Hello all,
I'm new to the forum obviously. I am currently working on my 2nd 6 string electric. I have some photos uploaded to this page here (BWW):
http://www.bokken-art.com/666string.htm
I did my finished my first bass about 10 years ago. It was a project spread out over a five year period. The only operation I didn't perform was the pressing and dressing of the frets. Although I would really like to do this on my current bass. I am hesitant because the project is going along very well and I'm worried about screwing this up.
I was wondering what techniques you guys would recommend. I am a competent wood worker and I have a bit of machining experience. I also have stainless fret wire for the job. TIA for and suggestions.
Regards,
Justin Britton

Very nice job........unique shape. I like it. And I say, go for it on the frets, it's not terribly hard. I'm sure folks will chime in on the best way to do it. I just used a fret saw from stewmac and drew lines and went for it.

Thanks for your response. My fretboard is already slotted. I'm trying to figure out the best way to press the fret wire in, and dress them properly.

Do you want to invest in a good arbor press that you can use on all your future projects? I dunno if you can afford it, or if you want to build more of thee WILD basses, but if you get an arbor press from, say, www.grizzly.com, you can make blocks to rest the neck on, then just squeeze those frets in. No hammering.

Lemme look one up for you...


Like this. Affordable at $55, but definitely sized for the application:

G4018 1 ton arbor press (http://www.grizzly.com/products/G4018)

http://images.grizzly.com/grizzlycom/pics/jpeg288/g/g4018.jpg


Just make a pressing block, say, out of brass, with the same radius as your fretboard, and a shallow groove to hold the fret, then away you go. Or, just a hardwood block would also work.

That looks pretty straight forward. My only question would be how one keeps the fret wire from tipping/buckling under the brass cawl. The only solution I can think of off the top of my head would be cutting a relief slot in the cawl to somewhat seat the fret wire while pressing.
Thanks,
Justin

Yeah, that's the shallow groove that I mentioned. Keeps it from wiggling too much or rocking and flopping over.

Yes great looking guitar. Whatever method you try, use a trial piece of wood, similar wood, similar slot size and fretboard curve, same fretwire. To try a hammer in, precurve the wire to same curve as board (stewmac tool) or overbend the wire so the ends sit in a little more than the middle. (if the wire is supplied in a coil this is easy, if it's hard and supplied straight you'll need to prebend (stewmac tool). Use hammer with care, ideally hard plastic or brass faced, but try your pin hammer with care first, it's just a practice. Hold down the overhanging ends throughout (finger and thumb) to resist springing out and tap in the ends before the middle. Try a few. Your experience on the trial piece will tell you if it's good for you and you'll get better as you go. The hardness and brittleness of your chosen wood, the slot width and match to wire can make this a hit or a miss. If it works well it's surprisingly quick. If you have one rogue that pops out, go on to the others and come back to it. (you might need superglue, a curved plate and a clamp for this situation, careful not to push it too hard into the fingerboard if you go this way. Have you made the board a single radius or a compound radius? Single radius is better suited to the press approach. Just try on something that doesn't matter, before you go for the real thing.

Thank you for the info Geoff. I will be giving it a shot this weekend. I will let you know how it goes. Are there any tricks that will help me dress the frets once thay are set? Thanks again.
Regards,
Justin

People use different things to top dress the frets, a file (I don't like, too aggressive, rarely flat) a fine 8" oilstone, dead flat (you can true a used one on plate glass with a little carborundum powder) or various grits of wet and dry (240 and finer) spray mounted to plate glass (e.g. 8" x 3" x 1/2"). Whatever you do go easy, you can't put the metal back.

Someone else can tell you about getting the neck straight and supported ready for work and the shape you are aiming for with your flatted frets (neck relief and fallaway)

My tip is act with intention and monitor what you're removing. To do this I:
1. masking tape between the frets (protects board from any oily mess from even a dry oilstone)
2. draw thin lines on the tape end to end, where the strings will run
3. "blue" the tops of the frets with indelible / waterproof pen
This helps ensure you top the frets in line with strings and don't ride up and down the camber of the board. Renew the blue often and remove as little as will do the job. The "string lines" also help line up your straightedge for checking overall effect of your work. Usually work gently full length, end to end. If you're not removing blue from one area check with straight edges (long ones and shorter ones to pick one localised wobbles). Maybe do some shorter passes for a localised peak. There's more to it than this, but I find this helps to stop me doing anything too stupid. Later you'll need to reshape the fret tops, make super smooth etc. that's another process.

Thanks again Geoff. I was able to install the fret wire with out a hitch. It was way easier then I had thought it would be. I think I was over stressing it a bit, but you can't be too careful with these sorts of things. I also figured out how to do the dressing and all went well. I've actually just test strung it and it sounds fantastic. I'm just waiting on a brass shipment for the nut and bridge. I'll post some photos later this week when the rest is complete. Time to move on to #3 I guess. Thanks you again.
Regards,
Justin Britton