madhattr88 Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 (edited) I used jumbo fretwire for the first time on my current build. It was already bent for a 16" radius. I've never had a problem with normal wire, but when I hammer it into the slots, the edges don't want to seat on my 12" radiused board. I can get a .005" feeler gauge under the ends. So should I tear them out and purchase a fret bender or a 12" radius caul for my drill press? Or just let it go? What SHOULD I have done? What do u guys do? Purchase frets flat and bend them?? How?? Oh, I should mention I do fretting last, after the neck and body are glued together and the board has been leveled I was thinking of buying that stew Mac fret bender (can opener thingy) I did see the tutorial page and checked out the homemade wood bender. Not to keen on that. Thanks guys!! Build On! Edited November 28, 2010 by madhattr88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 I would clamp the ends down and wick in thin CA to hold them...if you don't have binding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhattr88 Posted November 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 I would clamp the ends down and wick in thin CA to hold them...if you don't have binding. That might be tricky, the guitar is fully assembled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Not as much as you might think...but you should take the strings off at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 When I fret I use the radius block to glue the frets on. I radius the board and level it then fill the slot with super glue, put the fret in and slide the hammer across it (I don't hammer frets in) then I take squeeze clamps and clamp the radius block on over the fret until the glue dries. That way you can do about 4-5 frets at a time and have them dry in the exact radius the fretboard is. If I had pictures I would put them up, my process is kind of hard to explain I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Some of the first things to check when you refret is fret tang and the old slot size. Obviously the two were different. This requires a feeler gage and dial indicator. now depending on the wood species its not always just hammer in the frets and your done. Ca placed in the slots first will help but having the correctly sized fret tang for the slot to begin with is more important. A test fitting will help solve the question will it work as not every situation is the same, such as species of FB age and other refrets that may have been done.. A fret tange resizing tool would be a better suggestion over other tools you mentioned. A fret press sure helps especially if this is your first fret job as hammering takes some skill and basic fretting knowledge of how a fret works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mender Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 The frets need to be curved at a tighter radius that the board you are fitting them to. For a 12 " radius board, the frets should be bent to about 11" radius, otherwise you will have an incredibly hard time getting the frets to follow the curve of the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Were the slots fully bevelled before installing the wire? If you can get a feeler under the fret at the *end* then it sounds like the wire isn't fully seating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhattr88 Posted November 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Were the slots fully bevelled before installing the wire? If you can get a feeler under the fret at the *end* then it sounds like the wire isn't fully seating. Exactly. So should I tear them out and redo it? I did not bevel the fret slots. Totally forgot. Ugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Definitely. You can't hammer them home to make up for a lack of bevelling as the wood will just spring back up and unseat the frets making everything uneven. Pull 'em, clean up the slots, bevel and since it's now technically a refret use a little CA as Wes, Ryan and Spoke mentioned. Pressing is also probably for the best since CA flies a fair bit if you hammer frets. At the least it gets onto the board, and the worst it gets into your eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 (edited) Definitely. You can't hammer them home to make up for a lack of bevelling as the wood will just spring back up and unseat the frets making everything uneven. Pull 'em, clean up the slots, bevel and since it's now technically a refret use a little CA as Wes, Ryan and Spoke mentioned. Pressing is also probably for the best since CA flies a fair bit if you hammer frets. At the least it gets onto the board, and the worst it gets into your eyes. Adding to the CA getting on the board, that stuff isn't fun to try and clean off it either if it gets in the pores. I made a fretboard out of ash and with the deep grain in ash it filled the grain right up around the frets and gave the wood a darker look in that area. If you fill the slot and clamp them in like I mentioned the glue won't fly around. I also forgot to mention that I cut the slots a little deeper than the fret tang so the glue goes down and out the sides which can e filed off then when you bevel the edges. Edited November 30, 2010 by Juntunen Guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPA or death Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 I would lift them out and refret, especially since they weren't glued in the first place. Definitely bend the frets more than your FB radius, and put a little CA glue in the slots. I prefer to press frets in but if you hammer, do like Juntunen mentioned and clamp the frets down with a radius block. You should be able to glue them all in three or so steps depending on the length of the block. Don't be in a hurry and it should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhattr88 Posted November 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 I would lift them out and refret, especially since they weren't glued in the first place. Definitely bend the frets more than your FB radius, and put a little CA glue in the slots. I prefer to press frets in but if you hammer, do like Juntunen mentioned and clamp the frets down with a radius block. You should be able to glue them all in three or so steps depending on the length of the block. Don't be in a hurry and it should be fine. The fret slots were not beveled, the frets are. Also used a small amount of white glue. Maybe the radius of the fingerboard wasn't a constant 12" across the board. Still think I should tear them out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mender Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 I would lift them out and refret, especially since they weren't glued in the first place. Definitely bend the frets more than your FB radius, and put a little CA glue in the slots. I prefer to press frets in but if you hammer, do like Juntunen mentioned and clamp the frets down with a radius block. You should be able to glue them all in three or so steps depending on the length of the block. Don't be in a hurry and it should be fine. The fret slots were not beveled, the frets are. Also used a small amount of white glue. Maybe the radius of the fingerboard wasn't a constant 12" across the board. Still think I should tear them out? As I pointed out earlier, and IPA has mentioned, you need to bend the frets to a tighter radius. At the moment, your frets are straighter than the fretboard radius, which means they will not sit down, so you need to bend them more. To do that, they will have to come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhattr88 Posted November 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 I would lift them out and refret, especially since they weren't glued in the first place. Definitely bend the frets more than your FB radius, and put a little CA glue in the slots. I prefer to press frets in but if you hammer, do like Juntunen mentioned and clamp the frets down with a radius block. You should be able to glue them all in three or so steps depending on the length of the block. Don't be in a hurry and it should be fine. The fret slots were not beveled, the frets are. Also used a small amount of white glue. Maybe the radius of the fingerboard wasn't a constant 12" across the board. Still think I should tear them out? As I pointed out earlier, and IPA has mentioned, you need to bend the frets to a tighter radius. At the moment, your frets are straighter than the fretboard radius, which means they will not sit down, so you need to bend them more. To do that, they will have to come out. Will do. Thank u. U guys r the best!!!! Ever in eastern Pennsylvania, look me up. I owe u a beer! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 Will do. Thank u. U guys r the best!!!! Ever in eastern Pennsylvania, look me up. I owe u a beer! :-) Postal system not good enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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