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Ok, talk me into a fret press system

scottyd

scottyd

Commercial User
Nov 17, 2006
2,887
657
Waco Tx
Disclosures
Builder/owner Redeemer Basses
#1
First off I really only want responses from experienced builders and or repairmen. It really gets old seeing posts from people that are guessing or do not really have any experience with the matter. I’m not trying to count any one out, but I think most of you with experience will understand what I mean.

I've hammered in frets for a number of years. I've always wondered about the fret press system but never really saw it as a needed tool. Tapping frets in for me goes quick and easy. I have always noticed while leveling the frets on repairs or my builds that until a certain point the frets level very erratic. Although it is a minute amount you can see the high and low spots in the wire, almost like the contact points of the hammer to fret action while seating the wire, and of course until those spots are gone the frets are not level. I can't help but think that if the frets were pushed in one continuous motion they would go in straighter and be easier to level and require less material removed to get the job done. I just don't know if it's worth the cost of the tools, and thought it best to ask my Talk Bass comrades for advice :D


That said I would like to hear from experience how the fret press tools have made your work better and or easier. Or if you think they are unnecessary. A brief description of how the process goes would be excellent as well, like how do you press on a radiused boards, do you still over bend the edges ect. I would also like to hear from hammer users on their opinion as well. Thanks!:bassist:
 
#2
I don't know if I qualify to give an opinion,but here goes.
I used to use a hammer but moved to press almost straight away it just made a lot more sense to me for the reasons you mentioned.

I slightly over radius the fret wire then under cut the tang as I don't like the tang showing at the fret ends. Press the frets in it takes about 10 minutes to do a board then go along the edges with a hammer just to make sure the end of the fret is well seated.
For radius boards use a caul that matches the finger board radius they are widely available.
Alan
 
#3
I have a Jet 2 Ton arbor press and the fret press caul from Stew Mac

Invalid Link Removed

I also have several other radius sizes to accompany the original set included with the caul and a padded caul to rest the neck in when pressing


I can see of no other preferred way to install frets into a neck unless you're running some kind of highly mechanized tooling that was custom made for your very, very large shop. there is a consistency of curvature and seating that you simply can't get with hand hammering, and you have the added bonus of the wire being pressed in with an even pressure across the entire fret length

I can fret a 24-fret 5-string neck in under 10 minutes with my arbor/caul set-up, and I need to do significantly less fret levelling than what I was able to accomplich by hand hammering. sure, it's not the traditional purest approach to building - but then neither is utilizing a router or any other electric/pneumatic tools either

all the best,

R
 
#5
As a non-qualified person in this particular area, I'll just say that for installing things other than frets but which also install with a press fit: you with consistently not only work faster, but get better results when using an arbor press, and fixtures as necessary, as compared to any method I can think of that involves an impact tool.

Harbor Freight has an arbor press for $50. Seems like the kind of low-tech tool you'd be safe getting from them.
 
#8
I bought the Stewmac cauls (the full set) and a Harbor Freight press about three weeks ago. Had to drill out the ram on the press and put in a set screw to hold the tool. Wasn't hard. So far I've done three necks with the press, and it's amazing. Much, much better than hammering. Quieter, faster, and more consistent. Haven't done a compound radius yet, but I imagine it won't be too difficult since I have all the cauls. Changing out a caul only takes about 30 seconds.
 
#10
Are you arbor press fans gluing and pressing? If so, I assume you're cutting the slots tight enough that you don't have to keep the fret clamped while the glue sets? I haven't been happy with my press-in experiments, but I don't have an arbor press either. Stew-mac's Jaws vise grip is smarter than I am and my drill press seems like the wrong tool for the job. I have found stainless steel frets need way less levelling, I think because they don't flatten out when hammered in, and I'd love to get the same results with regular frets, so an arbor press may be in my future. Good info in this thread- thanks folks.
 
#11
I have tried the arbor press but I find the gear configuration is too low a ratio to have enough control. The press I have moves the caul at about 1:1 ratio Handle movement to caul movement. It would be nice to fine one that has maybe 5:1. I don't get enough mechanical advantage with mine. I have stuck with the hammer method and am careful, and that works better for me. I do have a shot bag under the neck to buffer the shock waves and I think that is Key. The frets go in much more consistently. I think the bounce back is causing the need to hit some frets hard enough to bend them.
 
#12
conical johnson said:
What if you were doing a compound radius? Would changing the cauls every couple of frets negate the time and effort savings?
Click to expand...

In all of my "around the country business travel" I have personally talked/visited with a company that makes hundreds of custom necks annually, and many of these utilize a compound radius. all of their frets are pressed utilizing an arbor and caul, and they do change the caul radius every so many frets as the fretboard radius dictates.

even with this caul changing they consider this a key to good fret setting consistency, and that they are far ahead vs. the effort and inconsistency of hammering all those frets in place

all the best,

R
 
#13
Son of Magni said:
I have the stewmac cauls. Tried to use them using a drill press as the press and it was useless. With an arbor press I'm sure it works a lot better.
Click to expand...

a drillpress is not designed to provide the same downward force that an arbor press will exert. before purchasing my arbor press I used a drillpress with less than satisfying results. the drillpress was good up to about the 7th - 10th fret depending on the fretboard wood, and from there it only made me nervous at all the creaking I was hearing with every press ... it was on my second 5-string rosewood neck that I broke down and bought the arbor press. I was just certain that I was going to have my press come apart on me one fret short of completing that neck

I've never had an issue with my 2 ton press, and have a good feel for consistent pressure when fretting. I wonder if some of you who have experienced problems got these because you utilized a small 1/2 ton or 1 ton press?

all the best,

R
 
#15
I've been wanting to get an arbor press for a little while too. From all the stewmac videos I've seen its pretty obvious its a very efficient tool. It takes me an eternity to fret by hand, I'd certainly be happier with 10 minutes if press time for a whole neck.

I've been looking at local arbor presses, they look like chinese copies of the stewmac ones. Which press do you guys use? I've got the choice wih 1/2 ton, 1 ton and 2 ton. 1/2 ton just looks so small I'm wondering if it would work well.
 
#16
like I noted earlier, I use a Jet 2 ton press. when you add the stewmac caul system, a 1/2 ton or even 1 ton is going to be short on clearance not to mention mechanical advantage

one other nicety of the Jet 2 ton is that it has a hand hole in the top so you can carry it around much easier than some of the knock-offs I've seen

here's an image of the 1/2 ton version of my Jet 333620 AP-2 2 ton

333605.jpg


all the best,

R
 
#19
20 years of professional experience and i fully agree with everyone who recommends an arbor press and particularly the setup described by rodent. the only time i would even consider using a hammer would be on a refret of a set neck where the arbor press is not an option.

it really boils down to "how many fretjobs are you going to do?" if it's only one a year then hammertime makes sense. if it's ten or twenty or a hundred then there's no doubt in my mind you should invest in an arbor press setup.

if you were on an extremely tight budget you could make your own cauls from hardwood or epoxy or something similar without too much trouble.

as far as the "glue and press" question goes i use superglue dripped in -carefully- from the sides of the fb after pressing in all frets unless i'm going for the tang-less undercut approach mentioned by skelf in which case it's "glue and press" and then clamp up overnight with some form of jig.
 
#20
Great answers so far! I read that a well known bass shop (either Roscoe or Brubaker I forget) uses hardwood padded with leather as a caul. Seems like it would be a little more forgiving on the compound radius boards.
 

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