Fret Wire Cut Saw

[woodfab]

I was cutting fret  wire with a hand saw and found it a pain.

Well I made a fret cut saw which works well, and yes it took about 20 hours to make but I love it!

 

[Bizman62]

Finally, finally I remembered the name of the kids' cartoon: Lazy Lucy! She always spends a day to find an easy way to make a task that takes five minutes.

Not trying to belittle you or your works by any means with the above, on the contrary. Actually I almost envy your skills! And that you have a workshop where you can both make and fit all the tools you make.

The piece of measuring tape is simply clever as is the holder for the hank of fret wire. I measure my frets against the slot and cut and bang them in one by one which can be clumsy with the rest of the loop pulling and twisting. Not to mention that the saw cuts cleaner than pliers.

[henrim]

Nice one. Although I'm fine cutting the wire with pincers. I used to cut the wire with hand saw to avoid waste, but with my volumes I'm fine with pincers.

That said, if you incorporate a grinding wheel in your design that grinds the tang end at the same go, then I'm placing an order

[woodfab]

Quote

incorporate a grinding wheel in your design that grinds the tang end at the same go,

That's a good idea, don't get me going. Doing that in one step would save time.

 

[Bizman62]

7 hours ago, henrim said:

if you incorporate a grinding wheel in your design that grinds the tang end at the same go

That thought popped in my mind as well. Then I gave the idea a second thought, and a third and figured out that it may not be that good of an idea after all...

• It would be relatively easy to create a thick rotating blade shaped sort of like Y, that would cut the tang straight but slant or round the ends of the crown.
• It would also be easy to cut them to the desired length, matching the width of the fretboard.
• Seating frets of a precise length is much more difficult than making them overlap by a smidgen. Filing the frets flush with the fingerboard only takes a couple of minutes anyway.

[henrim]

I was thinking something that does the bulk work easily. I would cut them oversized anyway and finish with file once they are seated. Same goes with the tang, no problem if I had to do final 0,5mm by hand.

[Bizman62]

And... Of course I didn't understand what you were saying: Tang ends, not rounded crown ends.

Wouldn't a one-pass cutter with a tang end grinder require another cutting wheel on the underside?

[henrim]

2 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

Wouldn't a one-pass cutter with a tang end grinder require another cutting wheel on the underside?

Yes, that’s what I was trying to illustrate with my image comment. Have to admit it is not the most clear illustration

[Bizman62]

4 minutes ago, henrim said:

that’s what I was trying to illustrate with my image comment.

Bwaaah! I didn't realize that the käärijä-green round thing wasn't in the original photo! And I was this close  to ask @woodfab about that thing, thinking it's for locking the wire without risking your fingers...