Thought I might start a discussion around what kind of workspace cbg buffs craft their intruments. For those like myself,who rent in a small unit you couldn't swing a cat in,it can be difficult working without trashing the carpet etc.I'm sure some of you folks have work benches etc to make a newb like me salivate. I'll get the ball rollin and say I did my first build in the bathroom mostly, on top of the washing machine. And a coffee table by the T.V. I throw a big plastic sheet on the carpet under it to catch sawdust etc.Needless to say I have trashed the washing machine lid and top of coffee table.And a few old books to cut on. Come on folks.I am sure someone has a story bout makin a cbg in bed. Or in the Loo he he he

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Onya Darryl. Well I was gonna do a fret wire job this time round but seein as the width will therefore involve glueing, I take your tip onboard bout the braze rod. Have some 2% silver rod layin around.

Ha, during those two weeks I find it's best to keep my peace, but sometimes I just can't control the tongue. But I am not one to drool in front of the tv, or drink, or do drugs either. I will admit there was a time, but I put that long behind me.

 

Hi Guy's, yep the reason I suggested the using of a depth gauge on the side of the blade was I could see the saw getting blunted by the method suggested.

Pictured are the first saws I used in an effort to get the right size [width of cut]. I run the side of the saw over a file or a sharpening stone to thin them to the closest size I could get.

I would suggest getting the purpose designed fretting saw as shown in the Stumac catalogue. Its a Japanese saw with the side depth gauge fitted and its adjustable. I use it for custom fretting scales that I do not have a template for, so cant use my fretting machine. If you want good fret work you gotta have one. The other photo is of a group of saws I modified showing the Stumac slotting saw 2nd from top.

Hope this helps. Cheers Taff

     

Great saw lineup there Taffy. Do you think there is a market for my 'saw blunting device' he he he.Wonder if a bread knife be any good. Well in answer to my own question, the damned bread knife works great. Its a fancy surgical steel one that I bought ages ago. The advert for it showed a guy trying to blunt it on a marble block. I was sceptical it would still stay sharp. But it has. Gee, wish I had remembered I had it tucked away before I used a dovetail saw for preppin slots. Then again I should have checked out tang widths first. We live and learn.
P.s That ain't rust on the knife. I had it stowed away in a fishin tackle bucket I havent used in ages. So now I'm gonna cut me some fret slots with a bread knife with old dried fish blood on it. This is gettin crazier by the day he he he

Jonno,you can get a .023 Japanese pull saw at carbatec pretty cheap,then you just need to drill it and add a strip of teflon off a cutting board as a depth guage,if you intend to fret a few guitars,it's good value,and almost idiot proof

I got the japanese flush cut saw from harbor freight for 7 or 8 bucks that is .023. May be the same one you are talking about, since it is popular with these guys from here.That is one useful saw for the price. 

  I am going to do my first fret job like Jonno here. I don't have that special mallet, and I was just going to use super glue and some clamps and wood to get the frets into place without a hammer. I don't know if it is a good idea or not, but a guy at a music store told me that stew mac makes a press to push the frets down, so I figured some clamps and wood would do the same thing. How do you get the glue in the slot without being messy? I don't want to have to do too much sanding on the fret board. Since it will be my first fret job I am hoping for the best. 

PART,if your saw is .023,you should not need glue,frets should seat nicely,also,just very lightly tap with your hammer to start the frets,then use your hardwood caul and hammer to seat the fret,you could also make a mallet out of a hefty block of wood and a dowell handle,just practice a couple on a bit of scrap 1st

I tried the harbor freight pull saw, and although the frets fit and wouldn't fall out if turned upside down, they popped free easily when I tried to file their edges and had to use superglue.

The Irwin pull saw worked better, I set them with a no-mar mallot (Irwin again, has a yellow head and a red head) and they stuck fast.  but its a little flimsy and the ends of the fret slots occasionally flared.

I have learned the lesson of so many others, I'm going to order Gitty's saw, getting the right tool in the first place is cheaper than buying several wrong saws...

I tried a couple of test frets with that saw, and I barely needed a hammer to get them in. I'm going to try one fretboard with the glue and see how it holds up until I can get a better one. I did expect a tighter slot though. The fretting seems like the trickiest part to me. I have to admit I find it slightly intimidating since I have limited tools. 

I was going to say that the depth stop on my StewMac fret saw doesn't drop down low enough to matter (it's the American dovetail-style saw, not the Japanese one). But then I went and looked at the catalog photos and it occurred to me that the stop might be installed upside-down. (doh!) I'll have to check that when I get home.

Hi Again, I have always used  "Dead Blow hammers". The least amount of times I have to hit the fret the better, dead blow limits the bounce back. I use a brass head hammer also which limits any damage to the frets crown. Do you think that wooden hammers/mallets might absorb energy that might be better transmitted to the fret?.

Also pictured is my fret press, shop made but using proper radiused shoes that push the frets in.

I put the glue on the fret tang.  Not so much to glue them in [I always try for a good fret/slot fit] but to fill the void under the fret. However sometimes the fingerboard timber may not provide good holding power for the fret tang barbs, so glue is used for holding.

Oh, the bottom hammer has solder wound around it and the head will not bounce off of my vice even if dropped 6"/150mm with the handle held between finger and thumb.

Cheers Taff

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