Dunop Fret Cut

[rlrhett]

I see that Stew Mac sells a .023" saw for their fretwire (although they never give an actual dimention for the wire's tang on their site). I like Dunlop 6150 wire wich has a tang of .020" and a width of the tang barb of .031"

Do I use the .023 saw, which is wider than the wire but narrower than the barb. Should I get try to get a .020 saw (and if so, anyone have any suggestions as to where?) How much of a difference does three thousandths of an inch matter if the barb is so much larger?

Thanks!

[GuitarGuy]

.003" is a very small amount. It is the difference between somthing sliding in or being forced in, but with the tangs being .031" there shouldnt be a problem.

[soapbarstrat]

I've got StewMac's #155 wire, and the tang is .022", and barbs are .035" wide. A few thou can make a significant difference, but the kind of slot to tang match depends on many things. For example, lets say I have a neck here with .023" wide slots and the customer wants a fret-wire which has a .020" tang/ .031" barb. There's a very good chance I'm going to run my "fret tang expanding pliers" all along that fret-wire to make the tang a little wider. ( And I have the only pair of such pliers, that will put the exact same amount of expansion all along the wire-- at least I have the only pair that I'm aware of)

[daveq]

This is a little bit of a hijack but do you know what the actual crown height is on that #155 wire? I bought a bunch of it thinking it would be ideal for me but when I finally got it in my hands (it took about a week to get to me), the crown looked very short to me. The site says it's .050 but it just didn't look right. Of course, my eye sight isn't the best measuring tool but I was holding a piece of 150 next to it and it just seemed much taller.

I keep forgetting to measure it (with something better than my eyeball ) but if you happen to know if their site is accurate on that wire, please let me know.

Thanks!

[soapbarstrat]

If my memory is correct, I think it was .047" or .048" when I measured it. If you got some with a crown height closer to .040", they might have sent you #148

[ryanb]

Stew Mac does sell a .020 saw, if that is what you need. Part number 3598.

I wouldn't necessarily try to match the slot to the tang width exactly -- you will probably end up with too much compression (maybe not if you trim down the barbs). But there are lots of techniques for doing fretting ... and lots of tools for making slot A fit tang B the way your want.

Cut some test slots in scrap and do a test fit ... then you will know whether it fits right or something needs to change.