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Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on January 29, 2010 at 4:48am

I heard you can dip them in the thin stuff, and then glue them into slots. Never tried it. I used the hardwood, round ones. The flat ones are really mushy and die pretty fast.

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Permalink Reply by Randy Webb on January 29, 2010 at 4:51am

Im using hardwood square ones, but I dont use slots, they just glue flat to the fretboard.

Tried soaking one first, but it didnt adhear as well to the fretboard. What brand toothpick do you use?

I have some bamboo skewers, but they are pretty large around and I'd def. need to cut slots.

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Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on January 29, 2010 at 4:55am

I couldn't get the round ones to sit square with the pencil lines, so I sawed in a shallow ditch with a miter saw. Then the round ones nestle right in and stick better, too. You can even sand them down to get them all even and a little lower -- real fret dressing!

I just got the grocery store ones. The flat ones we get around here are more splintery and way softer -- and less consistent from pick to pick. But they sure make handy shims when you screw up a cut!



Randy Webb said:

Im using hardwood square ones, but I dont use slots, they just glue flat to the fretboard.

Tried soaking one first, but it didnt adhear as well to the fretboard. What brand toothpick do you use?

I have some bamboo skewers, but they are pretty large around and I'd def. need to cut slots.

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Permalink Reply by colin mcgrath on January 29, 2010 at 5:07am

what is ca glue? nevermind just googled it. can't delete post

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Permalink Reply by Randy Webb on January 29, 2010 at 5:12am

It's a super glue-ish kind of thing.
CA is short for Cyanoacrylate.

Lots of airplane model builders use it among others. Comes in different viscosities and it's made by different people. You can find it at hobby stores in the model section a lot of times.



colin mcgrath said:

what is ca glue? I usually use tightbond 3 and gorilla glue.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Breault on January 29, 2010 at 5:12am

I'm trying the hardwood round ones and what I did was; after marking the lines in pencil I took a fine scratch awl and scored over the lines. I was careful to come in from both sides towards the middle to prevent tear out of the grain, then used CA glue. I could easily feel the line with the tooth pick and they held very well.

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Permalink Reply by Randy Webb on January 29, 2010 at 5:22am

I went back to the toothpick thing cause they are so quick. I tried cotter pins, but they were such a pain to get smooth ends, it would have been just as easy to use real fretwire.

The only reason I havent used real fretwire yet, is it is impossible to find anywhere around here and Im not a fan of ordering something off the internet without having laid my hands on some of it before.

Guess I just need to bite the bullet, but filling cotter pins was so difficult that fretwire scares me. So for now it's toothpicks.

Dave Breault said:

I'm trying the hardwood round ones and what I did was; after marking the lines in pencil I took a fine scratch awl and scored over the lines. I was careful to come in from both sides towards the middle to prevent tear out of the grain, then used CA glue. I could easily feel the line with the tooth pick and they held very well.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Breault on January 29, 2010 at 5:33am

I feell your pain, there is a retired/part time luthier in my community that I can get a few things from but he never wants to charge me and I feel guilty just walking out with stuff. I always give him something.

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Permalink Reply by rich gallagher on January 29, 2010 at 5:55am

ditto on c b gitty - easy to use size in small amounts - great service

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Permalink Reply by Jkevn on January 29, 2010 at 7:09am

Any concerns you have about ordering off the internet should be eased by using a fellow member and all around great guy, (ok, that last part is a bit of a stretch...) CB Gitty sells in quantities small enough to get ya a taste for the real stuff without breaking the bank. I've bought from him as have several others, I don't think you will find a complaint among the lot.

I agree that the toothpicks add a certain old-timey home-made feel.....just don't expect them to be something they aint.
As a long time hold out, I will have to admit....the real fret wire brings a whole new dimension to the look and playability of the finished instrument.

Try it...if you aint happy with his stuff, I'll buy it from you.

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