Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bob Harrison on January 23, 2011 at 5:25pm

This is what I did.

Permalink Reply by alectron on January 23, 2011 at 5:49pm

I don't really know what I'm looking at

Permalink Reply by c# merle on January 23, 2011 at 11:26pm

yes you can use nails for frets - frets in this pic are 2 inch finishing nails, cut with pliers, and glued into a groove made with a triangle file. watch out though, sometimes the nails aren't as straight as they look

Permalink Reply by Bob Harrison on January 24, 2011 at 12:03am

I found that nails frets are more trouble than they are worth. I took standard nails and bent them on the ends and cut the heads and tails off with a Dremal cut off tool. The bend on the ends was done to help hold them on the fingerboard and to feel better on the hand. Then I cut a grove in the bottoms of each nail for epoxy to go. In the fret board I cut grooves to locate the nails. And was said earlier nails are not very flat or straight. All in all I found that standard frets work better for me, but they do look cool.



alectron said:

I don't really know what I'm looking at

Permalink Reply by Mad Mike's CBG's on January 24, 2011 at 12:58am

There's really no wrong way to make a CBG, but I think nails are a little hard core...Iknow folks have used them without hassle, so why not?

Permalink Reply by alectron on January 24, 2011 at 1:32pm

I just wanna get this project finished so I'm looking for a final verdict: Are they easier and/or more functional than normal frets?

Permalink Reply by alectron on January 24, 2011 at 3:24pm

I'm focusing mainly on easier, because this is only my 3rd build.

Permalink Reply by Bob Harrison on January 24, 2011 at 6:53pm

The easer way would be to go fret less and use a pen or wood burn tool too mark the divisions.. I think go frets as long as you have a saw too cut the slots. With nails as you can see from my photos theres a lot of things you still have to do, including leaveling them same as frets. For me it will be a long time before I use nails again. Hope this helps a little.

alectron said:

I'm focusing mainly on easier, because this is only my 3rd build.

Permalink Reply by alectron on January 25, 2011 at 3:20pm

I think I'll just try it.

Permalink Reply by Bob Harrison on January 25, 2011 at 5:47pm

It will be fun for you, I'll  be intrested to see what you end up with:)

alectron said:

I think I'll just try it.

Permalink Reply by alectron on January 25, 2011 at 6:13pm

I hate to say this, but it took me a really long time just to burn 'em in and I need to get this done by friday. so, unfortunately, I didn't use nails. But I will at least use normal frets on the next "nice" build. (I've got a few ideas for other builds that don't even need frets or quality)

Permalink Reply by G. B. on January 27, 2011 at 11:36am

I've done basically what c# merle did.  This is a short scale effort for the kids to play around with.  Not sure how it's going to turn out but it looks all right.  Leveled the nails/frets earlier today.  They do require a bit more work then frets but you can't beat the cool factor

Bob Harrison said:

It will be fun for you, I'll  be intrested to see what you end up with:)

alectron said:

I think I'll just try it.

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