Fretting Tools on the Cheap

[D-Smith]

I generally don't buy "luthiery" tools when their are other alternatives. You can get a higher quality set of end nippers for less money than the stewmac fret cutters. Channellock 357 7" Hand Cutting Nipper End Cutter Pliers Made in USA.

I use a cheap diamond crowning file I got off of amazon that has served me well for years for much less than Stewmac. For leveling I use an aluminum level with a machined edge, with double stick tape and a roll of 3/4" emery cloth, their leveling beam is ridiculous. I could use a set of tang nippers though. I usually file the tangs when I have too.

Yeah, Stew Mac is convenient and does have some truly specialized tools, but much of what they sell are just standard tools you can get somewhere else. They might modify something like a set of end cutter pliers by grinding the face down, or grinding the edges off a triangle file, but nothing you could not easily do yourself.

For leveling frets I use a piece of 1" thick by 2" wide hard maple planed flat with a hand plane and checked for flatness on the skinny edge with a quality straight edge, then apply Porter Cable sticky back sandpaper. I can make different size ones for different length fingerboards and cost is next to nothing.

IMO, the fret tang nipper is more trouble than it's worth. It mangles the end of the frets. I'll take a look around, but I had both sizes and I think I threw them out a year or so ago since I never used them. I posted the router method I use in the thread linked above.

 

[Bob Rogers]

I bought my diamond crowning file from Stewmac at least a decade ago. Dang pricey now. One of the most useful tools I have. Even if you are only going to build a few guitars, you will probably be leveling, crowning, and polishing frets pretty regularly. So it make sense to me to spend on those tools and trade time for money on the fretting tools. I've had a better time using the triangular file with the smooth corners than the poster above. As said, none of these do the job themselves.

I haven't installed frets, so take this opinion for what it is worth. For the fretting tools, I think I'd get a flush ground nipper one way of another. The issue here is quality work. The less filing I had to do, the more likely I would be to do a good job. I have a bench grinder, so I might try making one out of a hardware store nipper. But there are also a couple of dealers on Amazon that are less expensive than Stewmac, e.g. Amplified Parts and Bitteroot Guitars. (Anyone here tried them?) Some of the reviews are OK. I've always had good luck with quality from Stewmac. (Some things I bought didn't end up being as useful as I thought.) And the price difference is only $5-20. So I might just bite the bullet

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Circling back on this old post, bought a set of these nippers on Ebay from Bitteroot Guitars. They look pretty good in person, and they are compound action and rated for stainless frets. I'm hoping these will last me through at least a few builds, they may be small enough I might be able to use them as fret pullers too:
Amazon.com: Bitterroot Fret Wire End Nipper, High Carbon Steel, Cutter, Medium Size: Musical Instruments

Also got one of these, 10" diameter cast aluminum caul I can chuck into my mortiser to use as a low-budget fret press. It doesn't have the swivel function of the more expensive Stewmac cauls, let's see how it works out.
Fretting Caul 10" Radius Luthier Tool / Fret Caul precision Machined Made in USA


Looking at this fret file set, figure one of these should work, and it's a decent deal for all three:
GuitarTechs FRET DRESSING CROWNING FILE SET (3) Luthier Tool Kit Guitar

 

[Arie X]

Looking at this fret file set, figure one of these should work, and it's a decent deal for all three:
GuitarTechs FRET DRESSING CROWNING FILE SET (3) Luthier Tool Kit Guitar

i've got one of those spring loaded tiny sanding belt thingys from sm. very handy. get yourself a good selection of grits. Also for me I find a concave fret crowing file works best. the radius is consistent and even fret to fret. they can clog easily but that can be delt with.

When repairing guitars and besides stuff for measuring and polishing, I use four to five things for fret dressing:
1) a fret leveling file or a diamond honing plate for leveling, (depending on how bad the frets are)
2) a two sided concave fret crowning file
3) the tiny belt sanding thingy
4) a small double sided file with two safety edges.
ymmv.

for new work i use a fret press and get really good results requiring only a couple of thou for leveling if at all. then it's just detailing the edges and polishing.

way to go. thx for the update.

 

[pilotjones]

I generally don't buy "luthiery" tools when their are other alternatives...

I could use a set of tang nippers though. I usually file the tangs when I have too.

This is working pretty well for me.
#575
Thirty bucks and a little dremel-ing instead of sixty-five bucks.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

This is working pretty well for me.
#575
Thirty bucks and a little dremel-ing instead of sixty-five bucks.

Damn, that's a coincidence, just got a MicroMark catalog in the mail, they sell a nibbler for cutting thin sheet metal, immediately wondered if I could use it for fret tangs:
Nibbling Cutter

The Bitteroot nippers have a pretty small, flat ground head, i was figuring i'd use them to get a bit of tang off for binding then grind down whats left with the Dremel.

Edit:
This looks like the same tool, modified with a notch for the fret:
GeetarGizmos FRET TANG NIBBLER Nipper Cutter Luthier Tool Guitar

 

[pilotjones]

Damn, that's a coincidence, just got a MicroMark catalog in the mail, they sell a nibbler for cutting thin sheet metal, immediately wondered if I could use it for fret tangs:
Nibbling Cutter

The Bitteroot nippers have a pretty small, flat ground head, i was figuring i'd use them to get a bit of tang off for binding then grind down whats left with the Dremel.

Edit:
This looks like the same tool, modified with a notch for the fret:
GeetarGizmos FRET TANG NIBBLER Nipper Cutter Luthier Tool Guitar

Right, that's the cheaper sheet nibbler that's widely available, and a fret-nibbler-modified version. I have no experience with that one as to how well it works and holds up. It could be an even cheaper/better alternative. I went with the more expensive Klein that stewmac modifies for themselves.

 

[wraub]

When I did my fretless conversion, I got the Stew-Mac fret pullers.
They were not cheap, but I did not have the means to grind a pair myself, and they worked great.

 

[xaxxat]

A site for reasonably priced luthier tools;

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Gilmourisgod]

A site for reasonably priced luthier tools;

Invalid Link Removed

That's a great price for the aluminum fret leveling beam. I wonder if they supply Stewmac, who then doubles the price? I have a nice old 1960's era cast aluminum level that reads very straight against my straightedge. I was planning on flattening it against my jointer bed with some PSA paper to get it as fair as possible.

 

[pilotjones]

A site for reasonably priced luthier tools;

Invalid Link Removed

That's very interesting. It would be nice to know additional details--for example, with the the fret leveling beams, how they are finished and what their straightness tolerance is. E.g. the 24" fret beam costs $26.45, while an aluminum tube of the same section dimensions and 48" long is $12.48.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

More cheapness:
Invalid Link Removed

Looks like a fret hammer to me, $4.99!

 

[rwkeating]

I used this one as a fret hammer
Invalid Link Removed
worked for me. As hard as I tried I couldn't tell the difference between 3 of the heads. The metal one was obvious

 

[JayGunn]

I just finished fretting the neck for this build:

Rethinking neck design...with build content

I made 3 tools for this job, all of which can be bought from StewMac. I have NO ill feelings for SM and don't feel it's unfair or greedy for them to charge a lot for their stuff, and I have bought a fair amount of things from them. But it's also fun to make your own stuff, especially for me the design challenge. Here's the most basic thing--more a technique than a tool:

This is 2 pieces of an 8" mill file, clamped onto a feeler gauge. For $5 I bought a feeler gauge set from HF. You need your set to cover the range of about .036" down to .021" for this. You can score the file on a bench grinder. I used an angle grinder with a metal cutting wheel. I ended up with 2 pieces about 2" long.

The piece of wood under the file pieces keeps the pieces elevated in the vise and it keeps the feeler gauge bottom and the file bottoms even with each other.

Here's a view from the top. Note the golden color filing from the evo fretwire I used:

You start with a thick enough feeler gauge so the fret wire will fairly easily pull through. You insert the fret wire like this:

Then pull it through with pliers, trying to pull in a straight line, else you'll bend the first inch or two of the wire. When I did this I was able to retain the radius I had bent in the wire pretty well, but I'd suggest first doing this operation, then establishing the radius. It helps to hold the wire down with a finger (glove strongly recommended) and let the wire slide under your finger and through the gap.

Change down through the thinner feeler gauges until you reach the goal--for me that was .022. At that point the wire needed a very gentle tap to go in and the fret barbs were almost but not quite flush with the wire. Don't reduce from one gauge to the next by more than .002 or it will be hard to start the wire moving. A change of .001 is best. Even so, like starting a cut with a handsaw, it takes a tug to get it started and then it pulls through fairly easily once moving.

Next up (tomorrow?) I'll show you my fret wire radius bender. No big deal--Youtube must have 10 fret wire radius bender posts. Finally I'll show you the one I am most pleased with--a ball bearing based miter box for fret sawing. Hope this helps someone.

John

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I just finished fretting the neck for this build:

Rethinking neck design...with build content

I made 3 tools for this job, all of which can be bought from StewMac. I have NO ill feelings for SM and don't feel it's unfair or greedy for them to charge a lot for their stuff, and I have bought a fair amount of things from them. But it's also fun to make your own stuff, especially for me the design challenge. Here's the most basic thing--more a technique than a tool:

This is 2 pieces of an 8" mill file, clamped onto a feeler gauge. For $5 I bought a feeler gauge set from HF. You need your set to cover the range of about .036" down to .021" for this. You can score the file on a bench grinder. I used an angle grinder with a metal cutting wheel. I ended up with 2 pieces about 2" long.

The piece of wood under the file pieces keeps the pieces elevated in the vise and it keeps the feeler gauge bottom and the file bottoms even with each other.

Here's a view from the top. Note the golden color filing from the evo fretwire I used:

You start with a thick enough feeler gauge so the fret wire will fairly easily pull through. You insert the fret wire like this:

Then pull it through with pliers, trying to pull in a straight line, else you'll bend the first inch or two of the wire. When I did this I was able to retain the radius I had bent in the wire pretty well, but I'd suggest first doing this operation, then establishing the radius. It helps to hold the wire down with a finger (glove strongly recommended) and let the wire slide under your finger and through the gap.

Change down through the thinner feeler gauges until you reach the goal--for me that was .022. At that point the wire needed a very gentle tap to go in and the fret barbs were almost but not quite flush with the wire. Don't reduce from one gauge to the next by more than .002 or it will be hard to start the wire moving. A change of .001 is best. Even so, like starting a cut with a handsaw, it takes a tug to get it started and then it pulls through fairly easily once moving.

Next up (tomorrow?) I'll show you my fret wire radius bender. No big deal--Youtube must have 10 fret wire radius bender posts. Finally I'll show you the one I am most pleased with--a ball bearing based miter box for fret sawing. Hope this helps someone.

John

I don't object to their prices on some things, it's all very high quality. I do object to the "postage and handling" charges that bear no actual relation to postage or handling, it's profit padding plain and simple. Why not just jack the asking price up and charge realistic P&H, no need for the silly subterfuge. Stewmac is far from alone in this practice, of course. I buy things from Stewmac I can't get elsewhere, but I can see a Pro using them for most things because they have everything in one spot.

 

[JayGunn]

Yet another fret wire bender. Works fine. I started with a 3/4" thick piece of plywood, and thickened it up to more like 1" by veneering on two scraps I resawed to about 1/8" on the table saw, cutting from both sides. Table saw max depth of cut is 3" and the block is more like 4" wide.

Then I drilled through the block with a really small drill bit to get the center line for the bearings. Then from each side I drilled a recess for a cheap Asian bearing. I used a #6300, 10mm inside, 35 mm outside. I really am getting to like doing everything metric, though I still think in inches, being a carpenter/furniture maker. I'd suggest any bearing that's 3/8" inside and has an outside diameter you can get a drill bit to match.

Just recess a bearing in from each side directly across from each other, in a block that's thick enough to accommodate two bearing widths and still leave some wood in the middle. Then the whole think, bolt, crank and roller can be rigged up with a little adaptability.

The roller is a door bumper. It was a hair out of round, so I spun it slowly and marked the high area with a pencil, then just filed away the pencil marks. Three passes of adjusting it and filing, maybe 5-10 minutes and it was not eccentric.

I cut the groove by turning the crank while I held my fret saw against the bumper. Naturally the groove needs to align with the center of the two guide bearings.

Here you can see the crank. I added a set screw to the crank handle, which doesn't show in the picture. The set screw engages a little flat spot I ground in the bolt shaft. Badda be, badda bing.

Enough about this one, next comes the miter box.

 

[Hopkins]

This is the exact fretting hammer I use. Its just a 12 oz dead blow with a brass side. I found mine at a tool flea market for $5. Stewmac charges $25 plus shipping for basically the same hammer in black

Sears.com

 

[earlysecond]

Building a fret roller. Already have like 20 skateboard bearings, used 2 on my fretboard jig. Gonna get a HF 1ton arbor press on sale for $29. A large cutting board from sams club for the corian. Shape and weld up a full set of cauls which will be corian tipped. Wait, is corian the right name for the stuff used in commercial cutting boards? Fret file made with a 5 ton surfacer at my buddys machine shop. Polishing with blocked diamond knife sharpening set. Polishing with cotton wheel on die grinder with jeweler's rouge if i have to. OR appropriate compound. Sting Jay has 15 to 20 mills of polyurethane clear coat which i left on eac fret, intentionally! Polish and coat and no need to touch the frets, unless you spray a sag, until the poly wears off. That flys in the face of good luthier practice don't it?? -lol

 

[earlysecond]

Buy stuff at SmcD and have 10% -of the tools you actually need cause your budgetnis toast. BUT this come from a HF shopper who has had better luck with HF stuff than IR stuff which is now made in the plant just up the street.

Same with guitar hardware
Same to a lesser extent with pick ups
Now strings
Necks
Finishes

Gotta find the point where being cheap starts to really kill quality and reliability then buy the next best product. Frugal》cheap.

Ok, i have my flame suit on, get out the torches! Lol

Brent

 

[Gilmourisgod]

No flaming here, Brent. This is an expensive hobby for a guy with two kids in college, and two more to go (me)! I buy things when I can afford it, and obsessively price compare online, hence the tectonic pace of my builds. Often it's not the products themselves, but the egregiously padded " postage and handling" that determines what's affordable. I've gotten a fair number of simple, hard to screw up tools from HF, so far nothing with a motor. It's partly geographic, if you live in an area without a lot of good lumber yards or machine tool supply houses, Amazon Prime is your friend.