Question - hand radiusing fret wire

[sebastiaan56]

Hi everyone,

As you have guessed by now, Im a bit cheap (ask Tim I have a fancy to make the fingerboard on the mando a bit wider than usual and also to finish to a slight radius. The sanding to the radius is pretty straightforward (my hand technique almost guarantees it.....) but radiusing the fret wire is a bit more of a challenge. As the radius is slight I thought some gentle percussive persuasion might be in order. Im thinking to make a template to ensure even radius and then pounding the little puppies into submission. Has anyone had to resort to this method? Apart from flattening the tops of the frets are there any other risks?

I know that Stewmac, Gilet, Aus Luthiers sell all of this gear but it is definitely out of budget at the moment, any other suggestions?

[Lillian]

I remember a lengthy, almost nasty discussion over at MIMF about radiusing fret wire and the necessary jigs. Mario piped up with his solution. Its about as low tech as you can get. He cut a grove into the edge of a bench and would pull the fret wire through that until it was curved enough for his needs. It seems to fit your budgetary needs and God knows Mario doesn't do something unless it works.

[sebastiaan56]

Thanks Lillian,

Mario sounds like my kind of guy, simple solution,

Sebastiaan

[Allen]

You can build some simple jigs that will do this for you as well. The simplest I've see in just 3 largish nails hammered into a board making a triangle that the wire is pulled through until you end up getting the amount of radius that you want.



You can tart this system up by using bearings etc. It is a very simplified version of a tool you would find in a blacksmith shop. Don't try to get the radius in one go, no matter what method you choose. Rather light passes several times will stretch the fret top and cause the wire to acquire a radius.

[Craig]

G'day Sebastiaan,
Hey , I'm cheap too !

Couldn't quite bring myself to fork out the ( considerable) amount for a Stewmac or L.M.I. one ,so made this one . Cost bugger- all . I bought some nylon door runners and a couple of little bearings for the handle part. A few 1/4 " mudguard washers and you're done.
Probably about $20 max. . It gives a perfect and consistant radius , which I think is very helpful in getting a nice even fret job.

The runner wheel on the left is adjustable up and down to give the required radius






Cheers, Craig

[Paul B]

I've only ever used the groove in the edge of the workbench thing. It works well.

[Bob Connor]

We buy it in 100 foot lengths from LMI.

It comes in a coil so it's already radiused.

Bob

[Allen]

That's the way I do it too Bob, I figured that if I was going to build a few guitars, it was a much cheaper way of buying the wire.

[martinedwards]

I get a block of waste wood with a 3 or 4 mm hole in it.

I put the fret in the hole and bend it towards the tang.

then I flip it and do the same at the other end.

I press them into place with Stewmac's arbor fret press caul.

works fine for me, and possible even lower tech than Mario's!!

[sebastiaan56]

Thanks for the responses every one, low tech has a definite appeal. Love the hole idea Martin, about the only lower tech would be bending over teeth,

Sebastiaan