Beno Posted June 5, 2004 Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 Hi does anyone knows what could be a good replacement for fretwire? Tnks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted June 5, 2004 Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 more fretwire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted June 5, 2004 Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 more fretwire I guess he should be more specific. I don't know if he wants something other than fret-wire, or he wants to know a good brand of fret-wire. Some have used metal rod instead of fret-wire. Good brand of fretwire ? Stewmac's is ok. Dunlop doesn't seem quite as good as it used to be. I'm probably going to switch over to German made fret-wire. Not sure about the quality of ALLPARTS fret-wire. I asked ALLPARTS what country their wire is made and they wouldn't tell me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beno Posted June 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 LOL What i meant is what can be used other than fretwire. TNKS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted June 5, 2004 Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 you could always glue galvanized steel finishing nails to your fretboard! Umm... just out of curiosity, what's wrong with fretwire? Or you could just go fretless... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hy_dro66 Posted June 5, 2004 Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 What is your end goal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted June 5, 2004 Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 LOL What i meant is what can be used other than fretwire. TNKS. Ok, what is the reason you want to experiment with something other than readily available fret-wire ? In other words, what does existing fret-wire fail to do for you ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beno Posted June 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 I just want to know what other than fret wire can be used, just in case i don't find regular fret wire here where i live. I'm from Mexico. I can always buy it online shops. But just to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted June 5, 2004 Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 Ok, I understand. But, you really should try to buy fret-wire, because it would take pretty drastic design changes to use something else. As far as I know, the main problem with shipping products to Mexico is that Mexico wants to collect a large tax on the items, but that's just what I heard, I don't know how true that is or more details. Use the internet in every possible way to try to find, and buy fret-wire. There must be some guitar repair people and guitar makers in Mexico that have fret-wire. I hope you find some. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beno Posted June 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 Tnks man. One good thing is that i live like 3 hours from Laredo, Texas. If i can't get the fret wire here i may go over there and look for it or order it by mail to a friend's house in Laredo, Tx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted June 5, 2004 Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 I think you'd have to go with just the right diameter of nail, but then you'd have to cut slots in the fretboard that are much larger than they would be for fretwire. You'd also probably need to use epoxy to glue them in; i'm not sure if CA or Titebond would be enough to hold a nail in a square channel. Fretwire has barbs that stick out into the wood on either side of the fret slot channel; you don't have that with nails. The frets are not something you want to compromise on; it is the playing surface after all. I'd just scam some fretwire any way you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 If i remember correctly, Mexico manufacturers more guitars than the USA. There are LOTS of guitar makers in mexico. Even if import duties at 200%, it will still only cost you $30 for the right stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truerussian558 Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 yes fretwire is quite cheap and about 4 ft shal give you more then enough, (stewmac sells them in 2 ft things and lmi in 4ft rolls), Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 yes fretwire is quite cheap and about 4 ft shal give you more then enough, (stewmac sells them in 2 ft things and lmi in 4ft rolls), stewmac suggests 6 feet for a guitar....you will have some left over though...i used almost all of 6 feet for my seven string Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 4 feet can do the job, but I can't tell you how many times I was doing a neck, thinking 4 feet should do it, then after using up 2 2 foot pieces , I still needed one more fret, so I had to take that off another 2 foot piece. Since I buy wire in bulk now, it's no big deal, except I have to bend the last 2 foot piece that I just need one fret off of, and say if it's a 7.25 radius, it could be a while until I can use the rest of that piece. Also the fret-bending machine doesn't properly bend the very ends of the 2 foot piece of fret-wire, so you have to cut about an inch off the ends to avoid using the part that's not quite bent perfectly. If you are bending with pliers, 4 foot should do, but if you're driving 3 hours (that's some gas money spent these days), you might as well get 6 feet to be safe. Certainly not every repair shop will sell the wire to you, and many might not even have the size you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Page_Master Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 i say road trip it dude. you can pick up some peyote buttons on the way. [i'm not even sure if that is the right desert] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 Depends how good his car is. I once had the engine blow on my 69 VW in the middle of the desert. How ironic : I even had fret-wire with me (Dunlop 6000 and Stew Mac 148) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truerussian558 Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 yes fretwire is quite cheap and about 4 ft shal give you more then enough, (stewmac sells them in 2 ft things and lmi in 4ft rolls), stewmac suggests 6 feet for a guitar....you will have some left over though...i used almost all of 6 feet for my seven string i used 4 ft and it was on a classical width neck.... i have enough left over to redo one fret, but i wasnt generous with the extra bit, i try to cut right next to the fretboard right away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 like soapbar said...i usually cut the ends off because they are not radiused properly...i HIGHLY reccomend gettint 6 feet,especially on your first fret job where you are more than likely to make a mistake or two... also if you use a tang nipper(which i suggest) to clip off the tang before you cut the fret(prevents the tang from getting distorted),then you also lose a few mm each cut it is not worth accepting a sloppy job just because you don't have enough to do it right,and when you have to order another 2 feet because you didn't go with the reccomendations,then the shipping is going to cost you extra as well anyway...get 6 feet....it is worth it...after all,the fret job makes the guitar... i don't mean to be rude,but this does not look like a class fret job to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truerussian558 Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 ive redone the frets they look a lot nicer btw in the picture leveled, but ive rounded them, and i have made a lot more progress so dont post old pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 dont post old pics. but pictures of our work is how we know whether or not who we are talking to knows what they are saying,and it is less than a month old Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truerussian558 Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 a lot can happen in a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 well anyway...on my carvin neck...the first fret is 1 3/4" long...the 22nd fret is 2 1/4" long...so at an average of 2" per fret that is 44 inches for a 22 fret guitar...with 2 pieces at 2 feet a piece...that only leaves 1" that you can cut off the ends to get around the imperfectly radiused ends...and that means you need to be damn perfect with what is left over on a 24 fret guitar...no way...and on a seven string not happening either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 this is the best fret job i have done so far...used a little over 4 feet to do it...but when i am done with a fret job i have little 1/8" pieces all over the place because of how i use the tang nippers to cut the tang first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beno Posted June 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2004 Tnks guys i'll definetely buy the fretwire. And you're right, it's a most for a good job. Tnks, i'll be posting images of my guitar as soon as i start working on it, in about 2 weeks. Tnks all of you for your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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