fookgub Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Not sure if this belongs in tools, but I'll try here first. I built one of these yesterday. The guitar that I want to refret has a 10" radius, so I made my fretbender with a 7.5" radius, but I can't seem to get it to work right. The wire just springs back to almost straight instead of taking the radius of my bender. How is this thing supposed to work, anyway? Is it for straightening wire that comes coiled up? The wire I have came with no radius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz tradie Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Try this on for size. diy fretbender Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted July 25, 2006 Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 You may want to try bending the fretwire by hand first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted July 25, 2006 Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 What fret-wire are you using (company or supplier ) ? The harder wires spring back more. But, who wants to use the softer wires ?, even if they work better with super lame "bending" devices (like the one you are trying to use). Buy or build a real one. Did you know you can make the wire harder, by bending it to a tight radius (lets say 7"), then straightening it, and bending it again, about a dozen times ? ( I say dozen times, because that's what I've heard pros suggest to do, but I wonder what happens if you do it 100 times ? I have machines that make the bending and straightening real easy to do) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted July 25, 2006 Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 I'm a big fan of simplicity and I've said this before...unless you're doing production work or just want to make a fret bender for the fun of making one then get yourself a pair of fret bending plyers from stewmac. you don't need to bend to any certain radius..just enough so that the ends of the frets seat first when you install them. that can be done in about 4 seconds with the plyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz tradie Posted July 25, 2006 Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 How is this thing supposed to work, anyway? Is it for straightening wire that comes coiled up? The wire I have came with no radius. I think I and a few others have probably missed his point. I've never used/made that type of string bender , and can't really help, sorry. Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted July 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2006 I think I and a few others have probably missed his point. I've never used/made that type of string bender , and can't really help, sorry. Well, I am curious as to how Brian got this thing to work in the first place, but it's a moot point now that I've decided to build a "can opener"-style bender. Thanks for the link to that... I've seen it before, but had completely forgotten about it. I'll pick up the parts today on my way home from work. What fret-wire are you using (company or supplier ) ? Did you know you can make the wire harder, by bending it to a tight radius (lets say 7"), then straightening it, and bending it again, about a dozen times ? ( I say dozen times, because that's what I've heard pros suggest to do, but I wonder what happens if you do it 100 times ? I have machines that make the bending and straightening real easy to do) It's stew-mac #0148 wire. It came in 20" lengths in a plastic tube. Interesting comment about work hardening fretwire. I hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense. I don't think I'd want to bend it too many times, though, for fear of fatiguing the metal. Anyway, I'm going to make myself a pair of fret bending pliers so I can compare both methods. It'll be nice to have those for getting the radius exactly how I want it anyway. Thanks for all the comments, everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted July 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 (edited) Ok, finally got this thing working. It doesn't have a handle because the one I bought didn't stay on (even though it was supposedly 5/8"). It works fine without the handle anyway, so I don't really care. I originally made this from 1/4" MDF, but it felt cheap, so I made a new aluminium mounting plate for it. It went together easily enough, despite that fact that I screwed up the slot on the mill and had to touch it up by hand. I had a lot of trouble with it binding/unscrewing itself at first, but I solved that fairly easily with a combination of epoxy, threadlocker, and 3-1 oil. I wish I had taken a picture of some bent wire to prove it works, but you'll just have to take my word that it works quite well. I bought a pair of pliers and some 90 degree cutters today, so I'm looking forward to an enjoyable evening of grinding. Should have a pair of fret bending pliers and some flush cutters by the end of the night. Edited July 28, 2006 by fookgub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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