Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on February 5, 2012 at 9:38am

Sandpaper dude. Stew Mac sells those fancy nippers for rebating the tang for binding but I just rebate em with a dremel cut off wheel and a steady hand. Stew Mac got real nice stuff but any time I wanna order a $20 tool my order quickly swells to $250 cos of all the other cool shit they got

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Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on February 5, 2012 at 10:54am

I use something like: http://www.harborfreight.com/7-inch-professional-diagonal-pliers-94... BUT I grind the backside (side closest to the work) flat so the blade has no bevel on that side. This makes a real flush cut with no nip on the wood. I saw this trick on a luthier site.

Oh and I have a flat medium bastard file blade attached to a strip of wood with JB Weld which I file the ends flush, then I sand to a polish.

-WY

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on February 5, 2012 at 11:09am

So you guys never have the problem with the fretboards shrinking allowing the fret ends to stick out after you have sanded them smooth once already?

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Permalink Reply by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on February 5, 2012 at 11:23am

Dan.

I can't see how the problem is the frets. If they are x long then that is how long they are, irrespective of how they got to be that length. The issue is the fact that the wood that you are using isn't completely dry (kiln dried isn't really dry in many cases) when you make the neck and subsequently it shrinks. It might be the neck or the fretboard or both. Old wood rules. Long live recycling. If you can't source recycled wood (you don't have a rubbish dump near you or anywhere that sells old furniture?) then buy wood a couple of years in advance, cut as near as possible to size and leave somewhere in the house.

All the best.

John

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on February 5, 2012 at 2:05pm

Yep.  dont buy wood.  its all around you

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Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on February 5, 2012 at 2:25pm

Yup. I agree with John. I have a fretboard whose frets were at one time very well dressed and flush. Happens tho that the wood shrunk and I have ends sticking out. I have to now file them down.

-WY

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Permalink Reply by JUJU on February 5, 2012 at 8:07pm

i have both the Fret Cutters and fret Tang Nippers - the Fret Cutters are used for cutting the ends of the Frets flush to the edge of the fretboard but you still have to file them Flush to the fretboard then dress the ends of the frets  - the Fret Tang Nippers remove the fret Tangs only and these are used mainly for fitting frets in a Bound Fretboard but they can be used in a regular neck if you just want to nip the Tang back slightly and fill the end of the fret slots to blend them into the fretboard/neck a has been said the Fret Tang Nippers aint cheap but they work real quick i have done it the hard way in the past using files , Dremel ect ect and it's a time consuming feat - if you intend doing mainly Bound Fretboards then invest in some but otherwise just Grinn and bear it ! - also as Johm M said use dry wood - wood that shrinks back is no good for instrument use be it a regular guitar or CBG - wood shrinks accross the grain not the length thats why your fretboard shrinks accross the width exposing your fret ends

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on February 5, 2012 at 9:16pm

yeah, you know what, id be pretty worried if my fretboards were moving or changing shape after i made an axe.  Im pretty quick at rebating the tang with the dremel wheel juju, takes seconds.  I do em all the time when i do partial frets

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Permalink Reply by Mark Bliss on February 6, 2012 at 1:20am

Occasionally even with "commercially built" guitars I find the fret ends sometimes become slightly exposed and prone to uncomfortable snagging as the wood shrinks slightly over time and in very dry conditions. But it only takes a few light passes with a flat file and a light touch up with a fret dressing file and then a little minor polishing and they are as good as (or better than) new.

I find the bound finger boards to snag even worse, and a lot of work to carefully round the fret ends and finish to my satisfaction. Although it can be a "pretty" detail, I dont really care for it as far as playability goes. I'll take a traditional plain fingerboard that has been carefully leveled and prepped every time. I have a bound neck on the shop table right now I would like to use for kindling. I really might saw through the binding and re-fret it traditionally just to fix it "right" for playability. It would sure save me some tedious time! I am aware that some guys are rounding the ends in a special vise then installing them, which has a nice effect if fitted properly, but its way to much work compared to a traditional fret job IMO.

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on February 6, 2012 at 1:39am

I usually nip the ends off with a pair of very good quality snippers, then go along the whole neck with a very large file then glasspaper in a block, then dressing off with a small file.  A good test is run a duster along the edge of the fretboard to check if there are any little snags.  Shrinkage should not be a problem if lemon oiled or painted over with a coat of polyurethane. (-: 

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Permalink Reply by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on February 6, 2012 at 8:22am

Actually, one last point from me on drying wood. Even wood that has been air dried for a number of years outside may not be as dry as it will become once inside the home (this certainly seems to apply in soggy old England). Bring wood inside (already cut near to size) for a couple of weeks before working it (longer if it is a thick piece). Of course this should not be necessary with wood from old furniture that has already spent many years inside.

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