempt to press all frets at once. The StewMac Radius blocks are to long, but you could cut a slice off the end, about 16mm (5/8") should do,and use that. Phil I'll try to post a picture or two of my fret pressing setup. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 a metal hammer needs to be ground and polished very smoothly, PLUS you have to use it the right way. The hard plastic would be better for you, if you don't want the hassle of buying or making a properly customized metal hammer. Or if you think you want to modify a metal hammer you already have, make sure you listen to Frank's good advice above. Maybe having some experience in auto body repair helps (was supposed to be my career many moons ago). In fact, photos I've seen of a fretting hammer used by the CF Martin Company look like the hammer is actually a hammer for auto body work. I've heard of small (maybe medium too) carpenters hammers being used for tapping frets in, but again, the strinking face of a metal hammer must be ground and polished very smooth . An article in an old LMI catalog says with a brass hammer, it's preferred that the face of the hammer is slightly rounded and the edges tapered (whatever exactly that means). I know from experience that you can use an unmodified metal hammer for fretting if you lay something over the frets, like a piece of flat steel (with rounded edges) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Bit Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 Post pulled by author. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 LOL.. That's probably the cheapest thing Stew Mac sells.. You guys do realize it's only 13.95 for the Stew Mac one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 There's a link there (article), where Gene Imbody explains how to hammer. I can tell by reading it, that he doesn't have much experience hammering frets. Especially when he says : "The hammer head should make solid contact with the fret, seating it with only one blow. The act of repeated hammering produces a spring-back effect on the neck, and this bouncing leads to poorly-seated frets. " You can't avoid some "spring back" because the area under the fret is wood. And if you ever watch the typical hammer-in job, they have to use a series of several taps, working the fret into the slot, little by little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotass Posted March 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 hmmz I just got a ball-peen hammer (8oz) ..it's got a polished rounded end.....will this work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickleweaseler Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 I haven't used a ball-peen hammer for fretwork, but I think that it would be challenging to use the ball end to hammer in frets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 The ball pein is too rounded. It will dent the frets because all the pressure is isolated to one little part. You should grind a flat spot in the round head and buff it. My spot is about 5/8" in diameter and very slightly convex with rounded shoulders so no matter how I come down it doesn't put a dent in the fret. Except a couple times when I came down off to one side it put a little scrape on the side of the fret that came out in the buffing. As for seating the fret in one blow, the only way I know to do that is by pressing them in If you seat a section all the way you've just kinked the fretwire and then even if you seat the rest of the fret perfectly there's a deformity to the crown in that part. I tap across, seating the fret little by little without really taking the radius out of it. Sometimes with Ebony you have to give it a good whack or two in stubborn areas. Even then I don't dent the frets. That's why I said if you dent the fret with a flat polished surface you're hitting too hard or you have a weak batch of fretwire. I only dented fretwire my first few times as I was learning the ropes. You know, hitting harder because it wasn't "seating" only to realize it was springing out, and each time I hit it, it was just getting springier. Stuff like that. It wasn't the hammer's fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotass Posted March 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 i dont know if mines too rounded....its round and then the end looks a bit flatter..make any difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotass Posted March 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2004 erm was just looking through Melvyn Hiscock's book and BAM his picture is shown using a ball peen hammer......if Melvyn is using one, im pretty sure it'll be fine (he's using not the ball end, the other end). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.