Fretwire overbend

tobinsuke · Sep 15, 2012

I've been doing some reading on pre-bending fretwire for a radiused fingerboard. I get the idea of over-bending the wire so the barbs hold better, but how much do any of you over-bend? Anyone care to quantify? I'm looking at a 12" radius on the fretboards, what radius might I shoot for on the fretwire? 10"? 8"?

thistle3585 · Sep 15, 2012

Greater than the radius of the board without kinking the wire. 8 - 10 should be fine, but I don't know how you'd measure it.

tobinsuke · Sep 15, 2012

Thanks. I have a gage made for an unrelated project. Basically a narrow board about 17" long with arcs drawn on it. I secured it in position and marked an arc with a trammel 15" away, on center. Then 14" away, etc.

Pondoro · Sep 15, 2012

Cut a long fret slot way too deep on the edge of a board. Then cut the edge of the board to your desired radius. Because you cut the slot so deep the entire edge is now still slotted. You can bend the fret wire into that slot.

Kurtski · Sep 16, 2012

Pondoro said:
Cut a long fret slot way too deep on the edge of a board. Then cut the end of the board to your desired radius. Because you cut the slot so deep the entire edge is now still slotted. You can bend the fret wire into that slot.

Pondoro,

Took me a moment to visualize your suggestion but I am doing radiused fretboards tomorrow and am still looking for a better way to pre bend the wire. I made a quick 3 wheel dingus that is ok but sometimes rolls the wire on its side if it isn't done very carefully. Your idea sounds much simplerand will be very quick to make and try.

Kurtski

Pondoro · Sep 16, 2012

I've never done this because I've never fretted a radiused fretboard. But I've bent a lot of metal and it will try to roll. The T-shape of the fretwire is weakest in a direction other than the direction that you want to bend it, so you are fighting that tendency.

thistle3585 · Sep 17, 2012

I arch fret wire for flat boards too. I think the tangs bite a bit better. I just grab the end of the tang with a pair of nippers and bend it. I don't think you need to over think it. I also know someone that bends it by wrapping it around the groove on old metal coffee cans. You can also buy fret wire in coils.

Kurtski · Sep 17, 2012

Pondoro,

I made a bender from your suggestion and it worked pretty well. I still find that the wire will tend to bend sideways if you aren't watching carefully. What really helped was that I made a hardwood caul with a radius that matched the fretboard to press in the frets all across at once.

Fretwire overbend

tobinsuke

UU VIP

thistle3585

Well-known member

tobinsuke

UU VIP

Pondoro

Well-known member

Kurtski

Member

Pondoro

Well-known member

thistle3585

Well-known member

Kurtski

Member

Attachments

Similar threads