Hammering Vs Pressing

[DrummerDude]

I read somewhere that hammering the frets in with a rubber hammer (as opposed to pressing them with a fretting press) bears the risk of making the fret slots on the fingerboard more loose ans sloppy.

Do you think that pressing is supperior to hammering?

Also, do you think that adding glue is essential and 100% necessary when doing a hammered fretting job (this is what the article said - to avoid future loosiness, huh)?

Share your thoughts on hammering and pressing, guys.

I dont' have my own opinion because I've always used a hammer and superglue.

Never touched a fretting press in my life.

[fryovanni]

I dont' have my own opinion because I've always used a hammer and superglue.

A very simple answer. How has your work turned out? If your technique is good and your frets are seating well then a hammer works great. If your not happy with how your frets are seating then a fret press can be a reliable alternative.

Peace,Rich

[Mattia]

Both can give good results, but pressing is more idiot-proof.

Also, if I use any glue, it tends to be titebond. Superglue only to hold fret ends down when I'm doing a bound fingeboard.

[Daniel Sorbera]

Both can give good results, but pressing is more idiot-proof.

Also, if I use any glue, it tends to be titebond. Superglue only to hold fret ends down when I'm doing a bound fingeboard.

+1

It's much easier to achieve a perfect fret job with pressing them in. Remember to use titebond because you need to be able to pull the frets out for a refret.

[WezV]

Both can give good results, but pressing is more idiot-proof.

which is exactly why i press them in

[biliousfrog]

I've just done my first neck & pressing them in was a breeze...fast, clean, quiet, easy & the results were perfect apart from one fret that I had to do again.

[DrummerDude]

I dont' have my own opinion because I've always used a hammer and superglue.

A very simple answer. How has your work turned out? If your technique is good and your frets are seating well then a hammer works great. If your not happy with how your frets are seating then a fret press can be a reliable alternative.

Peace,Rich

I am happy with my hammer method (at least there were no any frets that got loosened in the past sixt months, hope they will not loosen up with time and with the humidity changing and making the fretboard move a bit).

My hammer fret job looks rock solid. I can't imagine how those fret slots would loosen up.

It is just that I read a lot of different and often contradictory stuff on the net. I wanted to see what more experienced people think on the subject.

[SwedishLuthier]

started out using a hammer. I was happy with that until I tried pressing frets. There is nothing that can beat the “thud” sound of a fret going down into a perfectly sized slot. I have much more even frets and much less leveling to do afterwards with pressing.

Regarding glue (and this is a slightly controversial, strictly personal, opinion):

The use of glue is in most cases completely unnecessary!

If you need it on new fretboards, your fret slots have been cut with the wrong sized saw, or your work is sloppy. Do it again and do it right. On all of the refrets I have done I have only had the need to use glue on one single fretboard. And that had WAY to big slots. I would have preferred to get a tool similar to the fret expander Stewmac sells, but I (the customer) was in a hurry so I didn’t have time to wait for the delivery. And I have never had the need for that ever after.

[Southpa]

I sort of hammer them in, . Of course, steel on steel is not the way to go. A small brass hammer or hard plastic hobbyist's hammer is easier on the fret crowns. Now I use an aluminum block between the hammer and frets. The aluminum is more malleable than steel so it won't mess up your crowns. I start at one end and roll the block over the top of the fret while tapping. When I saw a bottle corker at a garage sale one day, I considered how often I would be using it as I used to make wine. I figured it would just be lying around most of the time but now that I think of it I could have easily converted it into a fret press. My bad.

[Setch]

Like Peter I was very happy with hammering, until I tried pressing. The whole process is eaisier, smoother, fatser, quieter, and I get better results.

The noise issue is particularly important, since I can now fret in the evenings and early mornings without enragaing the rest of humanity.

[Prostheta]

I agree with the press side of this as there's no real learning curve. If you want the visceral feedback of hammering then put up a fence, or go kill a neighbourhood chav.

[westhemann]

believe it or not...i used to press them in,but now i use a hammer(plastic tip)

i get the same quality,but less cumbersome.but i do glue my fret ends(ca glue)

i have had zero problems with either method

[soapbarstrat]

*rubber* hammer ? Not a good idea. You don't want anything acting "spongy" when installing frets. Hard plastic is as close as I'd get to rubber.

I get best results with a press. But it's a handheld press clamp. Doesn't make any "thud" noise, so I guess I'm missing out on that. Maybe those "thud" type noises are more from the tool doing the pressing, rather than sound the fret itself is making ?

The fret-wire I use these days is part of why I like the press method. The wire is very clean and precise, and so I want to install it in a "clean and precise" way.

I still have some Dunlop wire that's not made as well, and just looking at it, makes me want to use a hammer on it

(a METAL hammer) . I guess the cruder looks or that wire just kind of set the stage for a more barbaric installation method.

But, I just avoid using that wire most of the time, so it's pretty much all pressing for me. Sometimes I get the urge to hammer when watching that video where Mike Stevens is hammering frets with the neck resting on a old piece of railroad track. But, when I hammer, it means the frets need to be leveled more, which means more re-crowning work. I just never mastered hammering. Or at least, never got the precise results with it, that I demand.

I like the idea of having a fret caul mounted on something that works like a mini jack-hammer to put frets in.

[Marcovis]

I was hammering my frets until last year when I bought a fret press.....I'll never go back.

[Bertbart]

I've been hammering frets for over 35 years. I use a rawhide mallet. I also use CA glue. One drop on each end and the middle. I believe the trick is proper fingerboard prep work and make sure the slots are cut deep enough and I scrape each slot with a thin stainless piece of steel about .020 thick to be sure there is no sanding dust or debris of any kind in the slot before starting.

As far as pulling frets I have never had any problems with pulling the frets when using CA. I simply heat the frets with a soldering iron and I use solder to get a better heat transfer. When the fret is hot enough the CA vaporizes. I usually have a fan at my back to avoid the fumes. Note of caution when heating frets on a bound fingerboard beware of getting the fret to hot as celluloid binding will vaporize where it touches the fret. I stay away from the edges if suspect celluloid.

I did however order the fret press caul and insert kit from Stewmac just yesterday. I'm willing to learn a new trick. I think pressing stainless fret wire is the way to go. Hammering stainless is difficult unless you get the fret wire radius matching the board radius dead on. Over radiusing the fret wire does not work well with stainless like it does with nickle-silver wire.

[Acousticraft]

Have a look on Youtube and you will see most guitar factories hammer them in. I have always used a nylon faced hammer to tap them in without marking them. Bound fingerboard fret ends need to be glued with super glue to stop them lifting and moving. I have never had to glue unbound fretboards so far.

[biliousfrog]

Have a look on Youtube and you will see most guitar factories hammer them in. I have always used a nylon faced hammer to tap them in without marking them. Bound fingerboard fret ends need to be glued with super glue to stop them lifting and moving. I have never had to glue unbound fretboards so far.

Really? I've found the exact opposite, that most factories press them in...I've seen some luthier's hammer them but they're usually old-school, one-man-bands rather than factories. I doubt that many factories would want someone to spend half an hour or more hammering when they could press them in in a few minutes.

[Prostheta]

If a luthierie is releasing a video giving insight into their "tools of the trade", i'm sure that showing somebody hammering in frets looks a lot more old-school and "desirable" than a chimp whanging frets in using an arbor. Maybe i'm biased against marketing, knowing how it works to manipulate your perceptions. Anyway. I think that on the face of things, hammering in frets makes luthiers look experienced and confident which leaves an impression on your mind of attention to detail, care and consideration.

Personally, I love the Taylor factory tour where they make no bones about CNC machines, automated spray booths and all the advanced manufacture procedures which improve potential error margins hugely, and make what used to be boutique craftsmanship down to earth. Of course, boutique craftsman make one-off creations, whereas manufacture is geared to quantity....

I digress. I believe that pressing is as good as hammering, but this is dependant on who bears the hammer or the press. A badly slotted and prepped board will suck no matter how good the fretting. Whatever works for the luthier to achieve the same end result shouldn't matter unless you're severely suffering from obsessive-compulsive guitar manufacture disorder.

[fryovanni]

I digress. I believe that pressing is as good as hammering, but this is dependant on who bears the hammer or the press. A badly slotted and prepped board will suck no matter how good the fretting. Whatever works for the luthier to achieve the same end result shouldn't matter unless you're severely suffering from obsessive-compulsive guitar manufacture disorder.

You nailed it. Both methods are acceptable. I got used to hammering, but see the benifit in the press(elegant solution). There is no advantage in using a hammer over using a press(unless you have difficulty supporting the neck properly-*maybe in the heel area of an acoustic). However you go about it slotting, cleaning slots, proper slot depth, fretboard prep, using the proper kerf/tang combination and so forth are going to make or break the results.

Peace,Rich

[P90]

Those of you pressing them in, you're using one of those tabletop-size arbor presses? (about 1/2 ton size or so)

[soapbarstrat]

Don't know how many tons my car is, but I lay the neck on the drive-way. set the frets on there, then run over the neck. Tires conform to any fret-board radius.

Or, if I'm not in a big hurry, I use my modified "F" clamp fret-press, that I really really like. Probably the best kind of press for me, because I like to leave each fret clamped for a few minutes.

I like for the guitar to stay still and the tools to do the moving.

Can't be bothered with the table top arbor press unless one would show up for $10.00 to $15.00

[DrummerDude]

Don't know how many tons my car is, but I lay the neck on the drive-way. set the frets on there, then run over the neck. Tires conform to any fret-board radius.

I simply lay the fretboard on a railroad rail and wait for the train to do the job - it's much more precise this way than using a car because the railroad serves as a guide and helps for better an dstraighter fretboard positioning.

It saves you gasoline money too. :D

[Mickguard]

I found a drill stand at a yard sale yesterday --this one's really nice, it's mounted on a geared shaft like a car jack, and there's a spinning handle (not a crank handle like my other one) so the press is really smooth and straight down.

I have the Stewmac caul and inserts, and I should be able to shape a holder for it that fits in the press.

Since the caul has a hinge that lets it rock back and forth, is it absolutely necessary that it sits perfectly straight in the press? (I'll try for that, of course...)

I figure I'll practice on a beater board, that way I'll get an idea of how much pressure I'll need.

Also, my guitar teacher invented his own press--I think he adapted a vise for that, I have to go by his place to check it out.

[Mattia]

I found a drill stand at a yard sale yesterday --this one's really nice, it's mounted on a geared shaft like a car jack, and there's a spinning handle (not a crank handle like my other one) so the press is really smooth and straight down.

I have the Stewmac caul and inserts, and I should be able to shape a holder for it that fits in the press.

Since the caul has a hinge that lets it rock back and forth, is it absolutely necessary that it sits perfectly straight in the press? (I'll try for that, of course...)

I figure I'll practice on a beater board, that way I'll get an idea of how much pressure I'll need.

Also, my guitar teacher invented his own press--I think he adapted a vise for that, I have to go by his place to check it out.

I'm not a bit fan of using my drill press for anything other than drilling (even drum sanding freaks me out a little, because the thing's not designed for lateral pressure, and occasionally the chuck decides it wants to fall off), so I'm going to try the fret pressing method outlined in the most recent edition of Guitarmaker (ASIA's publication) I got, which essentially uses toggle clamps to hold the pressing bit in place. One advantage is that you can lock the clamps in place if you're using a bit of glue for the fret ends, no need to hold things down. Another is that it takes up far less space than a dedicated arbor press - those things are cheap and readily available, but heavy and fairly bulky.

[biliousfrog]

you don't have the drill turned on when pressing the frets!