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Making and Installing Frets on your CBG

There are many ways to install frets on a CBG. Some CBG makers use toothpics, some use regular tang type guitar frets installed in a slotted fret board or directly into the neck material, and some use a wood burning tool as a position marker on slide type CBG's. You're mind is the limit!

I have a thing for using quality finishing nails. You can find them in just about every size, quality and also in brass, steel or even stainless. Finishing nails give you the look of a rustic home made CBG without going toward the standard guitar fret look.

Here is the way that I prefer to install them...

On this particular CBG, I used brass finishing nails with the heads cut off glued directly to an Oak neck. After measuring the width of your neck, cut the nails off slightly larger with a strong pair of nippers. Then, grind them down using a grinder to just a tad bit larger than the proper length. You want the frets extending past the sides of the neck, but just slightly.

After marking the fret positions on the neck or fret board, cut straight, shallow slots with a fine toothed hacksaw blade. A hacksaw blade is just about the right width for most finishing nails which are long enough to span a 3 to 5 string neck. You can make the cuts shallow or deep, so that the fret sits high or low. It's a preference that must be decided upon.

I finish the slot off with a small round rat tail or a large nut file. I then glue them into the slot with strong epoxy type glue. The best fret glue I have found is golf club shaft glue, which is very strong, and available at Golfsmith or at Golf Galaxy. (Yes, I make custom golf clubs too!)

After the glue dries, you can file the edges to about 30 to 40 degrees using either a belt sander or a file. I use the belt sander method, but this method does have a tendancy to chew up belts pretty quickly due to the rough and sharp edges of the frets extending past the sides of the neck. You can also ruin the edge of a nice neck or fret board very easily and quickly.

Another method is to use a fine file, and file each side of each individual fret which takes alot of time. Another way is to mount a file edgewise in a piece of wood a bit longer than the file, at the angle in which you want the edges of the frets to be (usually 30-40 degrees). You can then file the fret edges down by stroking the board mounted file lengthwise along the neck.

By Dragon

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wade on December 30, 2008 at 1:14pm

Thanks for the tip John. I tried super glue once and all the nails(frets) popped off! Any tips on applying the glue neatly?

Wade

Permalink Reply by John Sims on December 30, 2008 at 1:53pm

Use VERY sparingly...Oh yeah, one other thing or two, use a toothpick and dab small amounts into the groves in the neck or fretboard, not on the nail/fret. Then use acetone or some other solvent that cleans wet expoxy real good in order to wipe away any excess seepage from under the nail/fret material after pressing it into the channel.

Permalink Reply by John Sims on December 31, 2008 at 1:35pm

It holds up very well on the plated nails. Specialty hardware shops have real brass, but hard to find. I order them online. o problems yet, but with much use, the wear and tear would compliment any CBG!

Permalink Reply by bairfoot cajun on December 31, 2008 at 6:36pm

i have made good sanding blocks by buying a hand held belt sander belt ,cut it at the seam and glue it to a board of same with and same length with spray web contact cement. the board works better than a rubber block because it has no forgiveness to it and it makes edges a lot more accurate. you could have three different grits of paper on three boards and they would last a long time. my 80 grit works well with hardwood and metal like brass,aluminum,stainless,etc. it is great for cleaning up fret wire edges after they are installed in the neck. these block or board sanders are handheld so that you can be more careful fine tuning wood and metal. the size that you use is up to you, but the long ones are real handy for larger workings. i have three, 20 inch by 3inch blocks, 80 grit, 150 grit, and 220grit, been using them a long time. you can make about two and a half dollars a board last a long time this way. if you make one of these, remember, the block is only as good as the sand paper you glue to it. when i wear them out i will get three more belts and glue the new belts to the back side of the board and be ready to go again for a while. if you don,t want to clamp them down you can put them on a piece of carpet pad and it wont slide when you are sanding stuff cause the carpet pad is foam and rubber and it grabs on to the board. Stewart Mcdonald also sells these sanding blocks for$30 to$80 dollars apiece but the board is a piece of aluminum tubing. if you like to make your own tools you can learn a lot from the tools in a Stewart McDonald catalog. many good tips are found in Stewart McDonald catalogs,every one of them has a section that is called trade secrets,that is very informative. check it out you will be glad you did.

Permalink Reply by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker on January 1, 2009 at 6:53am

The one time I tried using nails on a one-string diddleybow/canjo, I had issues with the frets/nails being at slightly different heights, which caused some of the frets to buzz. Have you run into this? Is the only way around it using extreme care when cutting the grooves they rest in?

Permalink Reply by John Sims on January 1, 2009 at 7:11am

That's the key. Consistency in the depth. That's why I score a line using a hacksaw blade, or a fretboard saw mitre box, then use small round files (large nut files work good) to finish the grove. Also, fine grit sandpaper wrapped around the nail or a small piece of welding rod also works.

Permalink Reply by Mark Vickroid on January 2, 2009 at 5:35am

I like to use the metal from windshield wiper inserts for fretwire when I'm not using real fretwire.
The refil packs cost about $3, contain one blade with 2 - 2.25' stainless steel strips, which is enough for a couple guitars. Or just find some used ones, they're just fine too.
I take a hobby razor saw and use double-stick tape to tape a depth stop[square 1/4" or 3/8" scrap] to each side of the blade, which allows the blade to only penetrate about half the width of the steel from the wiper blades. This will ensure each slot is the exact same depth, and also helps to make the cuts perpendicular to the fingerboard surface. Two sets of locking pliers clamped right next to each other on the wiper insert and the bent opposite directions will cause the insert to snap with a nice square edge. Lay out your neck, cut all your slots using the razor saw with depth stops. You will probablly find that the razor saw is much thinner than the wiper inserts. After you've cut all your slots, use either a square needle file or a hacksaw blade to widen the slots, being careful not to make them any deeper.
A toothpick will serve to get some epoxy in to the slots, then use a small hammer to tap the pre-cut wiperblade metal in to the slots.

Permalink Reply by Mark Werner on January 5, 2009 at 5:01am

I have been using copper wire using almost exactly the same technique; looks like those brass finishing nails would be easier to work with; already straight and all....
You straighten the copper wire (this is the "ground" wire from standard house 3-conductor wire) by stripping out 6-8 feet and stretching it slightly. I clamp one end in a vise and wrap the other around a piece of pipe. You pull until you feel a slight "give" and viola!, it's almost perfectly straight.
I mark out the fret positions and then use a carbide hacksaw blade to cut the shallow slots; the rounded blade is almost the same profile as the wire.
I use JB Weld two-part epoxy, applied with a very pointed toothpick. Holds very well. I too tried superglue but it wouldn't bond to the metal.
It is tedious to get all the slots the same depth; you can use a short straightedge to compare between three-four frets at a time.

Permalink Reply by John Sims on January 5, 2009 at 8:05am

A fret end file tool can be made from a 2”x 4” block of wood. One edge is cut at a 30-degree angle, which is supposedly standard for finishing up the fret edges. I have read that some luthiers use as low as a 15 degree angle. Three to five wood screws with decent sized washers are then used to attach the file to the edge of the 2 X 4 that was angled. For a little extra rigidity, you can use hot melt glue along the length of the file, or even drill holes in the file and screw it directly to the wood block.

Permalink Reply by John Sims on January 8, 2009 at 4:16pm

One way I use is to cut your grooves and then file them to the correct depth, but don't glue them in. Then, I use a straight edge and lay it across the frets and the neck lengthwise, and you'll easily be able to see which frets are needing more filing in the groove portion, and which frets are filed too low, which means that you'll have to file the rest of the fret channels/grooves a bit lower, or add more glue (sometimes mixed with sawdust that matches the neck wood) under the fret...

C. B. Gitty said:

The one time I tried using nails on a one-string diddleybow/canjo, I had issues with the frets/nails being at slightly different heights, which caused some of the frets to buzz. Have you run into this? Is the only way around it using extreme care when cutting the grooves they rest in?

Permalink Reply by Vince Stark on September 25, 2009 at 1:17pm

Here's a link to to a place that has all kinds of metal stock... http://www.speedymetals.com/c-8202-square.aspx

John Sims said:

It holds up very well on the plated nails. Specialty hardware shops have real brass, but hard to find. I order them online. o problems yet, but with much use, the wear and tear would compliment any CBG!

Permalink Reply by c# merle on October 17, 2009 at 8:28pm

neat idea gonna try making one.
John Sims said:

A fret end file tool can be made from a 2”x 4” block of wood. One edge is cut at a 30-degree angle, which is supposedly standard for finishing up the fret edges. I have read that some luthiers use as low as a 15 degree angle. Three to five wood screws with decent sized washers are then used to attach the file to the edge of the 2 X 4 that was angled. For a little extra rigidity, you can use hot melt glue along the length of the file, or even drill holes in the file and screw it directly to the wood block.