Setch Posted January 20, 2007 Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 I finally got round to posting my home made fretpress on my blog: http://www.setchellguitars.co.uk/ant/blog/?p=160 Works very nicely, and the price was definitely right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 20, 2007 Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 (edited) I'm surprised you gave it chance to regain karma as I would force reincarnation with a hammer. Do you not have a drill press Setch? It would surprise me if you didn't. I use mine for fret pressing....very cool bit of kit though, especially since it was cheap as free! Edited January 20, 2007 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted January 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 Nope, no drill press. I have a benchtop milling machine which does all my drilling, but I don't want to use it for fret pressing - too many moving parts which have to remain accurate. If I get a drill press I might use that, or get a dedicated arbour press (they're very cheap) but I don't have the room at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 20, 2007 Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 You have a milling machine, but don't make any hardware? Tsk Anyway, cool! I'm going to do a version of the setup recently pubshed in 'Guitarmaker', using toggle clamps (the kind axminster/harbor freight/whatever sell). Advanage there is that you can press and lock the frets in place if you need to (f'r instance) glue down fret overhang on bound fingerboards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted January 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 Not yet. It's only a small mill, but it has the advantage of 17cm distance from head to column, which is more than most drill presses in the same size/price range. It means I can drill bridge mounts, strings thru etc on a small benchtop machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 22, 2007 Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 Got a brand? I keep meaning to replace my drill press (cheap) with a new one, might as well get a milling machine, but most of the ones with decent reach have anti-decent price tags. And then I read pages on doing CNC conversions. And then silly things start happening in my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted January 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 Mine is a clarke micro mill. Axminster carry an almost identical mill, but with the advantage of a tilting column, so you can do angled boring. Clarke Axminster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 These are the X1,X2,x3 mills made in China and available everywhere in the world with a different paint job :lol I've wanted one for building hipshot type bass bridges. Do you think they would be up to the task Setch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted January 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 I've done very little metalworking on the mill, but I've found it perfectly satisfactory for all the wood working I've done on it. The guy who sold my dad the mill said that these are great introductory tools, but if you plan on doing any serious metal working then go for something bigger. Not sure where making bridges comes, but it's probably best served by a bigger mill. I would expect to spend a while setting any new mill you get - my Dad and I completely dismantled ours, and a Clarke metal working lathe, removing all the anti rust goop which is ladelled onto them for transport. After that they seem to work pretty well, though the jib strips on the latheways need adjusting more often than I'd like. There's no obvious runout on the mill, and I have found it incredibly useful so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 There's a local company who sells the X2 (labled as Black and Red), for less than Aminster wants for it, but it's still about 500 euros (a little under). And there are about a million websites on converting them to CNC, from plans to complete retrofit kits, etc. Maybe once I've hidden away more wood (I've moved almost all of it to its final storage place, and damn it's a lot....), built a few guitars, used the hardware I already have, I'll get myself one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted January 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Sure. Wait till you've used up all your wood stash.... that'll definitely happen :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 I'm curious why you chose nylon for the cauls (Maybe you just happened to have it already, or you experimented with various materials and found the nylon to be the best ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted January 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 First guess wins - I happened to have some the right size, and also I wanted to experiment with machining it using router cutters in my milling machine. It's actually incredibly tough stuff - it's filled with glassfibre, and can be quite tough to work with. In time I plan to machine away the radiused portion, and cut in a slot to accomodate the stew mac fretting cauls, but for the time being it's working fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Very cool! Thanks for sharing that! Regards, Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 It totally will! Well, if I don't buy any more wood for the next few decades, anyway...I'm screwed, aren't I? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted January 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 I can think of one way to get rid of it... but I'm not sure where I'd put it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 I can think of one way to get rid of it... but I'm not sure where I'd put it Which reminds me, I finally took my camera along, so I should probably go take some pictures of the new shop, now almost fully loaded with timber. And hopefully start on a new project this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cr_XD Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 hi, do you think wood would be a good material for the pressing piece?? what other materials appart from that you think could be used? i think stew-mac uses a metal the clain softer than the nickel frets, what you guys think?? thanx, bye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 Nope, no drill press. I have a benchtop milling machine which does all my drilling, but I don't want to use it for fret pressing - too many moving parts which have to remain accurate. If I get a drill press I might use that, or get a dedicated arbour press (they're very cheap) but I don't have the room at the moment. I'd recommend picking up a cheap ($15-20) arbor press from harbor freight. I brook my drill press (a pretty decent one too) pressing frets in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 I was at harbor frieght looking at the arbor press and it didnt have a hole to attach the caul into, has anyone used one and how did you attach it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 I was at harbor frieght looking at the arbor press and it didnt have a hole to attach the caul into, has anyone used one and how did you attach it? You have to keep looking until you find a defective one that has a hole in it. I spent 8 months camped outside the arbor press factory in China hoping to get one with a hole. Trip was all for nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 O........K.... that was helpful, I see people recommend that press but has anyone actully used it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 I know he is being sarcastinc... that press is pretty much the standard to most guys here, all you have to do is either drill it yourself or take it to a machine shop and have them drill it for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 OK cool thats what I was thinking of doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 (edited) A "jaws 2" type bar-clamp press wipes out those arbor presses, in my opinion. Main reason is that it will do the whole board on a glue-in or neck-through. I managed to make one that works extremely well, for under $5.00 (But that's because I used discarded parts off a garage door opener and a car part for the tricky parts of it. Not joking, but don't want to reveal my design). Edited February 7, 2007 by soapbarstrat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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