Does anyone know of a source for pre-radiused 7.25" medium jumbo frets for a 70's Fender? Something around .105" wide? Thanks
Stew-Mac sells pre-cut, pre-radiused fretwire for situations where it doesn't make sense to drop the $200-ish on the tools to do it yourself. 7.25" radius is an available option, in either 6105 (medium) or 6150 (wide), and you'll get 24 pieces for $21. StewMac Pre-Cut Wide Fretwire Set | stewmac.com You will still want a fret press of some kind; you can fake it with a couple of rounded forms mounted to a bench clamp, or you can search StewMac for "Fret Press" and get a range of options from under $100 to over $400 depending on how easy the tool is to use. If you plan on doing more than about ten full refrets in your life (a busy professional luthier might see that many in 6 months), it starts making more sense to invest in the full toolset. But, for just one, use what you have or what you can bodge together that won't damage the neck.
Thanks Liko! I swear I looked 3 times on the Stew Mac website and couldn't find the wider frets with that radius. I really appreciate the link!
You can also pick up a polyurethane tipped hammer at a hardware store for under 20 bucks, and use that to seat your frets, or any hammer and tap them in using a block.
I was about to spring for a small dead blow hammer, when it occurred to me that I had a gun maintenance tool kit in a drawer someplace. Bam! Two sided hammer with brass head one side, plastic the other, perfect for fret hammering. If you search using the term "fret hammer" you'll pay twice as much than for the same damn hammer someplace because.... Luthiery = $$$$$
fyi: if it's an original 70's fender with it's original frets, they'll have been installed sideways. Fender was doing this until 82'. it's a doable conversion, but research first before diving in.