Arbor press attachment

[killemall8]

So, i want to get an arbor press for frets.
I found a good one through grizzly.

How do you attach the fret caul to its shaft?

[curtisa]

Here's what I did with mine:

Remove the vertical ram from the press and mark the centre of the end face. Use a centre punch to locate where the caul will insert into the end of the ram. Use a drill press and table vice to hold the ram vertically and drill vertically down through the end of the shaft, deep enough to take the shank of the caul (3/8" diameter?). Use a low drilling speed, advance slowly, use cutting lube.

Remove the ram from the vice and lay it on it's side. On the vetical face that would normally be facing the operator when the ram is in the press mark, drill and tap a hole that passes into the 3/8" hole you just drilled up the end of the ram - this will become the setscrew hole that, when a screw is inserted and tightened, will prevent the caul from falling out. I drilled a 3.5mm hole and tapped it for an M4 thread in mine.

I can post some pics if you like if anything isn't clear.

[killemall8]

That is pretty much what i figured. Where did you get the set screw you used? or did you make one out of a bolt?

[curtisa]

Just used a small M4 phillips head machine screw from my parts drawers. Doesn't matter that the head is proud of the surface, as long as it holds the caul into the ram.

[HuntinDoug]

I recently bought one of these. Kind of pricy, but it works great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm7kTtZ9inU&feature=player_embedded

[killemall8]

Eh, i would much rather press them in than use one of those.

[orgmorg]

it works just as well in a drill press if you have one

[killemall8]

I wish i had known that it wasnt much different than a drill press.

I got it last night, set it up today.

I was under the impression that it did all the pressure and force for you, with the power of the gear or something. It is no different than pushing them in with my drill press. I still have to press as hard as i can on it, which completely defeats the purpose.

[pan_kara]

isn't using a drill press for this bad for the drill press itself? I'm currently using mine to press frets in but I was thinking of doing the exact same thing as you (buy an arbor press, drill hole, install fret caul) just to take the strain of the drill press..

[killemall8]

That is the main reason i stopped using mine. I have used it for almost 7 years for fretting. But those hard woods like ebony seem to really put a lot of strain on it.

[XBIGJIMX]

This may solve your problem since your looking for an easier press. Change the handle to to 24"-36" I am not sure the size of the grizzly handle rod , but the end caps should come off to remove it. Go to your local Home depot or metal shop and get a cold rolled steel rod the correct length and swap them. Its the same concept as the mortiser machines (ex http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BX1JQU/ref=s9_hps_bw_g60_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_r=1EK2B64MSE1Z16E763PD&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1315755002&pf_rd_i=228437)which are much harder to press then frets. This should change the fulcrum ration to ease the pressure to press.

[jsullysix]

I wish i had known that it wasnt much different than a drill press.

I got it last night, set it up today.

I was under the impression that it did all the pressure and force for you, with the power of the gear or something. It is no different than pushing them in with my drill press. I still have to press as hard as i can on it, which completely defeats the purpose.

Having the same experience (somewhat of a lack of pressure). Going to try to dial it in a bit more, as my drill press has suffered from pressing frets with it over the years.

[killemall8]

This may solve your problem since your looking for an easier press. Change the handle to to 24"-36" I am not sure the size of the grizzly handle rod , but the end caps should come off to remove it. Go to your local Home depot or metal shop and get a cold rolled steel rod the correct length and swap them. Its the same concept as the mortiser machines (ex http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BX1JQU/ref=s9_hps_bw_g60_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_r=1EK2B64MSE1Z16E763PD&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1315755002&pf_rd_i=228437)which are much harder to press then frets. This should change the fulcrum ration to ease the pressure to press.

That is a good idea. I just put my handle all the way out.

After i finally used it to fret a neck, it seemed sufficiant. It wasnt as hard to press them in as a drill press.

Sully,

That is what i had been worried about. I have fretted around 85-100 necks in my drill press, a lot of them being bubinga and ebony. I am surprised it never started to show.